So on Saturday I spent a couple hours at a ballpark and there wasn’t a baseball game going on.

Instead I went to the Mashing (Edmonton), which bravely sets itself outside on the grounds of John Ducey Park (not its current name but I don’t care), Edmonton’s river valley baseball stadium. And it was a great time!

I went last year as well and, even though some of the beer was good, the event was a trial. The temperature was plus-1 with rain and, I think, some flurries. Not really a great environment for an outdoor beer festival. But this year worked out. When I was there it was plus-20 and sunny. I regretted not wearing shorts.

And so it made focusing on the beer much, much easier. And there was some good beer to be had. I will say, to start, that I focused my attention on breweries I hadn’t tried or visited, given that I am trying to catch up after 18 months away.. I also got to some old favourites, just because.

But what I want to do here is not talk about the beer, but about the event.

I really like the venue. A baseball field, tents closely clustered but there is enough space to feel the sun and wind. In September in Edmonton, that is a bold move. But, at least this year, it worked. It is way better than a concrete convention hall.

I also appreciated that the vast majority of the breweries were Albertan, but that some good regional breweries were welcome. It created a nice balance between local and regional and no corporate to be found (or at least that I saw).

A small niggle is that I would have liked to have seen some of the newer Southern Alberta breweries host a booth. I really appreciated being able to sample my first sips of Establishment Brewing and try some rarer New Level brews, for example. I also hear there was a similar absence of northern breweries at the Mashing Calgary. I get they are small, but if you want to build your name, you need to reach out beyond your local community.

I have always had a mixed feeling about the VIP category they do. In a way offering a few small advantages is nice, but at the end of the day do they realy make a difference?

On the whole I had a fun afternoon. The location was creative, the range of breweries decent, and I got to drink beer on a beer diamond, which I can’t say I get to do very often. Watch the wather forecast, but I would suggest you consider The Mashing tickets next year.