Canadian brewery to deliver beer via bald eagle

OREANDA-NEWS. May 23, 2016. Thought there was nothing more American than Budweiser temporarily renaming its beer America? (Or its parody, 'Murica?) We've been one-upped, fellow Yankees, and by those hockey-lovers north of the border.

Phillips Brewing on Canada's Vancouver Island announced a contest, Beer From a Bird, in which the winner will have the company's new pilsner delivered by a bald eagle on June 5. (Only British Columbia and Alberta residents can enter, sorry, everyone else.)

Four-year-old Hercules, who looks as proud as Muppet Sam the Eagle about the whole deal, will handle the delivery, which will occur at Phillips' patio in downtown Vancouver, B.C.

"He won't be flying that far," said Robyn Radcliffe of Pacific Northwest Raptors, the group that's partnered with the brewery. "Half a kilometer, probably. It's sort of up to him."

What might not be up to him: If the flight is allowed. CTV News reports that "eagles (at Hercules' facility) can only be free-flown for bird abatement or educational flight demonstration," and the provincial government might clip the stunt's wings. Come on, Canada! Let the eagle soar.