(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

yum!

Food and Beverage Expo showcases local restaurants, craft beer boom

Apr 6, 2019 | 7:29 PM

The seventh annual Alberta Food and Beverage Expo offered up hundreds of great eats and drinks Saturday night at Westerner Park.

Hosted in Red Deer for the fourth straight year, the show allows restaurants and microbreweries to showcase their best concoctions.

Expo owner and operator Chris Meilleur says this year’s show featured around 160 vendors.

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“Central Alberta has some of the top dogs in the microbrew industry, and it’s been really exciting seeing that grow and the province of Alberta grow into that,” he says. “What we’re seeing now is the micro-distilleries following in their footsteps.”

According to Alberta.beer, there are 80 independent craft breweries in the province, 35 per cent more than in 2017.

Meanwhile, the show also raised several thousand dollars for the Red Deer Firefighters Children’s Charity.

“We love how much Red Deer has supported us bringing the show here, and every year we’re going to try and get bigger and better.”