What would a pub be without pub games? Games are very much a part of pub culture and the whole experience, and over the centuries a number of classics have been developed. You may not find all of these at every pub, but if you make the rounds, you’ll see them on display and actively being played. Here are some of the best of the best.
Darts
Nearly every pub has a dart board. There’s something about drinking beer and hurling sharply pointed objects that just go together, making darts probably the most popular and beloved of all pub games. Just try to stay out of the line of fire. One Hundred and EIGHTY!
Ringing The Bull
A bit less common and more old school, the idea here is that you’ve got a placard mounted on a wall with a picture of a bull. At the bull’s nose, you’ve got a hook. There’s a rope hanging down from the ceiling some distance away with a ring on the end of it. The idea is to swing the rope, aiming the ring so that it catches on the hook at the bull’s nose. Needless to say, this game’s difficulty increases exponentially as the night wears on and more beer is consumed, which is part of the fun! Quite a rarity, pubs offering this game are deserving of special notice as they are likely to have great beer.
Bar Skittles
Think of this as miniaturized bowling that you do from your chair. You’ve got a table or board. On the board, there are pins set up. You’ve got a stick rising up from the board with a string on the end of it, hanging down. At the end of the string, you’ve got a ball.
You have three tries to swing the ball around and knock all the pins down before your competition has a go, and yes, the game can get surprisingly competitive. A fun game that’s easy to learn and a fair bit harder than you might think.
To see games like these in action, and have a go yourself, beer in hand, visit the 2015 Edmonton International Beer Festival.
Cans or bottles? It’s the age old question, and the debate rages hotly to this day. Most discerning beer drinkers will tell you that of the two, they prefer bottles, but cans are nearly as popular. There are pros and cons for both, and we’ll take a look at each just below.
The Argument In Favor Of Bottled Beer
Bottled beer drinkers will tell you that the beer stays colder longer, and thus holds its flavor longer. There are specific reasons why beer bottles are brown or green, having to do with filtering light to keep the beer fresher longer. Those beer drinkers who are also environmentally conscious will be quick to point out that the energy required to produce a bottle to put beer in is far less than the energy required to create an aluminum can, and they’re absolutely correct there.
They’ll also point out that beer from a can tends to have a metallic taste. However brewers have been lining the interiors of their cans with a thin coating of plastic since the thirties, which makes this complaint less likely, unless those doing the complaining are having a few too many and licking the exterior of the can between sips. Of course, if you drink out of the can you are going to be in onctact with metal which many people just don’t enjoy.
The Argument In Favor Of Canned Beer
Proponents of canned beer point out that despite the tricks of tinting the beer bottles, canned beer stays fresher longer, and the beer remains completely airtight, which also contributes to longevity. Perhaps the biggest benefit of beer in a can is ease of transport and that nothing is required to open the can. Granted, a bottle opener isn’t a big expense, but it’s still a tool you have to use to get to your beloved beer, unless you’re exceptionally talented at opening bottles with your teeth, or on the sides of a sturdy table. (So that’s all of you then….)
Huffington Post recently did an extensive taste test spanning twenty-five beer brands that were sold in both cans and bottles. Surprisingly, in a blind taste test, canned beer edged out bottled beer in nearly every case in terms of flavor, though it should be said that it was close, with canned beer coming out ahead 51 to 54 percent, so the margins are extremely tight. It should also be said that during the blind test, barely fifty percent of drinkers were able to correctly identify whether the beer they were drinking originally came from a can or a bottle.
Beer has been sold by the bottle for as long as it has been a commercial product, so there’s no chance that beer bottles will be disappearing from store shelves anytime soon. The brewers know that if they did that, they’d face open rebellion from legions of beer bottle aficionados. Nonetheless, as the recent Huffington Post survey revealed, canned beer is beginning to edge out the bottled variety, and that trend will probably continue over time. Craft brewers have taken note, and are increasingly offering their product in cans.
Bottled or canned, you’ll find the choice of beers outstanding at the 2015 Edmonton International Beer Festival.
As we count down the months until Beer Fest time again a question that might be on your mind is where to stay when you come for next years show. No worries, we’ve got you covered. Below you’ll find a selection of hotels for every budget. Find the one that’s right for you from the list below. We’ve arranged this list from cheapest at the time of writing, to most expensive. There are lots of other options, but these are some of our personal favourites. Prices were accurate as of July 2014.
Chateau Lacombe Hotel
With prices starting at just $98 a night, you won’t find a better value for your money. High speed internet connections in all rooms and three different restaurants on site, plus you’re withing walking distance to the Theater and Arts district. You can’t go wrong with this nice, comfortable spot.
The Westin, Edmonton
This one’s only a bit more, with prices starting at $100 a night, and it has the advantage of being connected to the Shaw Conference center. If you want to book here though, you should probably plan well in advance, as The Westin is likely to fill up fast.
Delta Edmonton Center Suite Hotel
A hotel located in a shopping mall with 140 stores? What could be better, and a good selling point to your partner. Starting at just $102 a night, and just blocks from Sir Winston Churchill Square, you’re only minutes away from all the action that Edmonton offers.
Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel
Rooms here start at $104 a night. The big draw for this location is the full service spa and the free shuttle service to a number of downtown attractions. A great hotel with some really nice amenities and a good reputation.
Alberta Place Suite Hotel
A little pricier than the rest, starting at $131 per night, you’re right next to public transportation to anywhere you’d care to go, and that’s a big plus when you don’t want to drink and drive. The hotel offers spacious suites with full kitchens!
Edmonton’s got no shortage of quality hotel space, but these are the best of the best, and all conveniently located to where the festival is being held. Be sure to book your hotel well in advance as there won’t be many rooms left come BeerFest time!
We have announced the Award Winners for this years show! 2014 was our best International BeerFest yet and we want to thank everyone who attended and all our exhibitors who made it possible.
We had some incredible feedback from our show and we know that everyone who played a part in it did a fantastic job.
Take a look at some of the Award Winners on our Awards page by clicking the image below:
We had such an amazing time at the show this year and we are happy to have the pictures to prove it!
Take a look at our BeerFest 2014 gallery on our website here:
BeerFest 2014 Gallery
And on Facebook here:
BeerFest 2014 Facebook Gallery
Be sure to tag yourself and anyone you know!
We hope these pictures bring back some awesome memories for you. We are already working on ways to make next year’s show even better and can’t wait to see you all again soon!
A lot of hard work and effort go into an event like Edmonton’s International BeerFest and we love hearing feedback from our attendees and our exhibitors.
Something even better than positive feedback though is recognition for a job well done by all. With that being said, we are happy to announce that we have been awarded a Golden Fork Award for the “Best Beverage Festival or Event” in 2014!
You can see our listing here:
http://www.vueweekly.com/gfa/otherbests/2014/
This is a huge honor and we are very thankful to everyone who voted and made it possible.
You can learn more about the Golden Fork Awards by visiting the link below:
http://www.vueweekly.com/gfa/
We look forward to working hard and hopefully winning again next year!
