A cold glass of Saskatchewan: It’s craft beer week

It may be as close to taking a swig of Saskatchewan as it gets.

May 3-8 is Saskatchewan Craft Beer Week. Local companies put their suds together each year and come up with a special beer in the spirit of community and collaboration.

This year’s beer is appropriately enough called Resilience.

When COVID-related public health measures forced many businesses to close — including taprooms, bars and restaurants — smaller brewers helped each other out.

“We were sharing packaging supplies and ingredients, lending each other access to canning lines (and) our members even launched a home-delivery service within weeks of the shutdown,” Mark Heise, president of the Saskatchewan Craft Brewers Association (SCBA), said in a release.

“The response from craft beer fans has been overwhelming, with so many people asking how they can help us out.”

Resilience features hops from JGL Shepherd Farms near Moosomin and malted wheat donated by Prairie Malt of Biggar.

Proceeds from the beer’s sale will help local brewers within the SCBA expand capacity.