Surviving The Toronto Festival of Beer

How Not to Get Tapped Out. Surviving The Toronto Festival of Beer

Josh Rubin The Toronto Star beer reporter (could be the best job ever) wrote a short piece in Wednesday's paper on How to Survive the Toronto Festival of Beer. He provided readers with some insights on how to enjoy the day. Below, I have given my own advice based on years of experience on how to Survive the Beer Festival.

I missed the first year of the Beer Festival because I wasn't 19 yet, but ever since then I have made it a summer ritual, my own personal holiday if you will. Many of my best drinking stories start with "at the beer festival..." and usually include a guest appearance from my partner in crime - Big Country.

This year, we will be making another trek to the Festival. We needed to check out the new venue, see what it has to offer and if it isn't up to par with the older festivals it could be our last (gasp!).

Using The Star's Josh Rubin's categories, here is the Sandwich Shoppe version of how to survive the Festival of Beer;

Ease In: The Festival gates open at 1pm, so that means you have ample time to warm up before the actual festival. Ease in to the day with a Caesar or a Michelada. Light beers are good to start with, but basically get to the closest tent that is serving cold beer and start there - whether it be Guinness or Coors light it doesn't matter.

Don't Drink Alone: Bringing a friend along is necessary, because as you know if you drink alone you are an alcoholic. Also, who is going to distract the people behind the tent while you take bottle openers, t-shirts or anything else that isn't nailed down. The sharing of beer is a ridiculous option, man up and drink your own glass of beer - even if it is the worst tasting swill on earth.

Bring a Notepad: A great suggestion by Mr. Rubin as this will allow you to track how many beers you drank and brag to your friends for the next 10 years. Big Country and I did this a couple of years ago, putting a check mark next to each tent we visited. Let's just say the next morning we couldn't really recall putting all those check marks next to Church Key Brewery - oh that's right they were giving us free samples by the end of the day.

Hydrate and Eat: Some great food vendors do set up shop at the Beer Festival and therefore it is always good to have some snacks halfway through the day. Oysters, ribs and the best treat of all on a hot summer day - Greg's Ice Cream once made Beer Flavoured Ice Cream. Just don't waste too many of your precious beer tickets on food.

Branch Out: Mr. Rubin suggests trying beers that you don't normally have. A great idea, but don't skip beers you know and love just because there is a raspberry flavoured beer around the corner. You have 6 hours, just try them all. Pick a starting point and make your way around the tents, you'll get there.

Get there Safely: Getting there safely is the easy part, getting home safely is the hard part. The great part about the Beer Festival is that it was in a great location for TTC access and this year is just the same. Easy access via TTC and a $20 cab ride home!

Well, those are my tips for "surviving" the beer festival. Enjoy yourself, be safe and make sure you pour out a lil' liquor.