Reinvention on tap: How Tool Shed Brewing turned setbacks into success

Globe and Mail

2 days ago

On a cold February day in 2012, Graham Sherman stood in a modest shed in his Calgary backyard, crammed full of brewing equipment. He was 10,500 km away from his previous life, working in Afghanistan on contracts for the Canadian and U.S. governments installing communication networks. At home, he wondered if his love of his so-called 'geeky hobbies'—beer and barbecue—could turn into something more than just passion projects.
'I thought, what if I didn't have to go back to the war zone? What if I could brew beer for a living?' says Mr. Sherman.
That 'what if' question became the foundation of Tool Shed Brewing, a company that has shown the benefits of being nimble.
When Mr. Sherman decided to go all-in on his beer business, he discovered that it was actually illegal at that time to start a small brewery in Alberta unless you could produce over 500,000 litres per year. Many entrepreneurs would have given up. Mr. Sherman adapted.
'I just thought, okay, what if I import beer instead?
So he exported Alberta barley to B.C., found Dead Frog Brewing just outside Vancouver that allowed him to brew his products in their facility, and imported his own beer back to Alberta.
'It was perfectly crazy, but that workaround allowed me to legally get Tool Shed beer into the market.'
His tactic also lit a fire under provincial regulators, especially after Mr. Sherman engaged in a high-profile media campaign advocating for local barley and craft brewing. The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission abolished the entire minimum brewing requirement, allowing craft breweries to start at any size.
'Now people go brewery-hopping in Calgary on weekends and it's part of the culture here.'
Mr. Sherman credits his military background with instilling a mission-first mentality. 'With the military, there's no option but to make it work. It's adapt, improvise, overcome, and that's exactly what we did.'
Tool Shed has faced setbacks. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, 75 per cent of their revenue vanished overnight as bars and restaurants shuttered. But the brewery has had a knack for reinvention.
'As an entrepreneur, one of your most important jobs is to be great at reading that crystal ball into the future,' says Mr. Sherman.
He saw a trend towards non-alcoholic beer, and came up with Tool Shed's own variety. Working with his brew house manufacturer, Mr. Sherman developed a custom-built system that allows Tool Shed to dealcoholize their actual, award-winning beer, not just create something that tastes like it. 'We're not boiling it and killing the flavour.'
At first, some staff pushed back, saying they didn't sign up to make this kind of beer. 'I convinced my team that what we actually do is brew great beverages using Alberta barley and Alberta water,' he says.
To Mr. Sherman, the beauty of his products isn't defined by the alcohol by volume. 'We're here to connect people, sharing stories over great food and great beverages. The amount of alcohol in the beer doesn't change that. So as long as we keep true to our craft and the DNA of what we're making, this is still completely at the core, the essence and the passion of making beer.'
He trademarked the term 'buzz-free beer' because to him 'non-alcoholic' sounds like a compromise. 'Buzz-free is a lifestyle choice, not a limitation.'
It takes that sort of leap to stand out in a crowded marketplace, says Samuel Roscoe, a lecturer in supply chain and operation management at UBC's Sauder School of Business. 'That's essentially what he [Mr. Sherman] is doing, saying, we can offer something new and different, and target the next generation that's coming of age.'
Tool Shed's current buzz-free lineup includes flagship offerings like Zero People Skills (a play on their People Skills lager), a version of their Red Rage red ale, a stout and a hazy pale ale.
During a blind taste test at a local beer festival, Mr. Sherman says half the people couldn't tell which beer was buzz-free. 'That means it's working.'
He used the days of the pandemic to pursue another passion: barbecue. It started when he noticed restaurant equipment was being liquidated at auction prices, so he scooped up a $20,000 commercial kitchen hood for under $100.
Using a trailer, commercial pit and oven (he picked that one up for $500), Tool Shed now runs a thriving barbecue restaurant, serving smoked brisket and pulled pork to lunchtime crowds and beer lovers alike. Mr. Sherman was even invited to cook for the upcoming G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.
'If I could see into the future and say, 'You know what, maybe I should risk everything and start a restaurant because someday I'll cook for the world's leaders', it sounds ridiculous. But here we are.'
For many businesses these days, success hinges on the idea of creative destruction, says Mr. Roscoe, describing it as 'a process where new innovations and technologies come along and disrupt existing markets and ways of doing business.' That requires an agility that Mr. Sherman has shown.
His original tool shed has been replaced by a 22,000-square-foot brewery. And from hacking provincial liquor laws to reimagining non-alcoholic beer to smoking ribs in a retrofitted trailer, Mr. Sherman can run a masterclass in entrepreneurial evolution.
'You don't know what's next, but I do know this: trust your instincts. Luck favours people who go after opportunity.'