Firehall Brewery : Mutual Aid Whisky Barrel Stout

Firehall Brewery : Mutual Aid Whisky Barrel Stout Review

What’s the advantage of having a distillery so close to a brewery? The opportunity to collaborate, but also to take advantage of recently emptied whisky barrels! And that is exactly what Sid Ruhland at Firehall Brewery did. This is the second time that barrels were used from Dubh Glas Distillery and the assistance of artisan distiller Grant Stevely came in handy to create a very limited release. A few years back it was just a one-barrel release of the Holy Smoke Stout, and once emptied was returned and then filled with a single malt whisky!

In January of 2023, Sid was lucky to be lent three barrels from Dubh Glas and filled them up with his stout that aged for a month. This was then bottled and kegged one month later.

The appearance of this beer is all stout – dark black, with a tan-coloured foam that slowly dissipates. With that first whiff, you can really smell the whisky and a hint of vanilla. As the ale warms up a bit, the flavours of caramel, toffee, light chocolate, and of course the whisky comes through. This may be a 9% beer, but it is smooth and despite the upfront booziness is actually quite easy to drink.

There are only 10 cases of this very limited release available, and only in the Okanagan area, so if you get a chance to buy it, don’t pick up just one bottle – get at least two, and let the second one sit until stout season in the fall. It will be worth it.