While Vancouver has a huge craft beer culture, the western parts of the city, like Fairview and Kitsilano, have mostly been left dry.
Until now.
For the first time, Brewing August opened their doors at 1614 West 3rd Ave. last weekend as part of a soft open. While they're walking distance from Granville Island and the eponymous brewery there, Brewing August is just a little more west.
They'll be back at it this long August weekend.
The trio behind the new brewery and tap room are Tate Lillies, Travis Rea and Adam Jones, newcomers to the brewing scene and friends.
"We're starting up kinda bare-bones," says Lillies. "The idea behind the brand is a beach vibe, summer vibe; August in Vancouver. We're trying to set up a brewery around that."
The new space, which they believe used to be used for car detailing, is fast becoming their own little brewery where Rea can brew their four mainstays and new experiments in a six-tank system. Currently, they're brewing batches at Patina Brewing in Port Coquitlam, but their own system should be operational shortly, it's just being put together.
"We want that vibe of hanging out at the beach in the summer, in BC, in Vancouver," Lillies says. "As we started looking at what we wanted the brand to be, we all have families, we enjoy breweries that don't feel like a bar, it feels more like a community gathering space."
Rea, the head brewer, will be creating beers that fit that vibe as well, with lagers and IPAs. The blonde IPA has already proven popular.
"Being about August and summer and beach and picnic, typically everything is going to be on the lighter end," he says. "We may do a darker beer in the winter, we'll see."
As Lillies says, the taproom is bare-bones right now. Newly built picnic tables are the seating of choice along windows on both floors. Due to a quirk of policy and the space they have, they've fenced in a section upstairs.
"We decided to have a petting zoo upstairs," Lillies says, laughing. "No, we're limited in the amount of licensed space we have. We wanted to keep it as open as possible and use space that was inviting."
Regulars will see an evolution of the space they say, with new design elements being added as the space develops.
In keeping with the warm weather feel, Las Autenticas will be making food in a nearby commissary kitchen to order, with food being delivered to tables in Brewing August. That means the classic beer and tacos are a real option.
This weekend they'll be open from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday near the corner of 3rd Avenue and Fir Street.
