Island hops on beer festival bandwagon

Organizers of the province's new beer festival hope to debut a beer using Island-grown hops.

The first annual Prince Edward Island Beer festival is scheduled for Sept. 24, featuring more than 50 brews including a number from the region.

Campbell Webster, organizer of the festival, says a new beer from P.E.I. should be ready in time for the event.

"We're talking to a group that's developing a new beer with hops grown here. So they've been working with great care over a fair number of years getting ready to launch a new beer,"  Webster said.

Patrons will be able to choose from two tasting sessions, he said, featuring regional, national, international and micro-brewed beers.