Christina Owczarek
Founder
Aussie ex-pat, Canadian Resident, and Citizen of the World. Christina was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. In 2009 she first stepped foot on Canadian soil, and after travelling the world for her love of skiing, beer and adventure, she decided to get back to a place she wanted to call her forever-home near her beloved Canadian Rockies in 2015. Equipped with a Bachelor of Applied Science among other qualifications such as a ski race coach and certified beer judge, Christina has worked her way through many roles in life, but the call of craft beer has been the strongest of them all. It was a love that started in 2010 when she was living in Santa Rosa California, and has since grown from a hobby to an obsession. From paid roles in craft beer from brewery packaging lines, taproom service, to retail beer program coordinating, draft line maintenance, and sales and marketing management, and now teaching sensory development at Olds College in their Brewmasters program, Christina made it her mission to understand as many facets as possible to make her dream come true. A decade later, a few professional certifications, and a whole lot of hours dedicated to her craft, XhAle is finally taking flight. When not fully immersed in beer you will find Christina sliding down the sides of mountains in winter, and hiking or running scenic trails in summer. She is true lover of wide open spaces, and finds anyway possible in her spare time to find refuge and clarity in them. She says that gratitude is a daily habit, and vulnerability her greatest strength - both of which she attributes to fighting the battles she has fought, and that will continue on her path to creating thriving communities through her love of craft beer.