Canada, NL: Banished Brewing begins making its mark in Paradise

Banished Brewing aims to create a remarkable beer surrounded by even better art for everyone in the community.

Keeping originality in mind, Tom Williamson, the head of financing for Banished, says diving into the industry was a no-brainer.

“Although the market is exploding with craft beer, I wouldn’t say supply has outstripped demand,” said Williamson.

“If you look at NLC sales figures, you can see major growth in the craft segment. I mean, overall, the market will eventually saturate a little bit but I think we are very far away from that.”

Banished has been in business for roughly a month now, and because preparation for this project began three years ago, general reception has exceeded expectations.

“Even though we began brewing in early May, we have been working on this business for a long time,” said Williamson.

“We now have six different brews on the market - we had two right off the bat that sold out. The most critical decision we made was to work with artist Paul Hammond, and we let him just go crazy with the cans; we wanted something eye-catching, something with edge, and I believe we hit that note really well and I also believe it is what draws those in to try it out.”

While Williamson believes their cans set them apart, he also thinks their untraditional approach to tackling the industry is another contributing factor to their early success.

“One of the biggest things we did early on was reaching out to all the other craft brewers in the province to understand what challenges they faced,” said Williamson.

“We wanted to know what lessons we could take from them to have a better set-up right out of the gate. A common factor was if you have the opportunity to start with a large production capacity, that was the way to do it. So, what we focused on was starting on a larger-scale while also planning two to three expansions for the road ahead. That was the benefit we had, speaking with those who came before us.”

And those plans for the future are already in action, with the first shipments of Banished beer heading to the province's west coast recently, and more retailers in other parts of the province coming online.

“Our big goal for the immediate is basically to blanket the island with beer,” said Williamson.

“We would like to be in all the major centres and have our beer in as many locations as possible. That's what it is about, giving people the opportunity to try it, and that's what the craft beer movement is, giving those the chance to try new things. From there, if we can achieve that I think, you will see our beer going off the island.”

Banished Brewing is currently in the process of registering its brews in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Though Williamson would prefer to get there sooner than later, he is ensuring that the business does it right locally before moving up the chain.

At the same time, Williamson is very proud of the products his team has created. He says their mark in the community is not tasting like any beer you've had before.

“Obviously, there are nuances when it comes to a recipe,” said Williamson. “When it comes to any craft, it will never be identical. I think that's one thing I am most proud of with the first six - the quality of the beer is so good and the cans look fantastic.”