Beer festival to honor building of Erie Canal

ALBANY, N.Y. >> The Albany Institute of History & Art, 125 Washington Ave., will host the sixth annual Hud-

son Valley Hops from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday.

This fun, regional craft beer tasting event is a fundraiser for the museum and an opportunity for the community to sample the flavors of Capital Region craft brewers, see brewing and distilling artifacts from the museum’s collection, meet industry experts and receive a commemorative glass. The theme of this year’s event is the start of construction of the Erie Canal in 1817.

In recognition of the generations of Irish who were involved in canal construction, three breweries will bring Irish Red Ales to share, including Adirondack Brewery, Chatham Brewing and Brown’s Brewing. Brown’s collaborated with revered Albany brewmaster Bill Newman to create O’Bill’s, which pays homage to the thousands of New York-bound Irish immigrant laborers who landed at Albany’s Ferry Street docks in the early 19th century and took hard labor jobs digging out the canal with picks and shovels.

“This beer is for them,” Newman said in a news release announcing the event. “Be sure to hoist a sample … and toast the Irish and their industry that made a mark on our waterways that lives on to this day.”

Guests will also enjoy period music by George Ward, the designated balladeer of the Erie Canal, and a talk about the history of beer by William Schaefer.

Tickets are $30 for museum members and $35 for the general public in advance, $35 for members and $40 for the public at the door. Free parking is available in the museum’s lot at the corner of Elk and Dove streets. To buy tickets or for more information, visit www. albanyinstitute.org or by calling 463- 4478, ext 412.