The Bar Towel

I've heard that the Ottawa stop of the Beer Store's crummy festival has been cancelled. What was the reason for this?

Not that I really will miss the 15 swill-pushers and only 3 true micros... but am I being left to educate the whole city regarding the malt-ernate lifestyle??? I already found it ridiculous that the Ottawa festival was 1/3 the size of the Toronto one - but I'm more that pissed-off that small micros no longer have a method to showcase locally.

I hope Molson, Sleeman and Labatt get shipped out of this country like Toronto's garbage...

The Beer Store is a shame!!! Shame I say!!!

The Capital City Beer Festival was put on by the same people that do the Fort York one. Basically, they lost money on the event every year, due largely to the City of Ottawa and their ridiculous regulations (ask the promoters about the liability insurance requirements!). As for the number of breweries taking part, last year the event was held on the same weekend as the St. Lawrence Mkt. show, so many micros chose to do only the Toronto show. Also, many micros are not servicing this market, so showing their beers makes no sense, at least marketing wise.
Guy Exley and the Good Beer Marketing people are looking to do an Ottawa show like the St. Lawrence Mkt one. Sign me up for that puppy.