Why The Half Acre?

We’ve been getting a lot of the same question lately, “Why is it called Half Acre?” It’s not something we address on the website, and we don’t layout an explanation to connect a specific meaning because we’d prefer people look at it in their own way.

We’re also not trying to be overly obtuse and have no reason to keep it under wraps, so….

In concept: The Half Acre is anywhere you can grab some peace and quiet, an opportunity to step back, a chance to sit and enjoy a beer and not do the other things that keep us occupied for so many of our waking hours.

How the concept came to be: I grew up in a very small town along the Delaware River by the name of Lambertville, NJ. This is where George Washington made his fateful crossing to shanghai the Red Coats and claim our independence. He camped right behind my family’s property. Across the bridge in Bucks County, PA, just slightly north, is an even smaller town named Devil’s Half Acre. Devil’s Half Acre is literally a half-acre of land with a bar on it. That’s it, that’s the town. It was built and illegally run when the canals along the Delaware River were being dug to give the men a place to go when done with work so they could drink some beer, relax and take stock before going home and being with family. A town for this exact purpose. It was dubbed Devil’s Half Acre because some men would stay too long, drink too much and fights would break out. Inevitably some men would be killed and buried on that same Half Acre of land. With all things, there is a line where a good thing morphs into something else.

We brought the Half Acre here, as for the Devil, well I suppose he’s here, too.

Enjoy the holiday weekend; take some time away from the daily course. This is what it’s about.

Half Acre Beer Co
Chicago, IL