In doing some research the other day for the story on possible changes to the mark-up rates, I stumbled across a little tidbit of information worthy of following up. It appears – and I have since confirmed – that Fort McMurray is about to get its first brewpub – Wood Buffalo Brewing Company.

Brett Ireland (owner of Jasper Brewing and Banff Avenue Brewing) and partners are in the process of setting up the brewhouse and will soon be pumping out new beer for the thirsty denizens of Fort Mac. The pub will be located on the corner of Morrison Street and Franklin Avenue in the former Primary Care Network building. It is spacious (over 10,000 sq. ft. – almost the size of their other two pubs combined) and will be fitted with a 15 barrel brewhouse.

Asked whether Fort McMurray was ready for locally brewed craft beer, Ireland told me he thinks “Fort McMurray gets misunderstood as a blue collar, rough and tumble place. It is more sophisticated that we think. With all the extra cash around, and all the travel by oil industry people, it means they have more opportunities for exposure to craft beer.”

For now, the line-up will be similar to Jasper, but they plan on tailoring the beer to fit the demands of Fort McMurray residents. “We will stick to our principles of four key ingredients and Fort McMurray water,” says Ireland (he says the water is fantastic for brewing).

The arrival of the brewing equipment sparked quite a buzz in the city, resulting in some unexpected media coverage (including this story in the local paper).

Ireland was reluctant to name an opening date – as there are still some technical steps to go through – but it should be before the new year. Stay tuned!

In other news, Calgary upstart Village Brewing, who opened last year, has announced it is now bottling its line-up of beer. Their three beer – Blonde, Blacksmith India Black Ale and Wit White Wheat Ale – will now be available in 330 ml bottles packaged in 4-packs and 12-packs.

They plan on selling them in select Calgary liquor stores. Alas, at this time they will not make their way northward (or east or west), as the folks at Village want to emphasis local community first. I can totally respect that. It just means if you want to sample their wares, you need to make the trek down highway 2 or across highway 1.

Village has also recently added more fermenters to their ever-growing brew space. They added a new fermenter just last week, after other additions earlier in the year. I suspect we will be hearing more from Village very soon.