Canada Day is just around the corner and while it is strangely in the very middle of the week, there will likely be a few beer consumed. So, just in time for the grand day I offer the latest prairie craft beer news round-up with all the news that has come across my path in the past couple weeks. As usual, no particular order, blah blah…

• Troubled Monk Brewing in Red Deer quietly opened the doors to its brewery and tasting room a couple weeks ago and is now serving its first batches at the room with some cans for off-sale. The first two beer are Golden Gaetz Golden Ale and Pesky Pig Pale Ale. I will be writing more about the launch of Troubled Monk shortly as there is more to tell.

• Paddock Wood, who have been so busy they are having difficulty keeping their website and social media updates, have a couple of interesting beer floating around these days. West Beast is a wheat strong ale and Altered Beast is – as they are doing a lot these days – a barrel-aged version. Both are in limited quantities.

• Calgary’s Tool Shed is out with beer brewed in collaboration with a Calgary homebrewer. Chris Nowlan’s ESB (Go Big or Go Homebrew) is, as the name applies an Extra Special Bitter. I am not sure if the “Go Big or Go Homebrew” is part of the name or the name of a burgeoning series with Tool Shed. Time will tell. Nowlan is a longtime homebrewer with so many medals around his neck I imagine he has back problems. The recipe tweaked for this colloboration is one of Nowlan’s first homebrew recipes. Available for a limited time.

• Also participating in the homebrewer collaboration theme is Regina’s Rebellion Brewing, who offer up Hanna’s Saison created with Dave Hanna, who won brewer of the year at ALES Open homebrew competition last year. For every pint sold, $1 will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Association.

• Sticking around Saskatchewan a bit longer, Prairie Sun Brewing in Saskatoon released two new seasonals a couple weeks ago. The first, Mad Hopper IPA, is the return of their IPA which highlights Centennial and Citra hops. The other, Forbidden Fruit, a Belgian ale with a mixture of fruits in it. The beer may be most notable for its label, in honour of Pride Month in Saskatchewan, which playfully turns the forbidden fruit Adam and Eve tale around a little bit.

• Wild Rose Brewing is out with a new summer seasonal. Hef-Nelson is a hopfenweizen, otherwise known as a hoppy hefeweizen. Brewed with New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops (hence the name), it clocks in at 45 IBUs, which is significantly higher than you would find in a regular hefeweizen.

• In is quickly becoming the worst-kept secret in town, ASBA Executive Director Greg Zeschuk has been quietly and slowing moving forward on a significant project to build a new multi-business complex in the Ritchie Mills area of town (you can read the most recent story on the project here). The building will house a butcher, a Transcend coffee location, a bike store and a new brewpub operated by Zeschuk. More details will be forthcoming in the months ahead (they haven’t even broken ground yet), but I figured everyone already knows about it, so when does it stop becoming news?

Finally, a couple of beer-related events of note this coming week:

• Craft Beer Market is hosting a Canada Day Beer Festival. From 2-6 on July 1, they will be pouring samples from a wide range of Canadian craft breweries. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door and include 20 sample tokens. $5 from every ticket goes to the Kids Cancer Care Foundation, so it is for a good cause, too boot (order tickets here).

• In what is equally a good cause on Friday Sherbrooke Liquor Store is hosting itse 3rd annual Urban Craft Beer & Food Festival in support of the Urban Spirits Rotary Club. It runs on July 3 from 6-10pm at the Alberta Aviation Museum (11410 Kingsway Avenue). Tickets are $25 and all proceeds go to the community activities of the Urban Spirits Rotary Cub. There will be a selection of craft beer from Canada and around the world as well as food trucks and a spotlight on craft bourbon.

That should keep you all busy for the next few weeks. I will post another round up when the mass of info is sufficient to warrant the time and space. Until then, enjoy responsibly.