Within hours of the news that Fort McMurray was being evacuated, Mark Zemlak of Boiling Oar was on the phones and email talking to other Calgary breweries trying to work out ideas of how they could help. They had talked about a collaboration brew, but wanted to move faster than that.

A group of five Calgary breweries – Boiling Oar, Big Rock, Wild Rose, Village and Last Best – are banding together for a fundraising night at Craft Beer Market this Friday, May 13 from 3pm to 8pm. During those hours the sales of beer from those breweries will be donated to the Red Cross relief efforts for Fort McMurray evacuees. Representatives from each brewery will be present to talk to patrons and encourage additional donations.

Obviously donating beer sales to Fort Mac relief is a relative small initiative in what will be a very big operation to make the city safe to live again and support the displaced residents in the meantime. I think it also shows the spirit of Alberta craft brewers – and Albertans in general – that their first thoughts were “how can we help?”

So if you are in Calgary make a point of dropping by for a pint on Friday, think for a moment about what it must be like to be a Fort Mac citizen today, and consider topping up your beer donation with some cash from your wallet.

There are rumours of other beer-related fundraisers around the province. I will get the word out as things are confirmed.