If you've ever been out to the Agassiz/Harrison area of BC and dug into the local history a little bit you'll know that this region was once home to a booming hop growing industry. For 60 years it thrived but as times changed corn, hay and dairy farms replaced the once-prosperous hop farms in the area. Harrison Beer Fest was launched a couple of years ago as a nod to this and it's safe to say that the craft beer movement is holding strong in our province.
Enter our friend Mark Brand and his award winning, Gibsons-based brewery, Persephone. They're hoping to bring back locally produced hops and they've launched THIS CAMPAIGN where you can help make it happen. Beyond the obvious economic upsides to producing this key ingredient to beer in BC is a social component; one of the partners in the hop farm is a charity that employs people with developmental disabilities on the Sunshine Coast. Another upside is that if you contribute you'll get BEER! So hop to it. Visit the campaign, see what they're up to, then benefit from the perks they're offering for pitching in to help make it happen.
