33 Acres of Ocean and Life
It’s no surprise that one of Joshua Charles’ flagship beers is named after the ocean. With trips this year to Haida Gwaii in the Queen Charlotte Islands, Australia, California and Southern Vancouver Island, surfing is a huge passion and offers a lot of inspiration.
Walking through the front door of the space, you can’t help but be in awe of the bright, minimal, clean and for lack of a better word – beautiful aesthetic. It really is stunning, so it made sense to learn that Josh was a designer working in LA, before quitting the grind and moving back to Vancouver to pursue his passion and set out on his own. And it’s been quite the adventure.
Josh designed the space himself (definitely worth peeking beyond the tasting room as the brewery is just as pristine) and he and his team spent months building it with their own hands. The name 33 Acres actually represents “success through hard work” and is woven throughout everything they do.
Everything is done in-house by the team, they have a resident Brewmaster, Josh takes all their photos you see on their instagram and blog, they host group tastings (which take place on a gorgeous wooden table they made themselves) and most recently they’ve started bottling their own beer, available at over a dozen local liquor stores.
We showed up to take some photos on a Saturday morning and couldn’t resist the smell of fresh-baked homemade waffles (which pairs wonderfully with beer by the way – both were delicious). Not a bad start to our day. Looking around we admire the gorgeous details – the pegboard menu, the simplicity of white-dipped taps, the old timey beer fridge – it all provides a fitting background for the full house of people enjoying their Saturday morning. It’s this exact neighbourhood feeling that Josh says has been fundamental to their success.
We all know local watering holes have been community hubs for years, but this is really something more. Maybe it’s the food trucks parked outside that rotate each lunch and dinner, maybe it’s the neighbourhood (the obvious allure of Mount Pleasant) and maybe it’s the refreshing idea that it isn’t a bar but a brewery, which we think tells a story and resonates with those seeking an experience and not just a drink.
When asked about the name of another one of his flagship beers, Josh answers “it’s easy, 33 Acres of Life is our California Common, it’s a mainstay, it’s always there, it’s…life.” We couldn’t agree more, in fact, surfing and beer sound like a pretty great life to us.
33 Acres is located at 15 West 8th Ave, Vancouver BC, stop in for a tasting or check our their website 33acresbrewing.com for stockists and info about their offerings.
