All-canned craft beer and cider sampling event coming to downtown Vancouver

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      Canned beer gets a bad rep in Vancouver. Sure, they may not look as snazzy as your typical bomber when shelved at the liquor store, but the benefits of aluminum can’t be denied—especially in the summer. (You try biking to Wreck Beach with a six-pack of bottles strapped to your back!)

      The Burnaby-based West Coast Canning, who cans suds for some of the province’s most talked-about craft breweries, is well aware of this. That’s why they’ve teamed up with Wet Ape Productions—the same people behind the Oktoberfest-lite Harvest Haus and Kelowna’s Center of Gravity—to organize CANcity, Vancouver’s first all-canned craft beer and cider sampling event.

      “For a long time, people have thought that cans are a cheap option, but they really aren’t,” says Matt Human, marketing director at West Coast Canning, by phone. He notes that, in addition to being easily transportable, cans are more likely to be recycled and protect beer from UV ray exposure, which may potentially alter the suds’ flavour.

      Twenty B.C. craft breweries will be pouring beer and cider from the can at the one-day fete, which takes place on July 30 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza (650 Hamilton Street).

      Among the participating brewers are Field House Brewing Co., Longwood Brewery, and Category 12 Brewing, plus pretty much the entirety of Port Moody’s booming professional craft brewing scene (Moody Ales, The Parkside Brewery, and Twin Sails Brewing.)

      Alongside plenty of beer and cider, attendees can also expect a lineup of food trucks, outdoor games, can art installations, and a gallery showcasing some of the coolest can labels from across B.C. Live entertainment will be provided by local musicians.

      A portion of ticket sales, as well as from the recycling return on the cans, will benefit Music Heals, a B.C.–based non-profit that funds music therapy services in various communities.

      “We really admire the work that they do,” says Human. “Something as simple as music, and the help that it can provide, is something we can easily get behind.”

      Admission to CANcity is $25, though a limited number of early-bird tickets are currently available online for $20. Tokens for four-ounce samplers will be available onsite, and are priced at five for $8.75 and 10 for $17.50.

      Check out the confirmed list of craft breweries participating in the event below. More breweries will be announced on CANcity’s website closer to the date.

      Barkerville Brewing (Quesnel, B.C.)

      Category 12 Brewing (Victoria, B.C.)

      Field House Brewing Co. (Abbotsford, B.C.)

      Hearthstone Brewing (North Vancouver, B.C.)

      Longwood Brewery (Nanaimo, B.C.)

      Moody Ales (Port Moody, B.C.)

      The Parkside Brewery (Port Moody, B.C.)

      Twin Sails Brewing (Port Moody, B.C.)

      For more information about CANcity, or to purchase tickets, click here.

      Follow Lucy Lau on Twitter @lucylau.

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