A Family Affair: Brewing Excellence at Four Winds
Fourteen years ago, Four Winds was conceived by Adam Mills, his two brothers, and their father. What began as a project aimed at bringing great beer and a gathering place to a community that needed both has evolved into a brand that is as recognisable as it is successful. From their original brewery and taproom on River Road in Delta, Four Winds has grown into one of British Columbia’s most distinctive independent brewing companies, while maintaining the family-run spirit that has guided the business from the beginning.
As a family owned operation, each member of the party brings unique skills and perspectives into the mix. Adam Mills, Co-Founder and Sales and Marketing Director, is responsible for a broad range of brand expressions, from concept design to merchandise and beyond. While the remarkable branding program operates under Mills’ oversight, he is quick to divert praise to the expansive team of talents who have contributed over the years.
Amongst them is longtime friend and collaborator Andy Dixon, who created Four Winds’ original branding before the business had even opened. The nautical imagery and distinctive visual language helped establish the identity that Four Winds has become known for, and that foundation has continued to evolve alongside the brewery itself. Today, the team works closely with in-house graphic designer Justin Longos, along with a cast of artistic talents who bring their own expressions to the Four Winds brand. For Mills, that collaborative approach is the heartbeat behind Four Winds.
Four Winds is now two years deep into their most recently launched project, Four Winds Beach House, which Mills describes as a “West Coast interpretation of the beer hall tradition”. Located in Tsawwassen’s Southlands community, the Beach House takes the communal spirit of a classic European beer hall and delivers it through a particularly British Columbian flavour of casual sensibility. Think long tables, cold beer, and a menu that moves comfortably between familiar pub staples and elevated dishes that allow Chef Blake Burns to flex his creativity.
The community surrounding Four Winds Beach House is a unique one. Affectionately coined the “aggrahood,” Tsawwassen houses more than 500 acres of farmland interspersed with residential spaces. When a developer initially reached out to the Four Winds team, they jumped at the chance to create a touchstone within the community that offered a gathering space for neighbours. The Beach House is not simply an extension of the brewery’s existing brand, but a physical expression of the role that beer halls have traditionally played in their communities: somewhere to meet friends, share meals, and discover something new. As a local himself raising a family nearby, building this kind of meaningful community pillar is especially close to home for Adam.
The space itself is massive, seating more than 200 guests between the restaurant and sprawling patio. Despite this scale, the onsite brewery operates with a fine-tuned scope, focusing instead on small-batch brews that sit outside of the brand’s usual lineup of mainstays. Echoing the design concept’s homage to European brewhalls, The Beach House gives Brewmaster Brent Mills an opportunity to experiment with unique and rarely practiced old-school brewing methods, including decoction, open fermentation, and horizontal lagering.
Equipped with everything needed to flex his creative muscles, Brent is able to produce contemporary favourites like a hazy IPA, alongside less commonly encountered European flavour profiles. There’s something for everyone, from the easy-drinking lager enjoyer, all the way to niche palates that would revel in a funky, earthy red wine barrel-aged saison.
In fact, Operis Saison was the first batch that Brent Mills ever brewed. He cooked up the beer, put it away into barrels to age, and developed Operis into a beer that has gone on to earn international recognition. Operis Saison recently received a gold medal in the Mixed-Culture Brett Beer category at the 2026 World Beer Cup - an enormous achievement within a competition that celebrates brewing across an exceptionally broad range of styles and traditions.
For Four Winds, that recognition is also a fitting reflection of their philosophy at large. What began with a family dedicated to creating good beer and a place for people to gather has grown into a business that can simultaneously honour brewing traditions, experiment with techniques, develop new flavours, and create something distinctly its own.
Fourteen years into the Four Winds story, the family’s original goal remains remarkably recognisable. The scale may have changed, the team may have grown, and the brand may have travelled considerably further than those early days in Delta, but the central idea remains the same: make great beer, create a place worth gathering, and give people a reason to come back.
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