Cape Breton Beer Fest set for November

Cape Breton's craft brewing industry is hoping an event planned for this fall will ferment some buzz.

The inaugural Cape Breton Beer Fest was announced today in Sydney.

"The attitude around beer has become more sophisticated over time," said Marc Botte, chief marketing officer with 902 Advertising Group, one of the event's presenters.

"We think that this is a great event to highlight that, to bring craft beers to a wider market, to expose more people to it, and to help promote our two local craft breweries who are doing amazing work. To kind of showcase them to both Cape Bretoners and people from out of province," he said.

The Cape Breton Beer Fest: Craft Beer and Holiday Cheer! will take place on Nov. 19 at the Joan Harris Cruise Pavilion in Sydney with music, vendor booths and food prepared by local restaurants.

Cultivating tastes for different brews

Big Spruce Brewing opened in Nyanza in 2013 and Breton Brewing opened in Sydney last year.

Showcasing the industry as a whole will hopefully give a boost to the two local brewers, Botte said.

About 30-35 brewers from across Canada and the United States will also be at the show.

"In terms of the amount of beer sold, craft beer is still in the minority," Botte said.

"People need to be educated and introduced to craft beer in general. Bringing in more vendors with more variety and more different flavours, and having a big flashy event, will encourage people to take the plunge and try something they might not necessarily try," he said.

"If they like certain craft beers, then they may become craft beer drinkers and that benefits our two breweries here in Cape Breton."