Two Pillars Brewery
Two Pillars Brewery
Connecting culture through beer and food
At Two Pillars Brewery, beer is more than just a drink, it is a way to bring people together. The local distillery and tavern was founded on the idea that food and drinks can connect people, regardless of where they come from.
The name “Two Pillars” represents the two owners and the different cultures they each bring to the business. Boaz Leung is from Hong Kong, while Jacob May was born in the UK before spending nine years living in Thailand.
Although their backgrounds are different, the pair discovered a shared passion while working together in Calgary as car salesmen. What began as a hobby brewing beer and sharing with friends eventually turned into a business built around the universal language of food and drinks.
Belgian-Style
For Leung, his time in Hong Kong helped shape the brewery’s identity. According to him, many products in Hong Kong were imported, particularly from the UK, as a result local food and beverages were heavily influenced by outside cultures. That inspiration led Leung and May to embrace Belgian-style brewing.
Belgian beer follows the same basic brewing process as other beers but places greater emphasis on yeast, creating more depth and complexity of flavour. According to Leung, making beer itself is straightforward, but making exceptional beer is where the challenge begins.
The brewing process
Brewing starts by soaking grains for several days before drying them to create malt. The malt is the crushed, soaked in warm water and strained to produce a sugary liquid known as wort. After boiling, yeast is added, feeding on the wort and producing alcohol.
Leung said that small changes in fermentation conditions, particularly temperature, influence how the yeast behaves and ultimately change the beer’s flavour profile.
“I believe there is a different time for different kinds of beer. When it is hot out I think lagers are the best, when it’s more cold Belgian malty beers are the best,” said Leung.
Seasonal brewing allows Two Pillars Brewery to rotate its menu throughout the year while showcasing different Belgian-inspired styles. Among the most popular offerings are the brewery’s original Golden Strong ale and its Wit, a bright, orange-zesty beer suited for summer weather.
The brewery is also expanding beyond traditional beer with hard sparkling lemonades, ready-to-drink cocktails and half juice, half beer beverages to appeal to a broader audience.
Adding the tavern
The owners soon realized that beer alone was not enough to accomplish their vision.
“We found that having only a product when we first started or beer, we couldn’t really do what we intended to do. So that’s why we decided that we needed a space. So when we have a space, people can actually connect through drinks and food,” said Leung.
That vision led to the addition of a tavern, where customers can enjoy house-made dishes such as beef stew, homemade pretzels and cheese platers alongside the brewery’s drinks.
“I hope that more people discover different beer because I find a lot of people especially non-beer drinkers, when they say they don’t like beer they may only be referring to one kind of beer, they will say its bitter but not all beer is bitter,” said Leung.
As Two Pillar Brewery continues to evolve, its focus remains rooted in connection. What started as a shared hobby between two friends has become a space where culture, food and beer come together.
Like this article?
