In addition to the multitude of farms, ranches, U-Picks and livestock showings, this year’s Open Farm Days added something new - a collaborative beer.

Six breweries from around the province, including Lacombe’s own Blindman Brewing and Red Deer’s Troubled Monk, came together for their “Haskollab Berry Cream Ale”. 

Partnering breweries include Apex Predator Brewing, Lakeland Brewing Company, Township 24 Brewing and Red Bison Brewery. 

Co-founder of Blindman Hans Doef said it’s important to celebrate events like this because their industry is so heavily involved with celebrating agriculture in its everyday practice. 

“We’ve always been passionate about agriculture and the aspects around food systems and things, and users of agricultural products. A lot of us kind of come from that background. I myself come from a horticulture background, but it’s very much tied to the land and farming practices,” he said. 

This year, the breweries were contacted by Alberta Open Farm Days and were invited to take part in a special brew for the occasion. 

The Alberta brew was done in part to highlight malt, barley, hops and the haskap berries all grown around the province, as well as provide people an opportunity to learn more about the booming brewery businesses in their regions. 

Doef says Blindman has been participating in Open Farm Days for a number of years, but not specifically in this capacity. 

“The nice part of being a brewery and part of Open Farm Days is that we are actually open to the public all the time, with our taproom facilities and we offer tours regularly anyways,” he said. 

“For us to participate is really nice, but in comparison to other farms that don’t regularly open up to the public, we’re kind of set up for that inherently. It’s kind of a no-brainer for us to be a part of this.”

A huge variety of facilities and events are taking place on August 17th and 18th and you can plan your activities at albertafarmdays.ca.