Hop Forward Society Events
Sip & Sign
Elevate your beer-tasting experience with a twist!
Join us for a unique night where beer and sign language collide at Sip & Sign! Co-hosted with Polyrhythm Brewing, the Edmonton Association of the Deaf (EAD), we’re bringing you fun night of craft brews and communication.
Learn essential beer and simple sign language that can be used in the hospitality industry, specifically taproom spaces that will make the beer experience more inclusive and enjoyable! Plus, $5 from every ticket sold goes directly to support the incredible work of EAD.
Opt for the flight option (+$10, 4x 5oz) and explore a curated tasting, perfectly paired with sign language insights.
It’s a sensory journey for all!
IBU Too Bingo Night
IBU Too Bingo Night at Born Brewing
Get ready for a fun evening of laughter, connection, and craft brews at Hop Forward's IBU Too Bingo Night on February 22, 2024!
What to expect:
Beer tasting experience: Learn how to taste with all of your senses and bout a few great beer styles.
Epic bingo night: Channel your inner bingo champion as Passing Time with Craig leads us through fun rounds of bingo.
Mini-games and prizes: The fun doesn't stop with bingo! There'll be entertaining mini-games that celebrate racialized women and get a chance to win some fun prizes.
Why you should attend:
Community Connection: Connect with like-minded women in a welcoming and inclusive environment.
Unique Experience: Break away from the ordinary and join us for an evening tailored to celebrate our richness. This is not just bingo; it's an experience filled with joy, laughter, and a sense of belonging.
Support Local: By attending, you're not only treating yourself to a fantastic night out but also supporting a local brewery that values diversity and inclusivity.
Don't miss out on the Racialized Women's Bingo Night at Born Brewing – where good times and great vibes come together. No matter your knowledge or experience with beer, it's for U Too!
IBU Too is a social meetup for women of colour interested in beer and community building.
Your ticket includes a two-beer tasting and a token for an additional pint of beer.
One Pint At A Time Screening w/ Panel
Establishment Brewing and Hop Forward Society Present:
One Pint At A Time
Craft beer generates tens of billions of dollars annually for the US economy. Despite beer’s Egyptian and African heritage, these traditions have been mostly forgotten and are rarely found in American brewing culture. Today, Black-owned breweries make up less than 1% of the nearly 9,000 breweries in operation. Eager to shift the historical perception of who makes and drinks beer, Black brewers, brand owners and influencers across the country are reshaping the craft beer industry and the future of America’s favourite adult beverage.
One Pint at a Time premiered in October of 2021 and has since received:
• 100+ official selections to film festivals (plus special screenings at breweries, conferences and universities)
• A combination of 50+ awards, special honours (opening/closing film), nominations and special mentions
Ticket includes: Film Screening, Panel presented by Hop Forward Society, a $5 donation to Hop Forward Society and a 330mL beer.
Seating from 630-7
Film 7-830
Panel 845-915/930
Taps & Tips: A Seat at the Bar
Who has a seat at your bar?
ASBA and the Hop Forward Society have joined together to bring you a special edition of Taps & Tips on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA), to help answer this thought-provoking question.
Join us at Irrational Brewing for a screening of the CBC Documentary, A Seat at the Bar, followed by a panel discussion. Creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for customers and employees is important for the success of a business. At this event, attendees will have the opportunity to learn from industry peers and connect with other craft enthusiasts and businesses who share a commitment to DEIA.
Your ticket purchase includes a pint!
Accessibility: This event takes place on the upper level of Irrational Brewing, so attendees must be able to climb a flight of stairs to access the event.
National AccessAbility Week
We're planning opportunities for connection and learning for National Accessibility Week, and we hope you'll join us! Event details and registration will arrive in April!
2023 Annual General Meeting
Hop Forward members and any interested folks are invited to our 2023 AGM!
Members and the general public are invited to this special meeting.
Doing the Work: DEIA in Beer with Ren Navarro
We are thrilled to be hosting Ren Navarro from Beer. Diversity. on April 5th at the Calgary Work Nicer Rail Yards location from 3pm-6pm, with an industry happy hour from 5pm-6pm. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in a Q&A with Ren and will also have the opportunity to network with other businesses doing this work!
Campfire Community Conversations
Around a campfire is one of the best places to have a conversation. Especially open and honest about diversity and inclusion. You’re invited to join us around a figurative campfire.
At Campfire Community Conversations you’ll listen in on a conversation between friends on belonging, community, insecurities, and inclusion, and have the opportunity to have conversations of your own with your friends and fellow Hop Forward community members. You can’t have a campfire conversation without tasty beverages so while you speak, you’ll also sip your way through a tasting flight of Cabin Brewing’s best offerings.
Your ticket purchase includes a beer tasting flight and a token for an additional beer.
See you around the campfire!
Register Here
IBU TOO: Beer & Cheese Tasting
Did you know IBU (International Bitterness Unit) is a scale to measure the bitterness of a beer? If you didn’t, that’s okay! Beer can sometimes feel confusing and alienating, especially for people who don’t fit the stereotype of “beer drinker”. That’s why we’re launching IBU TOO, a beer social group specifically for racialized/BIPOC women. Because no matter your knowledge, experience, or racial background, beer is for U Too.
Join us for the first meetup- a beer and cheese tasting at @estbrew on November 16th. Come for the beer, stay for the social connection!
DEIA Series Session 4: HR Policies/Code of Conduct- where to start when you have an HR department of 1 to none
Four free foundational sessions designed for you and your team to learn how you can take action and develop practices, policies, and a culture that walks the walk when it comes to DEIA.
We're thrilled to partner with expert facilitators from GEDI Hub who will lead you and your team through informative sessions that will help you create impactful and long-term changes in your workplace.
Where: Virtual (A link to join will be sent to you prior to the event)
Cost: Free for members, $30/session or $100 for all four for non-members
Not a member? Sign up today; business members have access to all of our amazing education resources at a discount and often for free!
This session is part of a series:
Session 1: Anti-Racism 101, April 6
Session 2: Accessibility 101, May 11
Session 3: LGBTQS+ 101, June 8
Session 4: HR 101, July 27
Fund raised through ticket sales will be used to support our grant program which creates opportunities in the Alberta craft beer industry for underrepresented folks
Community Beer Club Vol. 2: Opportunities in Brewing Beyond Production with '88 Brewing
Have you ever wondered what working in beer really means?
Well, we teamed up with the crew at Eighty-Eight Brewing to help de-mystify things!
Join us at the Eighty Eight Brewing Taproom on July 6th for a flight and a conversation all about working in beer…beyond the brew kit!
DEIA Series Session 3: Inclusion from the Lens of the LGBTQ2S+ Community
The Hop Forward DEIA Lunch & Learn Series is a four-part presentation that focuses on various topics related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility issues with the intention of increasing your understanding and knowledge.
DEIA Series Session 3: Inclusion from the Lens of the LGBTQ2S+ Community
The Hop Forward DEIA Lunch & Learn Series is a four-part presentation that focuses on various topics related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility issues with the intention of increasing your understanding and knowledge.
2022 Annual General Meeting
Hop Forward members and any interested folks are invited to our 2022 AGM!
We can't believe it's been a year since we've been incorporated as a society. Members and the general public are invited to this special meeting.
DEIA Series Session 1: Anti-Racism 101, Anti-Racism in Business
Introducing our new DEIA Lunch & Learn Series!
Four sessions focused on a different topic to increase your understanding and knowledge on fundamental diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility issues.
Session 1: Anti-Racism 101, April 6
Session 2: Accessibility 101, May 11
Session 3: LGBTQS+ 101, June 8
Session 4: HR 101, July 13
We're pleased to have expert instructors from GEDI Hub presenting this engaging and informative series.
Where: Virtual (A link to join will be sent to you prior to the event)
Cost: Free for members, $30/session or $100 for all four for non-members
Not a member? Sign up today; business members have access to all of our amazing education resources at a discount and often for free!
Fund raised through ticket sales will be used to support our grant program which creates opportunities in the Alberta craft beer industry for underrepresented folks
Beer Club - Alberta Beers Edition
Welcome to the coolest club in town - the Hop Forward Beer Club! The Hop Forward Beer Club is for anyone who loves or wants to love beer. At each club meetup, you’ll get to taste some beers, learn some things, and get to hang out with like-minded, progressive, beer-loving people!