Military draft: Beer launched on P.E.I. to support veterans

A brewery in Montague is offering customers pints with a purpose.

Bogside Brewing has launched Lighthorse Lagered Ale and $1 from every pint sold will go to The Last Post Fund.

The fund is a Canadian non-profit organization and registered charity founded in 1909. Its mission is to ensure that no veteran is denied a dignified funeral and burial.

"We thought it was a great idea," said Kevin Trainor, a retired warrant officer with the Canadian Army who helped work on the beer along with several other veterans.

"We jumped on board, we came out here, we put our heads together, had a few tastes. Everything was delicious, we told him what we really liked and he took it from there."

David McGuire, the owner of the brewery, said the response to the new beer has been "phenomenal."

Last Saturday the brewery had a launch event. McGuire said lots of veterans showed up, even one from the Second World War.

"We sold 180 pints of beer in one night, which is definitely a record for a new beer launch for us, which is great. So we are off to a good start," he said.

McGuire said there have been a lot of people contacting the brewery interested in trying the beer or wanting to know more.

Rolls off the tongue

The name of the beer, Lighthorse Lagered Ale plays to the Island's "long military history," Trainor said.

"After 1955 I believe there was the P.E.I. Highlanders, which is infantry and the P.E.I. Lighthorse, which is mounted cavalry," he said.

Those two groups eventually combined to become what is the P.E.I. Regiment today, he said. The veterans that helped make the beer with McGuire have a cavalry background and Trainor said that is why the name Lighthorse was chosen.

"We just thought it rolled off the tongue, it rolls back over the tongue even better," he said.

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