Half Acre's Huge New Beer Garden Opens Soon: Take A Peek (PHOTOS)

BOWMANVILLE — Half Acre is still a few weeks away from opening its long-awaited Bowmanville taproom and beer garden, but it offered a taste of things to coming during its Big North anniversary bash on Saturday.

The entire brewery at 2050 W. Balmoral Ave. was transformed into a playground for revelers, who were treated to live music, tattoo and gaming stations, pours of rare beers and a backstage glimpse of what's now Half Acre's main production facility  — so many cans, stacked so very high.

The warm-but-not-too-hot summer night provided the perfect opportunity for partygoers to enjoy the newest addition to the Half Acre experience — the Balmoral beer garden, where patrons relaxed at the communal picnic tables while noshing on sausages and salads.

Half Acre moved its canning line and the majority of its production to Balmoral Avenue in 2015, and transformed its original North Center brewery, 4257 N. Lincoln Ave., into a hub for experimentation.

Check out photos from Big North:

^{[DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]}

^{[DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]}

 

This T-Rex is celebrating because he just successfully ran through a palate of cans at @halfacrebeer's #BigNorth. Congrats, T-Rex!

A post shared by Matt Tanaka (@matttanaka) on Aug 19, 2017 at 6:24pm PDT

 

Catching some rays at #BigNorth

A post shared by Steph (@mulvatronn) on Aug 19, 2017 at 1:47pm PDT

 

 

#BigNorth celebration opening the Balmoral #HalfAcre facility. Great to see a startup we saw from its infancy grow into a success like this. #BuyLocal

A post shared by Adam Brown (@souvenircity) on Aug 19, 2017 at 4:27pm PDT

 

Thanks to @halfacrebeer @brownbrotherstattoo and everyone who got tattooed yesterday. What a blast! Photo @ashp_killanois thanks! . . #halfacrebeer #bignorth #tattoo #chicagotattooartist #chicagotattooshops

A post shared by Andrew Mongenas (@mongenastattoo) on Aug 20, 2017 at 10:54am PDT

 

Once a year, the folks of @halfacrebeer bestow upon us a great gathering that marks the zenith of summers ascent. A second #BigNorth celebration comes to an end leaving the fondest of memories in its wake. Cheers to you, friends. May tomorrow's hangovers be totally worth it. 🏔🍻🖖🏽

A post shared by Luckyprints (@luckyprints) on Aug 19, 2017 at 10:56pm PDT

 

I went to a beer event, and a rock concert broke out. NE-HI brought the house down. #BigNorth #HalfAcre

A post shared by Tim Dusza (@tdusza) on Aug 19, 2017 at 6:33pm PDT

 

🍻🍻 Cheers! #halfacrebeer

A post shared by Annalisa Mannai (@mannaiizz) on Aug 20, 2017 at 6:00am PDT

 

Congratulations to @halfacrebeer on 10 years of great beer and community. The new taproom off to a great start as well! #habc #halfacrebeer #halfacrebrewingco #hafacrebrewery #bignorth2 #bignorf #chicagocraftbeer #drinklocal #community

A post shared by The Wonderous Now (@bobdavis74) on Aug 20, 2017 at 5:50pm PDT