La Cerveceria Astilleros may have just won a Gold Medal at the Canadian Beer Awards for their Salted Lime Lager, but they should be applauded for so much more than just their beer. Perseverance, adaptability and passion are just three characteristics that come to mind when listening to their story.
Andrew Doyle, founder of the brewery, is a wine guy. Owner of Lone Tree Cellars, his love of wine goes way back before beer. Andrew was born in Kamloops, BC, but moved to Leon in Guanajuato, Mexico, when he was 13 years old, where his mother taught English. He has a passion for Mexican culture, which comes through in so many aspects of the brewery. From Mexico, Andrew moved to Antofagasta, Chile, where his taste for wine developed and he became fluent in Spanish. While his friends drank beer, he realized a tetra pack of local Chilean red was much less expensive than a six-pack of beer, and Andrew caught the wine bug.
Returning to Canada in 1999 to attend the University of Victoria, he later started a wine agency and was selling some big-name BC wines. When winery ownership changed, he lost some key accounts, and rather than be at the mercy of corporate decisions, decided to produce his own wine to sell. In 2019, he began to look for lease space to build his winery. When his realtor showed him the old auto shop on Esplanade on the North Shore at the end of that year, he suggested to Andrew that while the upstairs could house the winery, the lower floor with its large garage doors would be perfect for a storefront brewery. Only a stone’s throw from the Lonsdale Shipyards, the idea for La Cerveceria Astilleros (Spanish for shipyards) was born.
Andrew convinced his friend, the owner of another brewery in Maple Ridge, to help him. His vision was to convert his love for Mexico into both the physical appearance of the space and what it produced. Despite the market popularity of IPA at the time, he wanted to make a more feminine style of beer, and have the decor to match it. He made a point, “Cerveceria is feminine, it needs a La in front of it”. Hand-painted blue and white tiles imported directly from Puebla cover many walls and mirrored on all of the beer labels. A majority of the staff are women (many originally from Mexico, including manager Cecilia Osorio who was born and raised in Puebla). A few men are family, such as Andrew’s brother Noah , assistant brewmaster. There is no formal kitchen, requiring food to be prepared offsite. Andrew’s brother in law TJ Conwi owns Ono Vancouver, a kitchen consulting company. Ono facilitates food recovery to reduce food waste, storing excess ingredients and creating dishes based on what is available. “No two tacos are going to be the same”, explains Andrew. “Somedays, there are surplus carrots, and the recipe incorporates that into its base”. Prepared in Ono’s commissary kitchen, the final products are assembled onsite at the brewery.
They launched their first beer, El Valle Salado, the salted lime lager, under contract in August 2019, before La Cerveceria’s opening. It took 42 one-litre batch attempts to get the right balance of lime and salt. They finally received their LCRB License in September 2020 and started to make it in-house. Renovations to the space took almost one year from signing the lease, and the brewery did not officially open its doors until December 2020, months into COVID. Ineligible for any grant programs as there was no revenue loss to report, Andrew and his team did what they had to do to survive and keep the lights on. They set up tables outside on the sidewalk, sold beer to go, and hung on.
The journey to get to the award has not been easy, but the beer is delicious. We watched people buying flats of cans as we sat in the tasting room. But Andrew explained that despite the assumption that selling cans in stores is a sign of success, canning is essentially a way to empty the tanks to make a new beer. “Beer sold onsite from the taps is the most profitable, but the tanks have to be empty to brew a new batch. We can run out of our salted lime and not have any more to sell for two days, which is what we try to avoid. To keep things moving, we can the rest of the tank and sell it here at the brewery and in liquor stores”.
Despite our mission to go to the brewery and try the award winner, we were fortunate to sample most current releases on tap. All the offerings were unique, flavourful and balanced, but the Paloma Grapefruit Lager and the Mexi-Cali Common Lager were two other standouts for my palate. We also had to sample the snacks, including both authentic tinga da pollo and carnitas tacos. The chips and salsa with chunky guacamole were perfect accompaniments to the beer. The entire experience transported us to a cantina in Mexico!
Aside from the success of the brewery, Andrew’s dream of a wine bar persists. Above La Cerveceria is his urban winery, Garden of Granite. Purchasing grapes through his wine world contacts, he produces five labels, including Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Rose, Malbec, and Syrah, with his first edition of Pinot Noir soon to be released. Fermentation tanks and oak aging barrels fill the back room while tables and chairs are scattered near the front for guests to sit and enjoy a glass during weekend open hours. His staff run most of the operations of both businesses, but Andrew continues to wear all the hats from winemaker to salesman. Kept incredibly busy developing, sustaining and growing his business, his boundless energy and enthusiasm were evident as he took the time to share his story, one of passion, perseverance and the ability to adapt.
