I think Winnipeg may be the site of Canada’s quietest beer explosion. A spate of breweries have just opened (including Barn Hammer and Peg Brewing) or are about to (such as Torque Brewing), but no one has been talking about it, except me. And even I have been remiss lately (in part due to Alberta’s crazy beer politics recently).

There are a handful more in the planning stages and I hope to introduce you to them soon. First up is Nonsuch Brewing (just a Facebook for now). Nonsuch is the creation of four Manitoba men. Matthew Sabourin is a Franco-Manitoban who spent years working in the film industry in that province and more recently working in the family agricultural company. He is also a homebrewer who got highly involved in the Winnipeg Brew Bombers homebrew club, briefly becoming president. The Head Brewer (and one of the partners) is Mark Borowski, a longtime mainstay in the local club. the other partners are Ben Myers and Tyler Johnston.

I put Nonsuch up first because I think they have the most unique model I have seen on the prairies. They are unique in two ways. First, they are planning to be small, very small. This, in and of itself is not original, but they are the first nano-operation in Manitoba. They plan on starting production before they have their brewery. ” We will start brewing on our pilot system – we are not going have a big brewhouse right away”, says Sabourin. The pilot system is 40 gallons (about 160 litres), meaning at first they will be making about three kegs per batch.

When they build it the full system won’t be much bigger. They aim it to be about 5 BBL and it is “not what you traditionally see. Everything is in one vessel with smaller vessels that can be paired together,” observes Sabourin. “It is ugly as all hell, but I looked into it and it ties into what we want to do. It gives us maximum control and fits our desire to make small batches.”

The second thing that makes Nonsuch unique is the beer they plan to brew. “We want to brew high alcohol European style beer with a focus on Belgian Ales. We want to make beer that is complex, that you will want to cellar,” says Sabourin.”It will be beer you can lay down for 1, 2, 5 years.”

The core of Nonsuch’s project will be Belgian ales that can be cellared. “We will sell it in 750-ml cork-and-cage style bottles. We hope to make all big beer.” Yet Sabourin knows that the key to a Belgian ale is drinkability and a sneaky alcohol. “Mark has ability to make the beer really balanced. It will be a 10% that drinks like a 5%.” No one else in western Canada is focusing on Belgian Ales.

Sabourin is well aware this approach will limit their potential market base, and he is okay with that. “Not everyone lines up for big beer. It will be a premium product, and so we are going to charge premium price,” he says. “I think it will fly off the shelf but there will be a lot less on the shelf to begin”.

They hope to have beer on store shelves in the spring of 2017 and will build the brewer a step at a time. “We are embracing the Lean Start-Up philosophy”. Lean Start-Up is a model that advocates for moving slowly and creating flexibility and customer responsiveness. The bigger brewery will be built once Sabourin thinks they are ready for that next step. “Here in Winnipeg, O think there is a good demand,” says Sabourin. “Outside of Winnipeg,I have a few concerns. However, three-quarters of province lives in Winnipeg”.

As for the name, it is named after the ship that first sailed Hudson Bay in the 1600s. A replica of the ship sits in the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg. “Who in Manitoba doesn’t know the Nonsuch?” asks Sabourin. “We have it in our museum and every single kid, every adult goes to museum and sees the Nonsuch. And it is gorgeous!”

The original Nonsuch

The name seems to work, at least in Manitoba. “People go ‘oh like the ship!’ You don’t need to explain a complicated story. It is classic and timeless. It has local significance, plus it sounds cool.”

At first they will release the beer in 750-ml bottles plus some kegs – “we hope to negotiate 250ml serving sizes”. They are close to landing their location, and hope it will be central and in a historical building. At some point in the near future they hope to open a tap room.

Their vision is very local, with most of their beer sold in Winnipeg, Within five years, their hopes are fairly modest. “We want to be completely up and running. If we were shipping across Canada that would be really cool – getting out of province is our long-term goal, but we want to focus on local.”

Nonsuch has the potential to be a great treat for Winnipeg craft beer fans. As for the rest of us? We will have to be very, very nice to our Winnipeg-residing friends if we wish to talk them into shipping some Nonsuch beer to us.

[NOTE: Edited to correct mis-spelling of Sabourin’s name and clarify a couple facts about the partnership.]