Henderson Brewing
A Decade of Brand Building
Building a brand isn’t just about designing a logo.
It’s a continuous process of growth & adaptation, understanding the needs & expectations of your community and, ultimately, creating a story together.
From day one, the look & feel of Henderson Brewing set it apart from the crowd due to its lack of pretension. It was simply a neighbourhood brewery that, in a trend-focused craft beer market, had seemingly been making great, approachable beer forever.
Robert Henderson was the first brewer in Toronto. Henderson carries on his legacy.
Authentic neon signage goes a long way in creating an “old-school” vibe.
From the outset, Henderson was positioned less as the shiny new thing and more as a “classic” brand, like Fender or Levis.
Add some cute umbrellas, and your parking lot becomes a happening patio.
The Ides Series
The Ides were a monthly small-batch brew series celebrating Toronto people, places & stories. For eight and a half years (100 consecutive months) I created unique packaging art for a new Toronto tribute.
At the launch of Ides No. 38, a tribute to Jack Layton’s cycling advocacy, his widow (Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow) & son Mike joined in the festivities & auctioned off Jack’s iconic bicycle.
Toronto Circus Riot tells the (true! look it up!) story of a brutal riot between local firefighters & visiting circus clowns that began in a Toronto brothel. For the launch, Henderson hosted a small circus.
The packaging art from nearly nine years of Ides beer releases ended up in this Heritage Book Award-nominated volume, “Toronto in 100 Beers,” published by House of Anansi Press.
Many Ides beer labels/cans were considered collectible by our customers.
Each January, the Ides series turned to Toronto sports stories. Ides No. 33 celebrated O-Pee-Chee playing cards by depicting each of Henderson’s 21 employees as hockey teammates with their own trading cards, stats, etc.
Did you know that table hockey was invented in Toronto, during the Great Depression? Well, thanks to Ides No. 57, now you do.
Two that stick in my mind (because they got cleaned out) are Ides No. 9 The Ed of Honesty and Ides No. 61 Glad Day.
Always Be Pivoting
COVID-19 lockdown meant pivoting from bar & restaurant draught beer sales to home delivery. To cut back on packaging waste, deliveries arrived at people’s doorsteps in Henderson-branded crates.
Increased demand meant new unique beer releases every week. I created thematic narrative and visual series, both esoteric & straightforward, to unite these beers.
The distinctive orange crates were returnable for refund, but people found lots of other uses for them.
Beer crate subscribers enjoyed all kinds of free “surprise & delight” merchandise.
Zoom catch-ups over home-delivered fresh local beer hopefully provided comfort for many.
Howdy Partner
Back in November 2016, Ides No. 7 & this goofy sketch (which told the story of how Geddy Lee got his name) ushered in a partnership between little old Henderson Brewing & global rock icons Rush.
Fledgling local brewery in 2017, partnering with fledgling Rugby League franchise, the Toronto Wolfpack? No-brainer.
Rush Canadian Golden Ale turned out to be the biggest beer launch in LCBO history.
Denmark’s Carlsberg Group partnered with Henderson to brew Jacobsen Nordic Lager, a delicious beer brewed using a storied Carlsberg yeast strain. This label married the distinct aesthetics of the two breweries pretty nicely, I think.
Rush Golden Ale & its umpteen spinoffs have been enjoyed across Canada, the USA and the UK.
Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson of Rush enjoy kibbitzing over beers at the Henderson x Rush bar & bottleshop at YYZ airport.
It's My Party
An integral part the Henderson experience, the brewery taproom has always served as an inclusive community centre that happens to offer beer (and pletny of other beverages), where something unexpected and fun could be happening on any night of the week.
Some Henderson events, such as the monthly Vinyl Show & Tell and annual Block Party, have been running for nearly the entire 10 years of the brewery’s existence.
Indoor winter events such as Oysterfest and Bourbon & Beer Fest, attracted new fans.
People braved colder weather to enjoy our indoor/outdoor festivals, Nordic Fest (with Carlsberg) & Winter Warmup.
Picklefest has become a national phenomenon, with spinoffs in Vancouver and Calgary.
Daytime events extended out into the parking lot and typically attracted several thousand visitors of all stripes.
Diversify or Die
Making non-alcoholic offerings such as Solly’s Craft Soda available to our customers has always been a priority in maintaining the inclusive vibe at Henderson. It doesn’t hurt that they’re big sellers.
I approached the hard seltzer trend with a sense of humour. Truth be told, I approach most everything I do with a sense of humour.
Dream Soda cream soda, the soft drink, has been a fan favourite since day one. There’s a soft drink version AND a hard drink version.
Rush wanted in on the non-alcoholic beer action. Cue “It’s My Turn to Drive” pale ale.
The ever-evolving taproom experience offered Henderson fans an opportunity to sample new offerings, such as ready-to-drink cocktails.
An alcohol-free version of the popular “Bigfoot Has Left the Building” pale ale was an early entry into the non-alcoholic craft beer market.
Working Hard? Or Hardly Working?
To me, if it doesn’t feel like play, it probably feels too much like work. Cue fun exercises, such as imagining what Henderson’s Best might have looked like in 1967…
or in 1904
or in 1812
When a Henderson team member reached their 2-year anniversary, I created a tribute beer label depicting them as superheroes (of sorts) complete with origin story. Because these are people who grew up dreaming of having their face on a beer label.
