On Thursday, Parallel 49 Brewing (1950 Triumph Street) celebrated its fourth anniversary in style: with a fiesta-themed back alley party, tacos, and of course, the launch of an exciting new beer.

Back in 2008, Parallel 49 was but a twinkle in the eyes of three of its owners. When Mike Sleeman, Anthony Frustagli, and Nick Paladino opened up everyone's favourite Commercial Drive craft beer hub, St. Augustine's, starting up a craft brewery in East Van quickly became the next thing on their to-do list.

Four years later, they recruited the likes of well-known homebrewer Graham With and experienced beer salesman Michael Tod, and their beer-making adventure began.

Since the brewery first opened in 2012, 62 different varieties of beer have come through the doors, including 14 seasonals, 26 rarities, 12 collaboarations with other breweries, five barrel-aged brews, and five flagship beers.

Complete with quirky artwork and even weirder names, Parallel 49 is known throughout the local craft beer community as a brewery that isn't afraid to push boundaries. Take Corn Hops, for example, a corn and malt-based Imperial IPA, or the oak whiskey barrel-aged Braggot, a blend of beer and mead. It's also the only local brewery we've ever seen release a Finnish sahti (Sahti Claws, a great winter brew).

The brewery's newest concoction, ¡Orale! is a salted lime tequila Gose, and it tastes exactly the way it sounds. We stopped by to check out the party, but mostly to taste their delicious new brew--perfect for summer sipping.

Congrats Parallel 49, here's to your continued success!