Let’s talk about Mac Beer. No, gentle reader, I’m not referring to the PBR swill that is enjoyed by hipsters while writing poetry on their fruit-logoed computing devices.
I refer instead to the state of local beer in the fire-ravaged city of Fort McMurray, which is just starting to reopen after the worst natural disaster in Canadian history.
Fort McMurray has been home to a brew pub called the Wood Buffalo Brewing Company since 2013, which was the fourth pub in the chain owned by Bear Hill Brewing.
You might recognize that chain by their other locations, including Banff Brewing, Jasper Park Brewing, and Last Best Brewing & Distilling in Calgary. Show them some love and support by patronizing their fine establishments while Fort Mac gets back on their feet. You might even see some of the staff displaced from Fort McMurray, as they work out of sister brewery locations until they can return home.
The Wood Buffalo brew pub is located in downtown Fort Mac, an area which was miraculously saved from the destruction that has seen so many of our fellow Albertans lose their homes and businesses.
While the brewery is still standing, there is extensive smoke damage, so they are still working hard at cleaning up so they can reopen. The head brewer is eagerly brewing up a delicious batch to greet the thirsty neighbours as they trickle back into town.
The 500 litre batch in progress when the call to evacuate came in was lost, but all the finished beer in tanks survived unscathed, thanks to the double-wall insulation on the copper and steel tanks.
Despite being competitors in a cutthroat market, seven other craft brewers in Alberta (Alley Kat, Big Rock, Brewsters, Tool Shed, Village, Wildrose, and Yellowhead) put their thoughts of filthy lucre aside to donate kegs of their own beer to Wood Buffalo, just to help keep the doors open and the taps flowing while they rebuild their beer stocks.
Wood Buffalo Brewing was touched by the show of solidarity, and announced that all proceeds from those sales will go to the local Firefighters Relief Fund.
In another outpouring of generosity, Yellowhead Brewing in Edmonton hosted a fundraiser last week called Cask-Aid, and a dozen Alberta craft breweries showed up with cask ales that were tapped and enjoyed, raising over $2400 for Fort Mac, with donations matched by the provincial and federal governments.
It is often said that great tragedies bring out the best in people; we saw this in Calgary during Floodageddon 2013, and we see it now with the outpouring of help in Fort McMurray.
Unsurprisingly, the people that make good beer are good people, and like other people who like good beer, which brings us a small ray of hope in an otherwise bleak situation.
Each brewery in the Bear Hill family has their own unique list of brews, but don’t be surprised if you see a few Wood Buffalo recipes produced at their sister operations during the upcoming months, as the Fort Mac brewery slowly struggles back to some semblance of normalcy.
My favourites are the Wood Buffalo Pale Ale and Black Gold Stout. In a nod to faltering oil prices, the Pale Ale is priced at 10% of the price of a barrel of oil, so you can at least drown your sorrows at a discount when economy takes a hit.
The Black Gold Stout is bursting with notes of chocolate and coffee from the dark roasted malts, and the heavy mineral content in Fort McMurray water makes for a creamy finish. At only 4.2% ABV, this is made in the style of a Dry Irish Stout, similar to the more famous Guinness, although this is slightly less bitter. Your humble narrator has been lucky enough to find it on tap in Edmonton, and hope springs eternal that it will show up in the Calgary area as well.
Until then, you can get the next best thing, by visiting their sister brewery in downtown Calgary. Last Best Brewing & Distilling is in the space formerly known as Brew Brothers, Amsterdam Rhino, Fox & Firkin, and a host of others over the years. Try the Dirty Bird Black Lager, an homage to the style that has long been a local favourite!
