A convoy of women on bicycles going from one craft beer tasting to another will ride as part of Victoria Beer Week on March 8.
The tour, Pedalin' for Pints, also falls on International Women's Day, Sunday, March 8.
“Victoria's the cycling capital of Canada, and it's also the craft beer capital of Canada,” said Rose Lee, co-owner of The Pedaler. “It just made sense to pair the two [and] do something to showcase women and beer.”
A bike tour beer tasting is a good fit for women, said Lee.
“Women are less likely to want the big drunken beer crawls. We can't get drunk on bikes, so it really is a tasting.”
The tour will also be a good way to showcase women that work in the beer industry, said Lee.
One stop on the tour will be Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub, where Kala Hadfield works as a brewer.
“A lot of women say, 'I don't like beer,' [but] there's such a wide variety of flavours [including] fruity, citrusy [and] red wine flavours,” said Hadfield. “It's not just all fizzy, sweet, yellow stuff.”
Lee echoed the thought that there is a craft beer for everyone.
“I think women would be surprised that [if] they think they don't like beer, they will find that craft beer they do in fact like.”
The tour will also go to Driftwood Brewery, Moon Under Water Brewpub and end at Canoe Brewpub. Tickets are $59 each and include bicycles provided by The Pedaler, a chocolate truffle and craft beer pairing at Spinnakers, beer samples and snacks at Moon Under Water, a tour of Driftwood Brewery and a tasting and one pint of beer at Canoe Brewpub plus a feature meal from Canoe's menu.
Participants are asked to meet at The Pedaler, 719 Douglas St. at 12:45 p.m. for a 1 p.m. start. The tour will finish at approximately 4:30 p.m. at Canoe Brewpub. Bicycles will be picked up from Canoe so participants can stay as long as they like.
The ride is approximately 10km.
All attendees will be asked for two pieces of identification.
For more information, please go online to victoriabeerweek.com.