Alberta has an abundance of local ingredients that are used to brew beer, and after the laws changed around small craft breweries, Albertans started to take notice. Since then, craft breweries have been popping up all around the province to help bring this small but awesome industry to the forefront, all while using the most local ingredients they can find.
Alberta Open Farm Days is in its 7th year, and in recent years, breweries have started to register as a way to help showcase their products, which also help to showcase local ingredients, such as malt barley, hops, different berries etc.
This year Open Farm Days reached out to the breweries registered, and proposed they collaborate together to make a special OFD beer. The breweries that have decided to participate include Troubled Monk Brewing, Apex Predator Brewing, Lakeland Brewing Company, Blindman Brewing, Township 24 Brewery, and Red Bison Brewery.
Cue the Alberta Open Farm Days Haskollab Berry Cream Ale! The name is cross between Haskap (a berry) and Collaboration, which was thought up in a collaborative session (fitting) on brew day. The beer was brewed at Troubled Monk on July 10th, and we had a chance to speak with Garret the Master Brewer. When asked about why collaborating between the breweries was important to him, he said that “Collaboration is a great way to share ideas. It helps raise awareness about craft beer, and its fun!”
The beer’s recipe has local barley from Rahr, Alberta, as well as Haskap berry juice from Broken Tine Orchard, which is in northern Alberta, near Grande Prairie. Each of the breweries agree that using the local Alberta ingredients is important to them. For Colin, the founder of Lakeland brewing company he says “It’s a no brainer.” For Red Bison using local ingredients is important to them, as it reduces the impact on the environment. At Troubled Monk, they recognize that Alberta has some of the highest quality beer ingredients in the world, and they want the general public to know that they take pride in showing off what they can turn their backyard into.
This beer is a special product of collaboration and Alberta pride! Come out to any of the participating Breweries between August 9th and 18th to try it, and come to the breweries during Open Farm Days (Aug 17th and 18th) for special behind the scenes tours of their beer making facilities! More information can be found under the “Farms” tab on the website at albertaopenfarmdays.ca. We hope to see you out there!