In the centre of Yeast Van is Parallel 49, one of the biggest craft breweries of Vancouver.  Having opened in 2012, they have grown significantly in a short amount of time and continue to be one of the leading craft breweries of Vancouver.  With a plethora of brews coming out of the woodwork every day, their taproom has over 40 different beers on tap at any given time.  Their distinctive art design and beer names, combined with their approach to creating beers from the crazy to the delicious, you can be sure their venture into Japan will be excellent.

“You know we have marketing and we have sales guys and everything, but when it comes down to there’s an idea for a beer and we need to make it taste great, it’s Hiroshi and me working together to kind of get at the idea of what the beer is gonna taste like, and then actually get it into a glass so it tastes like that.”

-Graham With

Parallel 49 Brewing

Parallel 49 has long established their main lineup with their Craft Lager being the biggest mainstay.  Their main brewery has been running strong and in 2018 they added several huge tans outside the main brewery to meet demand.  While the mainstays are doing very well, they also have a small pilot system run by Hiroshi Tsukada.  The entire brewery comes up with different ideas for different beers but it is on both Graham and Hiroshi to figure out how to make it become a reality.

Interview Day

Taiheiyogan went to Parallel 49 to talk with both Graham With and Hiroshi Tsukada and they were both very friendly and accommodating.  Their chemistry was evident from the beginning with Hiroshi’s humble Japanese side allowing Graham to shower praise on him.  We had a couple beers in their new beer garden where events will be taking place weekly.  It was a joy to be able to see how they get along so well with each other.