Our story is best told in person, shared over a beer.

with you in a moment

We make our beer. We make our food. But we founded Nonsuch to make your special moments. To appreciate your entire experience. From quiet, intimate gatherings to the grandest of celebrations, it's our honour to be in the heart of your moments.

These moment have our presence and our hearts.
These moments have to be savoured and celebrated.
These moments have no such equal.

This is the heart of everything we do. This is why we do what we do. We believe in making moments. This is our mission and pursuing it will allow us to realize our vision. When we dream of the future, we see Manitoba – its capital, Winnipeg, richer in culture. And that’s our vision – one where our home continues to flourish becoming more sustainable, diverse, equitable, inclusive, progressive, and just. Our fellow citizens are happier and prouder than ever to call Winnipeg home. We imagine elevating Manitoba’s reputation as we become known and revered by all Canadians.

We want to honour our province’s past while shaping its future. In many ways, Nonsuch is our love letter to Manitoba.

We, the four founders of Nonsuch (Mark Borowski, Matthew Sabourin, Ben Myers and Ty Johnston) spent our formative years in Winnipeg’s Exchange District and have always hoped to give back to our favourite neighbourhood. We would get that chance when Mark met Matthew…

Our story

The story of our brewery began with Matthew’s dream of owning a winery (confusing right? Such is life.) Before beer, whiskey, and all the other alcohols Matthew has came to love since, he was enamoured with wine. Manitoba’s legendary winters would give Matthew many reasons (somewhere around -40?) to abandon his vision of starting his own vineyard on his family land; as a deeply rooted Manitoban, leaving the province wasn’t an option for Matthew.

Luckily, his curiosity and passion wouldn’t dampen as he kept imagining of ways to craft something that was as elevated as wine, but also made locally. As he became more familiar with the ins and outs of craft beer, he realized it offers more complexities than wine, more interesting and regional varieties of styles (each with their own fascinating history), and the process allows nearly infinite opportunities for experimentation as brewers imbue character onto a beer – and the best part, beer can be brewed right here with local ingredients.

“Why can’t we treat beer with the same prestige as wine?”

In 2014, the paths of Mark and Matthew would converge as members of Winnipeg’s home brewer’s club – The Brew Bombers. With only three breweries in all of Manitoba at the time, the club provided a much-needed space to gather the basement scientists. 

It was an ideal learning environment for those like Mark –  those with a thirst for brewing knowledge, a creative flare, and much experience to be gained. Brewing was a relatively new endeavour for him. He had taught, made films, and played music, but it wasn’t until his twin boys were born that he became a very stay-at-home-dad and found his true medium: brewing. 

Beyond recipes and techniques, the club helped share ideas and inspiration. It was an incubator for those who dreamed of diving into beer with both feet. Having shared the role of club president at different times, Mark and Matthew became acquainted over the years. Conversations and laughter filled the air… Mark’s beer filled their glasses… and a tiny thought filled Matthew’s mind…

“If ever this dream becomes a reality, he's the first guy I'm asking to make the beer.”

That thought would quickly grow from a daydream into an idea Matthew couldn’t help but imagine turning into reality. He relayed his vision to his good friend, Ben – a seasoned product designer from the tech world. Before developing apps, building bots, and launching startups, Ben worked in the entertainment world creating special effects for Hollywood movies. It was at frantic films in Winnipeg, where he had met Matthew years earlier, working on Avatar. The two had left the entertainment industry but remained friends.

In their casual conversation, Ben would realize the potential of  the idea and reach out to his friend, Ty – a graphic designer specializing in branding. When Ty joined, our founding team was complete, our plans were grand, and our first great challenge was before us: choosing a name. Oh, how we struggled find a name that reflected our dream of an elevated experience that also paid homage to our home… until Nonsuch.

our ship came in

It was at this point the name Nonsuch was suggested by Ben, after the historic ship. The ship is believed to have been named in honour of Barbara Villiers, one of King Charles II’s favourite mistresses. He gifted her the Nonsuch Palace (in England) and the accompanying title ‘Baroness Nonsuch’ in 1670.⁣⁣⁣
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Commissioned in 1538 by Henry VIII, the Nonsuch Palace was hailed as one of the finest and most magnificent buildings of its age. It cost an estimated £24,000 (~25 million modern day Canadian dollars) and was so grand it allegedly inspired a foreign visitor to comment “This which no equal has in art or fame, Britons deservedly do Nonsuch name.”⁣⁣⁣

The name Nonsuch is an abstraction of the term ‘none such equal’ meaning unequalled but for us, it doesn’t signify superiority. Rather, it promises something so inherently unique and deeply personal it escapes comparison.⁣⁣⁣ Like that one perfect evening shared among your favourite people. A moment made only once. A moment always remembered but never re-lived. A moment with no such equal.

(Can you tell why we loved this name?)⁣⁣

Although we were originally drawn to the moniker because of the ship and its local significance, it was this concept of making something unlike anything else that stayed with us. Soon after considering the name, we couldn’t imagine being anything other than La Brasserie Nonsuch Brewing Co.⁣⁣⁣

the voyage of the nonsuch

For those unfamiliar with the ship and it’s local importance, it has it’s own story worth diving into. In 1668, an emboldened crew of twelve boarded the ketch and crossed the Atlantic. Tales of uncharted lands, wild beauty, and boundless resources lead many adventurers to explore the feasibility of a trade route between Europe and the heart of North America.

Many attempts had been made.
All failed.

But the expedition made by the Nonsuch and its crew would be different. Loaded with goods for trading, a fantastic quantity of small beer (low alcohol beer), and a dozen brave souls, the ship raised anchor in London and followed their compasses North-West. Over the course of 116 days and nights, the 16-meter long vessel crossed the ocean, navigated icebergs in the Hudson Strait, and arrived at James Bay, off the mouth of the Rupert River. Its destination was the very place Henry Hudson had wintered more than half a century earlier.

Its small size made the Nonsuch a perfect craft for this Arctic voyage as only a small ship could be hauled from the water in the fall, protecting it from the crushing winter ice. After disembarking and hoisting their only shelter onto shore, the handful of adventurers braved the following winter by building a small wooden cabin.

The following spring, the crew was visited by 300 Cree who shared information about the region and traded animal furs for the ship's cargo including kettles, metal tools, needles, beads, tobacco, and blankets. Summer brought warm weather and calm seas as the crew sailed North-East out of the bay. After fifteen months abroad, the Nonsuch returned home that fall. History buffs may appreciate the longer version of the story of The Nonsuch.

The expedition was praised as a success as it discovered a viable trade route but for us, the mission is a part of something far more important...

The encounter between the explorers and the locals, and the subsequent mixing of their European and Indigenous cultures, are the essence of what would become known as the Métis peoples, an essential part of Manitoba's cultural tapestry. As a Métis-majority owned company, we're proud to honour the past as we shape the future – and as a micro brewery with a small team, we love the story of a little ship making big waves.

Thanks for reading this far, you understand why we prefer telling our story over a beer or two.

After finding our name, our next challenge was finding a space. The owners of Barn Hammer Brewing graciously let us brew out of their location (thanks Tyler and Sable), until we found our home at 125 Pacific Ave.! Anchored in Winnipeg’s historic, cultural-centre, the Exchange District, we continue to write our story everyday – we hope you’ll be a part of it. Cheers!