As Alefest has grown, so has the beer industry of the region.
In fact, one can draw direct lines between the annual charity event and the establishment of local brewing.
One of the original organizers of Alefest for the Kiwanis Club of Prince George was Bjorn Butow. He is now one of the co-owners of CrossRoads Brewing, the city's first craft brewery to open new since 1957 when Pacific Western Brewery came into being.
Eric Ball is now the marketing and communications lead with the Kiwanis group, and also on the staff at CrossRoads.
This year's event happens Jan. 26-27 at the Two Rivers Gallery. Three tasting sessions are on offer, whereby participants get the chance to sample a range of beers from independent brewing houses around northern B.C. and a few in from other parts of the province.
"Alefest has evolved each year, and we are growing again this year with some new features we've never done before," said Ball. "Primarily we have added the Brewmaster's Dinner sit-down component. It is a four course meal that has craft beer pairings set up to go with it, and the actual brew masters will be there to talk about the way it works with the food, the brewing process for that variety of beer, and you also get a commemorative glass to take home."
There are two of these dinners to choose from, one on Jan. 26 and one on Jan. 27.
The Jan. 26 dinner at the Ramada Hotel features a selection of six beers from CrossRoads Brewing (Prince George), Three Ranges Brewing (Valemount) and Sherwood Mountain Brewhouse (Terrace)
The Jan. 27 dinner at the Coast Inn of the North features a selection of six beers from Barkerville Brewing (Quesnel) and Wheelhouse Brewing (Prince Rupert)
There is also the Cask Beer Experience that draws in a number of restaurants around the city's downtown. Cast beer is ale that is processed and served in its original barrel.
"If you are unable to attend one of the three Kiwanis AleFest sessions at Two Rivers Gallery, these un-ticketed auxiliary sessions are opportunities to enjoy the unique tastes of small batch cask beers made by northern craft breweries," Ball said. "If you managed to get tickets for one of the Kiwanis AleFest sessions, we welcome you to take part in Cask Beer Experience as there are different varieties of small batch beers to enjoy, not available at Kiwanis AleFest."
Each of the participating restaurants will have passports available that direct participants to travel throughout the downtown trying different beers at different locations, some of them made especially for this unique event. Each one you sample gets you a stamp in the passport and that leads to prizes.
The weekend's restaurant partners will be Nancy O's, Betulla Burning, Twisted Cork, Black Clover, Copper Pig, Kask, and CrossRoads.
The list is still evolving of the brewers who will be on hand at Alefest, but so far the roster is an all-star assembly of sudsmakers. Confirmed so far are Crossroads and Trench from Prince George, Wheelhouse from Prince Rupert, Sherwood Mountain from Terrace, Three Ranges from Valemount, Smithers Brewing Company, Barkerville from Quesnel, plus a set from around the province so far including Cannery, Red Collar, Iron Road, Steamworks, Red Truck, Mount Begbie, Hoyne, Howe Sound, Driftwood and 4 Mile.
The inaugural year for Alefest was 2014 during which the Kiwanis Club raised $10,000 through the beer appreciation event. In 2015, the total grew to $22,000, then up to $25,000 in 2016, and last year it rose again to $28,000.
The money is used for the many causes supported by the Kiwanis Club, including a room at Ronald McDonald House for northern families in need of affordable accommodations when children are in need of healthcare in Vancouver, the local Therapeutic Riding Association, the Two Rivers Gallery's KidzArt Dayz annual event, the P.G. Public Library's after school reading program, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, nutrition programs with School District 57, care packages for the University Hospital of Northern BC, and many other worthy initiatives. Their financial focus is always on the north and always on families and children.
In indirect fashion, the Kiwanis Club is also fostering the local and regional economy by stimulating the growing craft beer industry.
"Each of these beer companies produce flavours of beer that are entirely different than one another in taste," Ball said. "No two are the same so at Alefest and the attached events, people get to try out all these different options, explore the recipes, make discoveries, and it is opening up a whole agricultural-food-hospitality-manufacturing combination industry in the north. We are so excited to be part of that."
For more information and the latest developments, go to www.kiwanisalefest.ca. All three of the Two Rivers Gallery tasting sessions are already sold out, but the Brewmaster's Dinners and the Cask Beer Experience passports are all still open options.
