Get tipsy with Santa at Tallboys’s Christmas Craft Beer Carnival

The Christmas Craft Beer Carnival is a boozy oasis in a beer geek’s wintry wonderland. The second annual festival, from the Bloorcourt bar Tallboys, drags more than a dozen craft breweries out of hibernation to offer a wide range of cold ones, including local staples (Steam Whistle, Mill Street) festive flavours (Wellington Brewery’s Cuckoo for Cacao) and rare brews (Junction Craft Brewing’s Pumuckl Red Ale and Night Train Dark Ale). Pair the suds with cold-weather comfort food—a selection of several Tallboys mac-and-cheese dishes—and seasonal entertainment: clown, jugglers, magicians and a roaming Santa. The $15 admission includes a sampling glass and one sample token; extra tokens are a buck apiece. And remember to save a few dollars for the Christmas market, where you can pick up a stocking stuffer for the beer lover in your life.

Sat. Dec. 20. Noon–8 p.m. $15 admission. Centre for Social Innovation Annex, 720 Bathurst St., 416-979-3939, craftbeerculture.ca.