The Firehall Brewery participated in the 2013 Okanagan Fest-of-Ale in Penticton, BC this past weekend (April 5th & 6th), and returned back home to Oliver, BC with a Best of Class Gold Medal for its Holy Smoke Stout. The Holy Smoke Stout was anonymously analyzed by professional judges in the “Stout/Porter” category, and the medal was awarded near the end of the festivities on Saturday afternoon. The Okanagan Fest-of-Ale is a two-day ticketed event at the Penticton Trade & Convention Center, featuring breweries, cideries, and food vendors offering their products to public samplers in exchange for purchased tokens.
The Firehall Brewery attended the Okanagan Fest-of-Ale for its first time last year (2012), at which time the brewery was only 2 weeks old. It was awarded the People’s Choice award for Best Booth, likely due to the firefighter décor & outfits, as well as the youthful nature of the “Brew Crew”. At the time of this year’s Okanagan Fest-of-Ale, the Firehall Brewery was one year and one week old, and won its first beer award – the only beer award the brewery has applied for so far.
The Firehall Brewery has attended beer festivals as far as Victoria, BC, and has gained television& radio news exposure for itself (as the “Beer of Wine Country”) and the town of Oliver across the country. The craft beer industry has begun to boom in British Columbia during the last few years, coming a long way since the market was created only a few decades ago. The “Craft Beer Revolution” is not just growing in BC, but has been sweeping the globe, as beer drinkers are becoming educated about the brewing process and the beverage’s long history.
The Firehall Brewery is a small family-owned operation, managed by a father-son team, Jim& Sid Ruhland. Sid Ruhland is an Okanagan School of Business alumnus, now applying business theory to his home-brewing skills learned in the college dorms. The brewery is “draught-only”, meaning the beer is packaged solely into kegs for local distribution to restaurants, bars and pubs. 1.89L refillable glass jugs called “growlers” can be brought to or bought from the Firehall Brewery tasting room to be filled with draught beer to-go. There are currently plans to release limited “small lots” of 650ml bottles for exclusive distribution to local cold beer& wine stores. Tours are available by appointment.