The theft of eight full kegs from outside the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre has ‘put a damper on things’ for organizers of this year’s World Shore Lunch Championships.
The beer – which was supplied by Yukon Brewing and the NWT Brewing Company for Saturday’s event – was reported stolen Monday morning.
Read: NWT Brewing Co. earns bronze at Canadian Brewing Awards
The World Shore Lunch Championships bring together local fishermen, foodies and visitors in celebration of fresh fish from Great Slave Lake.
Teams of chefs cook off against each other to be judged by a panel of experts and locals.
In an effort to make this year’s event even more enticing, Yukon Brewing and the NWT Brewing Company went head-to-head in a competition of their own to determine brewing supremacy.
But mere hours after the event, staff from the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre say eight full-sized kegs of beer were stolen from a refrigerated truck parked on their property.
“It was a refrigerated truck and it was locked shut so somebody had to basically cut the lock right off it,” said Elijah Forget, director of communications with the Northern Frontier Visitors Association.
“I can guarantee that there was more than one person involved in the theft. I struggle to think of one person moving these things on their own because they’re super heavy.”
Of the eight kegs stolen, four belonged to each brewpub. Forget says a portable bar was also damaged.
The Northern Frontier Visitors Association has hosted the World Shore Lunch Championships since 2013 as a means to raise money for the visitors centre.
Forget says police are aware of the incident but that he’s also encouraging the public to come forward with information.
“There’s a lot of work involved in putting on this festival,” he said. “It’s a huge undertaking for all the staff and volunteers that help us.
“While it’s a way for us to raise funds for our building, it’s also meant to give people another fun thing to do.”
