THE "OLD FIREHALL"
The Old Firehall was built for Oliver’s Volunteer Fire Department in 1948. The firefighers built themselves a new fire station in 2000, and the "Old Firehall" was purchased and renovated in 2003, becoming the Wine Country Welcome Centre and Toasted Oak Wine Bar & Grill. Pappa’s Firehall Bistro now resides in the restaurant space, serving house-made recipes, craft beer, and local wine & cider.
While Sid studied at the Okanagan School of Business in Kelowna, BC, it was the evening’s self-guided beer education that taught him how to brew. He was fresh out of high school, so him and his friends were not quite old enough to buy beer yet, forcing them to brew their own in Sid's dorm room.
FOUNDED BY FATHER + SON
The idea to put a microbrewery in Oliver’s ‘Old Firehall’ was born of father and son, Jim and Sid Ruhland. Planning for the Firehall Brewery launch began in early 2011, and equipment installation began in July later that year. We heard a local bootlegger was selling his brewing system, and soon enough we were busy piping it into the Old Firehall’s cavernous bunker with the help of friends & family. For an inside look at the whole process, check out "Brewing a Brewery".The first batch was released at the end of March 2012, and since then we’ve been pumping out unfiltered, unpasteurized, & uncompromised artisan ales, again with much help from friends, family, a team of awesome staff.
FAMILY OWNED + OPERATED
The Firehall Brewery and "Beer Shop & Social" is a small, family operation, bunkered below the "Old Firehall" on Main Street in Oliver, British Columbia, Canada.
Centered downtown in the Wine Capital of Canada, we're in the unique position of being both the fuel for winemakers and the palate cleansers for winedrinkers. Known for its sunshine and natural beauty, the South Okanagan is the paradise where we've chosen to brew.
Owned and operated by the Ruhland family, we encourage you to make yourself feel at home in our social space, where we emphasize the importance of craft quality and personal relationships.
CROWDFUNDING THE BEER SHOP + SOCIAL
Despite steady business growth, there was something missing from the very beginning: a proper social space for visitors and locals to gather and interact with the brewers (and drink beer). So, in the spring of 2016, community generosity crowdfunded the creation of the Beer Shop & Social, now located beside the brewery on the alley-access, lower level of the Old Firehall.