Today we were invited to spend the day with Four Winds at their second and newest location: their Beach House in Tsawwassen’s Southlands.
Located right by the Point Robert’s boarder, this is a quickly expanding area with new homes and young families moving in. Opened August of last year they have seen much success, getting their footing with a year of seasonal experience. The Beach House is the perfect meeting spot with local home crafted brews, soft serve ice cream at the ready, a spacious dining room, and a sun soaked patio.
Four Winds is a family run operation established in 2013. Our day would be overseen by owners and operator brothers Adam and Brent. Together with their father and older brother that open the original brewery in Delta. The family’s dream was to open a second location in the community that they grew up in, and with this hub brewery and restaurant they have done just that.
Today our time started with a tour of their brewing operations in their self described showroom brewery. With its all-glass front it is designed to showcase what goes into their kegs. A smaller operation, they only produce enough here for their taps and cans to go. Although smaller in square foot, the Delta location has a larger brewery and is able to make enough beer to distribute throughout BC.
We were given a quick overview of the beer taking process as it pertains to their specialty of Czech style beers; which takes longer to brew, after lagers. They are proud that not many breweries engage in this method any more, let alone any local to BC.
This is coupled with their philosophy of “free(ing) the foam”. Whereas other beer brands pour and tap to minimize the amount of foam entering the glass, Four Winds goes out of their way to feature it. They are the only ones focusing on the foam, going so far as to import unique Czech style tap heads that fosters this. Using such a device requires proper training, which they have.
Here, we saw it in action with a taster of their popular selling Archetype Pilsner, dispensed right from the vat. Not a rocky foam, this does not collapse easy. It had a texture similar to latte foam, with its own taste. Despite the optics you aren’t getting less beer in glass, as when the foam dissipates it becomes beer to drink the regular way.
Their beers are small batch, making them a nibble operations. They pride themselves on sourcing ingredients within the area and as close to their area as possible. Hops from local farms, and plans to plant their own barely in the near future. They curate their hops for the ideal bitterness. Fun fact: hops offer natural sterilization through their microbial factor, keeping beer fresher for longer.
After the tour we got on to bikes and took a quick ride out to the near by Centennial Beach, a historical tourist attraction and a destination for the locals and visiting tourists alike.
The round trip allowed us to take in and appreciate the area and what was available for those residing in such a picturesque community.
At the beach we partook in a grazing picnic. Enjoying the waterside scenery as we snacked on charcuterie and enjoyed Four Winds beer from out of their branded cooler.
We had their entire canned collection to choose from, but definitely gravitated towards their dark lager.
Our Four Winds tour guides taught us the art of beer poking. The practice of using a heated fire stoker and plunging it directly into a cool glass of dark beer. This draws out the desired foam through the mixing of hot and cold. It caramelizes the beer like a marshmallows over the fire, adding flavour to the malt.
A fantastic trick to pull out at your next camping trip. It definitely made the beer smoother, as I had no problem chugging it down after the good poking.
We would eventually find our way back to their Beach House restaurant; to learn first hand how they focus on hospitality, sharing their passion for beer, food, and welcoming spaces.
With birch wood vaulted ceilings and a matching light wood bar, the entire side opens up and leads on to the patio; the perfect spot for their 1 year anniversary celebration in August.
As a group, we would try most of their menu family style. The following is in the order of how it arrived.
We started our sit down lunch with a pint of their Zephyr beer, an 8° Czech Light Lager at 3.2% alc./vol. A lighter brew that makes for a great opener with smooth floral and citrus notes.
We also tried their Tumbo, a more potent
Hazy Pale Ale at 5.5% alc./vol. This is a more modern offering that reminded us of candied peach ring with a creamy white cake personality. This one they actually wrote the description of before trying to craft it. Best described as a member of our party as a “Beautiful romance” of lemon grass and coconut, the more you drank, the more you got from if.
The Beach House and Friends is a Westcoast Lager that they brewed in collaboration with House of Funk. It isn’t on the menu yet, so it was a treat to be able to get a teaser taste of this bitter IPA with a touch of fruit now.
As for food we made our way through over 1/3 of their menu starting with a market selection of fresh B.C. Oysters, one of their best selling dishes, considering the lack of raw oysters in the immediate area. A platter for sharing served with beer mignonette, horseradish, fermented hot sauce, and lemon. On the larger and therefore brinier side, the house made beer dressing and spicy tang of hot sauce added nuance to the oysters.
The Burrata & Peach Moustarda did well to speak to the elevated direction of their menu. Familiar, quality ingredients re-spun in creative and tasty ways. Italian burrata, preserved peach mostarda, toasted hazelnuts, and basil; served with grilled sourdough. Spreadable smooth cheese, a slightly salty base for sweet fruit and pickled mustard. A great aperitif to whet the appetite.
My favourite dish was the “Hot” Oyster Mushrooms, I was not shy in grabbing the last from all the shared plates, claim in it as my own. Crispy cornmeal fried oyster mushrooms in an almond milk marinade; served with house made pickles, hot honey, and a parmesan dip. The corn meal added an extra crispy, fried chicken-like crunch. The fragrant dill a cooling and refreshing contrast in taste and texture. I want a whole serving now, writing about it.
The Wagyu Carpaccio was another refined dish that was nice to have out in the agricultural area of the Southlands; to not have to travel into town for something so formal. Peppercorn crusted Wagyu beef, pickled shallots, micro arugula, crispy capers, grana padano, and a grainy mustard aioli. Thinly sliced whispers of meat eaten with sourdough crostini as a base for substance and crunch.
I have never had stuffed Fried Olives before and was an instant fan. Castelvetrano olives, ricotta, parmesan, oregano, and lemon aioli. Less salty that a bowl of marinated olives in pit. More substantial with the mix of ingredients. This was another great snack to start the meal with.
They are proud of their Salt Spring Island Mussels so we tried both their available flavours in a white wine, garlic, and parsley sauce and the chorizo, tomato, and chili sauce. Both comes with a couple of pieces of sourdough for dipping. Between the two I prefer the tomato. I found it had more flavour and a better melding with the seafood with salt, tangy, and spicy bits. The white wine version was more on the garlicky side, with a broth you didn’t mind drinking spoonfuls of, like soup.
I was surprised by how much I liked their Harvest Salad with roasted squash, crispy Brussels sprouts, kale, little gem, toasted pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries; all dressed in a maple tahini dressing. A great mix of textures and flavours to keep things interesting. I am not one to order a salad at a restaurant, but found this offered a nice side to change of pace with, allowing a seamless break from other more pungent dishes.
The Ribeye Steak was pre-sliced for easy sharing. 13oz Macleod’s Leap Beef, grilled broccolini, buttery mashed potatoes, cafe de Paris butter. A classically done, medium rare steak, on the fattier side. The compound butter is what gives it most of its seasoning, allowing the flavour of the red meat to come through.
The Fish and Chips was another familiar casual restaurant classic that they did well. A 6oz beer-battered, line caught ling cod. Accompanied by tartar, lemon, and house fries. Golden brown and delicious fried fish, but it was the tartar sauce that set this dish apart. Whipped to thick with hand cut slices of cornichon, that gave the dip an extra pop of character. The fries were also very memorable in the perfect texture, with good amount of seasoning, and great as is.
Our last savoury dish was the Chicken Caesar Schnitzel sandwich. Sadly, majority of us were full and unable to enjoy some thing so hearty. Lucky for me, I got to take most of this home to enjoy as leftovers. Panko parmesan crusted chicken breast, little gem caesar, crispy bacon, and plenty of parm; all between a sesame brioche baguette, with more fries. A little dry, this could have used an additional aïoli or even mayo, maybe a dip on the side that could have been used for both the sandwich and fries. A solid lunch on the go option, but a little underwhelming, considering everything we had above.
And thankfully, we saved enough room for dessert. The Beach House advertises their own soft serve ice cream machine. You can enjoy a cup as is, but is more fun as the base for one of their creative parfaits. Each centred around the more milky than vanilla soft serve, garnished with syrups, cream, and crunchy bits to accent it.
The Toasted Meringue is a play on a baked Alaska with torched meringue, strawberry compote, and vanilla ice cream. Fun to dig in to and uncover what lies benefit the mound of cream.
The Butterscotch Budino is silky Italian pudding topped with toasted hazelnuts, chantilly cream, and feuilletine.
And Milk & Honey utilized real local honey and been pollen over the soft serve, in addition to olive oil and Vancouver Island sea salt. This was my favourite of the three.
In summary, the Four Wind Beach House is a welcome and much needed addition to the community. Definitely worth driving out to. Enjoy lunch at their restaurant or patio, then grab a six pack to take to the beach to enjoy there.
Four Winds Beach House
6350 Market Ave, Delta, BC V4L OB1
(604) 940-2985
fourwindsbrewing.ca
