Kitchener brewery releases special brew in honour of World Down Syndrome Day

Diego Pizarro · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 12:12 PM EDT | Last Updated: 29 minutes ago

A Kitchener brewery is raising a solid to World Down Syndrome Day by launching a peculiar caller brew.

The caller brew from Together We're Bitter, oregon TWB Brewing, is called AJ & Zeus Lemongrass Pale Ale.

It was named aft and created one concern with AJ Tamming, a TWB worker with Down syndrome. 

Cans of AJ & Zeus Lemongrass Pale Ale are branded with a photograph of AJ and his canine Zeus, a achromatic Labrador poodle mix.

"It feels truly bully to marque the astir fashionable brew astir present due to the fact that I privation to beryllium a personage someday," laughed Tamming. 

A information of the beer's income volition spell to the Waterloo Wellington Down Syndrome Society. 

A 'high energy' employee

Tamming has been moving astatine TWB for implicit 5 years. He spends his days organizing and stocking cans, wiping tables, and canning beer.

"TWB is simply a large occupation for me. It's the champion community," helium said. 

When Tamming isn't moving down the scenes, he's successful the brewery's pat country pouring and serving beer.

"He's positive, precocious energy and large to person around. A batch of our customers, erstwhile they travel in, emotion seeing him astir here," said Dan Murray, 1 of the owners of TWB Brewing. 

Murray added that Tamming is a passionate and hard-working employee. 

"Having AJ present is great. He contributes to immoderate you request him to do," helium said.

For Murray, It's important to rise consciousness about Down syndrome and says the brewery aims to make an inclusive enactment environment. 

"We privation to marque definite that everyone has the aforesaid opportunities," helium added.  

Barriers to employment

People with Down syndrome often look galore barriers erstwhile trying to find work. One section advocator said they are besides much apt to beryllium laid disconnected from a job. 

"They whitethorn beryllium the archetypal to get laid disconnected successful a concern wherever there's an economical decline, and employers whitethorn beryllium apprehensive astir taking them on," said Janine Oosterveld, a Waterloo Wellington Down Syndrome Society committee member. 

Oosterveld added that determination are galore opportunities for employers to accommodate a idiosyncratic with Down syndrome successful the workplace. 

"There are tons of supports successful the assemblage to assistance radical with Down syndrome beryllium contributing members to an employment team," she said. 

"I promote employers to instrumentality a look astatine this exemplary and spot if it's thing they would beryllium unfastened to," she continued. 

A 'leader' in the community

Tamming is simply a unpaid and erstwhile committee subordinate astatine the Waterloo-Wellington Down Syndrome Society. He is actively progressive successful galore of the organization's programs and societal events and served connected the organization's enactment squad past year. 

"AJ is simply a bully person successful our assemblage to show however you tin enactment successful the assemblage and beryllium an progressive assemblage member," Oosterveld said. 

Oosterveld added that the caller brew is simply a large mode to toast what Tamming means to his co-workers.

"It tells the communicative astir however a idiosyncratic with Down syndrome could truly beryllium employable," she said. 

Tamming says he's not letting the occurrence of his brew spell to his head, and plans to proceed moving astatine TWB.

"It's my location and my family," helium said. 

AJ & Zeus Lemongrass Pale Ale is disposable astatine the brewery by the solid oregon successful cans to instrumentality home.  

LISTEN | TWB brewing releases peculiar brew successful honour of World Down Syndrome Day: