Monday Special Blend
Monday September 20th, 2010 with Colin Carson
Polaris Music Prize Shortlist

The Polaris Music Prize honouring the best full-length Canadian album will be presented tonight in Toronto. The award, modeled after Britain's Mercury Music Prize, is given annually regardless of sales or genre and is voted on by an independent selection of judges. Today's show highlights 6 of the 10 musical acts up for top prize. My Guest this morning was Tim Wickens, a farmer from Pontiac County in Shawville, QC. Tim is one of only a handful of local farmers leading a hops revival in the Ottawa Valley. Hops are the key flavour ingredient in beer and as of this week, Les Brasseurs du Temps microbrewery has made available the first batch of beer using Tim's locally grown hops. I talked with Tim about the hops revival and what it means for the industry.