What do people in their 20s love? Beer. What do people in their 20s not particularly love? Voting. Where some might see an indictment of an apathetic generation, Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co. has spotted a business opportunity.

On Oct. 27, Election Day, the small suds purveyor and the marketing company PUBLIC will have agents stationed at polling places throughout Ward 19 – a hive of hipsters and young professionals – giving out bottle cap coupons worth one free beer at participating bars.

“Beer tastes better when you can feel good about drinking it,” said Steve Beauchesne, co-founder of the Ottawa-area brewery (it’s based in tiny Vankleek Hill, Ont.)

Besides making the brewery known, the stunt is meant to encourage civic participation in a ward with historically middling voter turnout. The constituency has lagged behind the city average in each of the last three municipal elections.

Ward 19 – a huge swathe of downtown that reaches to Dupont St. in the north and as far south as the lake, and from Dovercourt Rd. in the west to Bathurst St. in the east – contains some of the city’s best watering holes. Voters can cash in their coupons at three such establishments: The Caledonian, Opera Bob’s, and Brazenhead.

In turn, they will receive one bottle of Ballot Beer, a recipe specially crafted for the occasion. Beauchesne described it as a hoppy drink with a “nice malt backbone” and a fruity aroma. It is 4.1 per cent alcohol.

“It’s not going to be so strong that you have four sips and you’re done,” he said.

Councillor Mike Layton (open Mike Layton's policard) , running for re-election in the ward, has mixed feelings about the initiative.

“It’s certainly a unique and an interesting way to get people to get out and vote,” he said, noting he enjoys a pint of Beau’s Lug Tread ale from time to time.

But he added that Torontonians should swarm the polls with or without boozy inducement.

“People shouldn’t need an incentive to go out and vote. It’s our democratic right, and people fought to maintain it,” Layton said.

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