Amidst the dramatic and tragic events in Fort McMurray this past month, I have been wondering about the fate of the city’s only brewpub, Wood Buffalo Brewing. Obviously in the grand scheme of things, the effects on a brewery/restaurant are fairly unimportant – although of grave importance to the staff and owners of the pub.

With residents moving back in and the residents beginning to rebuild their lives, it seemed a good time to check-in and see what happened to the brewery and where it goes from here. I had a chat with Brett Ireland, one of the co-owners of Bear Hill Brewing Company, the chain of which Wood Buffalo is part.

Located downtown, the brewery was spared by the fire, but many questions remained about the condition of the restaurant, the beer they had in tanks and, of course, when they can open their doors again.

The headline news is that they are back brewing as of today. They are officially up and running again, which is great news. The restaurant remains closed for now as they deal with smoke and water damage and restock supplies, but they hope to re-open by the end of next week. Staffing issues also are top of mind as employees slowly work their way back home and those who have decided not to return need to be replaced.

Bear Hill continued paying all of its affected staff during the closure and for many found spots in their other locations temporarily. However, despite some insurance coverage, the lost revenue will take a big bite out of the brewery, at least in the short term.

The brewery lost 500 litres of a beer they were in the middle of brewing the day they evacuated, but Ireland tells me that, almost miraculously, all of the beer in the tanks are fine. Ireland speculates that the insulation protected them against the high temperatures during the height of the fire.

Ireland points out that they had some smoked malt stored on their patio (to not contaminate their other malt stores), which is now extra smoky. They are not yet sure what to do with it but are toying with an extra-rauch rauchbier.

While they rebuild their beer stocks, Ireland says seven Alberta breweries (Alley Kat, Yellowhead, Big Rock, Brewsters, Tool Shed, Village and Wildrose) are donating a couple of kegs each to serve at the re-opened bar. He says all proceeds from the sale of the donated beer will go to the Fort McMurray Firefighters Relief Fund.

Fort McMurray is slowly rebuilding. I can’t think of a better sign of its comeback than the return of locally-produced beer.

[edited to add missing seventh brewery.]