NEW BEER

2013 has been an exciting year for the Firehall Brewery, and it’s not even half way done! It began with bringing a new beer to market – the Backdraft Blonde Ale – which has been so successful that we can hardly keep up! The beer is a crisp, clean, clear session beer that tastes like “CHEERS!” It can be found on-tap in Oliver at the Firehall Bistro, Murphy’s Irish Sports Bar & Grill, the Oliver Elks Lodge, the Wolfe’s Den at Nk’mip Canyon Desert Golf Course, the Ye Olde Welcome Inn out at Gallagher Lake, and in Penticton at Shades on Main and the Kettle Valley Station Pub. But no one went through more Backdraft Blonde Ale during the beginning of 2013 than the Baldy Bar up at Mt. Baldy Ski Area.

GOLD MEDAL

A couple weeks after our 1-year anniversary in late March, we brought all three of our beers to the Okanagan Fest-of-Ale in Penticton, and walked away with a Gold Medal for our Holy Smoke Stout – Best of Class (category: “Stouts and Porters”). This created a surge of public interest in the Holy Smoke Stout, and sales have extended as far as Kelowna, where it is on-tap at the Train Station Pub. The Holy Smoke Stout is brewed with a portion of barley that has been dried the traditional way over an aged-beechwood fire. This imparts a pleasant natural smokiness. The Holy Smoke Stout is very dark because some of the barley is roasted, just like coffee, adding coffee/dark-chocolate flavours. The Holy Smoke Stout is available in the South Okanagan at the Firehall Bistro in Oliver, the Diamond Steakhouse in Osoyoos, and the Elite Restaurant in Penticton.

INCREASING PRODUCTION

After the great exposure gained at the Okanagan Fest-of-Ale, we’ve had to increase production to keep up with demand. The new restaurant at Manteo Resort in Kelowna, called Smack Dab, has ordered at least one keg of our Stoked Ember Ale every single week since they opened this spring. And general beer consumption has increased considerably across the board since the snows have melted from the valley bottom, which is keeping this Brew Chief jumping in and out of rubber brewing boots all day! More pubs and restaurants in the Okanagan Valley are getting interested in putting our beer on tap, so stay tuned for these new locations as they are announced on our website www.firehallbrewery.com and our Facebook.

BRIGHT FUTURE

And the time has finally come that you will be able to purchase Firehall Brewery beer from a Cold Beer & Wine Store! Limited lots of 650ml bottles will be released to exclusive liquor stores, primarily in the South Okanagan. All three of our beers –Backdraft Blonde, Stoked Ember Ale, & Holy Smoke Stout – will be made available this summer! Make sure to check back here on Southokanaganphotos.ca for information about our 650ml bottles, as well as information about the upcoming Back Alley Concert Series at the “Old Firehall” on Main Street in Oliver, sponsored by Firehall Brewery.

Submitted by Sid Ruhland