Virtual Beer Events Guide

virtual beer events

OK, so we can’t hang out in person, but that it stopping breweries from hosting virtual beer events.

We’ve officially moved to Phase 2 of COVID-19 beer consumption. We’re regularly ordering our favourite beers for home delivery or even adding a few cans to our Doordash order. But cracking an IPA in front of the only Netflix show you’ve got left on your sad, dwindling list is a far cry from meeting your team for your weekly taproom trivia night, or sidling up to the bar at your local brewery on a Friday afternoon.

It’s time for Phase 3 — hanging with your fave craft breweries and beer experts virtually with a beer in hand of course.

Here’s our Virtual Beer Events Guide — a roundup of craft beer hangouts and educational sessions. They’re listed by day, so you can fill those gaps in your social calendar. We’d love to add to this list, so please send us your favourite virtual beer happenings.

 

Mondays

Monday Night Virtual Trivia

Tapworks Brewing Co. in Gibsons, B.C., is hosting this fun-filled, wacky trivia night. One part skill-testing and two parts goofy, it’s sure to have you laughing and virtually high-fiving your teammates. Join the fun every Monday from 4-7pm on Zoom here.

Tuesdays

GLB Family Sociable

Etobicoke’s Great Lakes Brewery is hosting weekly family sociable on Zoom every Tuesday at 8 pm. Hear from some GLB staff — old and new — who will answer questions, discuss upcoming beer releases and more. Register on Zoom in advance.

great lakes brewery virtual beer

Wednesdays

Cicerone Certification Program: Tasting Together

Join Master Cicerone® Pat Fahey as he leads a tasting on a different beer style live on YouTube every Wednesday at 5pm. Dive deep into the style, ask questions and taste together.

The Exchange Brewery Virtual Trivia Night

To replace their weekly taproom trivia night, Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Exchange Brewery hosts a Virtual Trivia Night at 7pm. It includes prizes, those in the brewery’s delivery zone can order a trivia package where the brewery drops a Growler dropped to their door. The Virtual Trivia package needs to be ordered by 2pm on the day of the Trivia Night — those who don’t live in the region can still play along. All the details are here.

 

Thursdays

Muskoka Brewery Stay at Home Trivia Night

Three hundred trivia night fans joined the first edition of Muskoka’s popular online Trivia Night. It’s hosted weekly by Adam Crockatt. The fun gets started at 8pm. 

Beers with the Brewmaster

Join Red Racer’s head brewer Gary Lohin in the taproom at Central City Brewers + Distillers for Beers with the Brewmaster. Grab a cold one and join him on Facebook Live for this unique Q&A session every Thursday at 7pm.

#BeerChat on Twitter

@LipstickNLager is a Boston beer fan who recently revived her popular #BeerChat on Twitter after a four-year hiatus. She knew how much people wanted to seek social connection. The chats are for beer lovers and each week @LipstickNLager introduces a few new topics, from giving shout outs to breweries doing cool stuff during the pandemic, to more update topics like plans for your dream #beercation. 8:30 pm every Thursday.

Virtual Hoppy Hour

Each week BC Ale Trail hosts a Virtual Happy Hour on their Instagram Channel with a new host and special guests from B.C.’s craft beer community, every Thursday at 9pm.

Trivia Live from Another Beer Co.

This live trivia night is being broadcast from ABC HQ on Instagram and Facebook, every Thursday at 10pm. Play along at home and you could even win some prizes. Better yet, order some beer online from AnotherBeerCo.com/store and really get in the mood!

 

Fridays

Nickel Brook Music Lab Series

Tune into Nickel Brook’s Instagram or YouTube channels for live, intimate concerts from local and international artists. Weekly on Thursdays or Fridays around 9 p.m. Follow their social media for the latest programming.

Stay at Home Pub Trivia Night by Cascadian Beer Podcast

Hosted by the B.C.-based Cascadian Beer Podcast, these engaging live trivia nights air weekly on Fridays across YouTube and Facebook Watch. Host, Aaron Johnson, brings in guests—including brewers and beer writers to lead trivia in different areas from beer knowledge to Harry Potter. All information, and how to play along is at stayhomepubquiz.com.

 

Throughout the Week

Cicerone Certification Program Prep Talk Series

Join Master Cicerone® Neil Witte for a free series of talks to prep you to take the Certified Beer Server exam, the first level of the Cicerone Program. Sessions are 30 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2pm, starting on Tuesday, April 21, and running through the end of May. As a bonus, 10 free Certified Beer Server exams will be offered to the attendees of each session.

Watcha’ Drinking? Beer Diversity

Join Beer Diversity founder, Renee Navarro and her friends from different industries for a quick, fun Instagram live chat at 7 pm Tuesday to Friday. They’ll answer your questions and let you into their lives and work while they sip on a tallboy.

Collective Arts Virtual Happy Hour

Collective Arts is teaming up with artists, musicians, brewers and other creatives to continue to share creativity and positivity during the pandemic. Past live episodes airing on their YouTube and Instagram channels, have included Dear Rouge performing a live set from their living room and Miami-based street artist, Surge, giving a private home studio tour and doing some live painting. Follow the brewery’s IG or subscribe to their YouTube channel to find out what’s happening.

Nickel Brook Back to the Funk Lab

Join Nickel Brook founder John Romano for a fun Back to the Funk Lab series on Youtube and IGTV. This veteran of the Ontario brewing scene delves into Nickel Brook’s history, (spoiler alert: Nickel Brook actually started as a homebrew shop!) beer releases and more.

 

One-Off Events

Craft Brewers Conference

After cancelling the CBC, a massive brewer’s conference hosted by the Brewer’s Association in America, the Association is now offering a five-week virtual version until May 15. Geared toward industry, the conference includes 40 educational seminars across on topics covering brewing operations, sales and distribution, marketing and social media, safety, ingredients and supplies, and more. The sessions can be watched live or replayed later and will remain free to access online until May 31. See the full seminar lineup here.

 

  • Do you know of an awesome virtual craft beer event that we should add to our list? Give us a shout at crystal@thegrowler.ca!

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