Russell Brewing, one of the original 10 craft breweries in British Columbia, opened its doors in 1995. A pioneer in the craft brewing industry, Russell Brewing blazed the trail by making small batch unpasteurized ‘real beer’ with natural ingredients.
Spotlight chatted with Jimmy Darbyshire, Director of Marketing, Media and Sponsorship at Russell Brewing, about the evolution of the brand over 25 years and the changing market for craft beer.
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“We were one of the original craft breweries here in BC. Along with those other brands, we helped pave the way and gave others the opportunity to enter the market and to challenge the Molsons and other big beers. We gave people something different to try,” said Darbyshire.
Russell Brewing has been in the same location in Strawberry Hill, Surrey, since the very beginning, growing from one bay to six.
The Russell family began the brewery and owned it until 2004 when it was sold to Brian Harris and his four children. The brewery went public in 2005 and the Harris family acquired Port Garry Brewing in Manitoba at the same time. In 2015, the Brewery changed hands again, becoming a private company, and the Port Garry portion was sold.
Darbyshire has been with the company for over four years. “When I started with the company, we were in what I would call “dark times.” I say that only because there was so much competition, and we were very static. We weren’t being innovative. We got comfortable with our major brands and relied on them to carry us through. We had almost become the Budweiser of craft beer, in a sense. We had to make some drastic changes to become relevant,” said Darbyshire.
Over the last five years, the changes have included taking more risks and moving from just a few core brands to launching over 36 new beers in 2019. “This year, we’re slated to launch probably 50 new beers. With competition, you have to adapt, and you have to change. The last four years have been about the evolution of the brand and trying to make a name for ourselves again.”
“It’s definitely a different market now than it was then. We realized that in order to compete with the 200 plus 
breweries now in BC, we have to have that small microbrewery mentality where we can be creative and push the limits and try new things. Craft Beer has evolved, and the options are truly endless. We are fortunate to have Brewers that love their craft and are constantly test batching new beers,” said Darbyshire.
Darbyshire believes that having the right people in place and having a brewer who is knowledgeable and open to taking risks and challenging the status quo made the difference. “It’s an exciting time because we’re bringing in all these different elements from all these different industries and areas. And that’s scary for a brewery that has never done that. I’ve seen breweries take similar risks to what we’ve done, and they haven’t seen as much success. It’s a very difficult challenge.”
“Today, I would say that we’re back to where we were back in 1995 – pushing the boundaries, taking risks and really being a trendsetter for those within the craft brewing industry,” said Darbyshire.
The rebranding effort included a new modern label that offered a canvas for designers to be playful. “We really wanted to play with the labels, to be able to complement each beer that we were making by having the whole canvas to work with and not really putting ourselves into a box with one specific design. We wanted to stand out,” said Darbyshire.
Prior to the rebranding, most people recognized the beers without knowing the brewery. “Most people knew of our Angry Scotch Ale or the Blood Alley Bitter. But they probably couldn’t tell you which brewery made it. With our rebrand, we wanted to put Russell Brewing on the forefront of our branding so that the first thing you see is Russell. And the secondary thing you see is the imagery surrounding the Russell, bringing our name to the forefront and really getting our name back out there. We thought that would be the most effective way of garnering an audience again.”
Even the target demographic for the brewery has changed. “It’s been quite funny. Prior to our reinvention of 
ourselves, I would say that our demographic was probably the 40 to 60-year-old male drinking our Angry Scotch ale or a Cream ale. It’s changed. I just took part in a in a festival at the University of British Columbia about a month ago with 19 to 21-year-old students who were super passionate – and super knowledgeable – about craft beer. Six or seven years ago, that wasn’t a thing. Those kids were drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon and Molson and Budweiser. And, now the tastes have changed.”
“For a long time, we thought craft beer was for people making – 70,000 a year who had some disposable income to spend the extra money on craft beer. It’s actually not that. It’s just people with an appreciation for good quality beer with great ingredients.”
“It’s more similar to a wine enthusiast now than it’s ever been. There are so many different varietals, or styles that that are being offered. The brewers are pushing the boundaries everyday with what they’re putting into the beers,” explained Darbyshire.
The Craft Lager is the brewery’s top selling beer and has found its place as a house lager in a number of restaurants and pubs. Other core beers include a West Coast IPA, Pale Ale, and the El Dorado Blonde Ale. “For our new brands, we’re seeing a lot of success with our milkshake IPAs as part of our Vibe series, which we created around doing different styles of milkshake IPAs. Those have been our most popular and most sought-after beers.”
Russell Brewing beers are available throughout British Columbia and can be found in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with plans to be selling in Ontario within the next month. “I would love to say we will be in Halifax by the end of this year. We’re definitely doing our best to get as far East as we can.”
Currently without a taproom, the brewery plans to open one this year, hopefully by June 1.
Beer festivals are a priority for rebuilding the brand. “We attend the Alberta Beer festival, as well as the Mashing Calgary, the Edmonton Beer festival and the Whistler Beer Fest. I’m at most of the festivals myself.”
“For us right now specifically, I feel like we’re building brand again. The more people we can get in front of the
better. The festivals are a great opportunity to get the new and interesting beers into the public, into the market, in front of people trying them out and reviewing them. It’s great for the brewers to get feedback, often before the beers even launch.
“It’s nice because we are a large enough brewery that we can afford to participate in all of these events. They are expensive. Unfortunately, a lot of the smaller breweries just don’t have a budget to be able to do that. We’re very fortunate that we can afford to and we really enjoy doing them,” said Darbyshire.
The team at Russell Brewing enjoys the camaraderie and collaboration of the craft beer community. “There really isn’t anything like it. The craft beer community is truly a community like nothing I’ve ever experienced. And it really is friendly competition. There’s a lot of sharing of ideas and collaborations that happen amongst all the breweries within the city and outside the city.”
Russell Brewing frequently collaborates with other breweries on small batches and hopes to do even more once 
the tasting room is open. Partnerships with non-profits are also an important part of the community-minded focus and the brewery took on two big fundraising initiatives in 2019.
The brewery partnered with a non-profit called ‘Mind the Bar,’ a mental health resource in British Columbia specifically catered to those in the hospitality industry suffering from depression, anxiety, workplace harassment or suicidal thought. The service offers free therapy sessions and instant assistance through a free downloaded app. “We created a low ABV beer with partial proceeds from each can sold going back to the cause. We raised just under for them. That’s something that we were very passionate about, and possibly in the future, we’ll do another beer with them. We’re just working on some other low ABV options.”
Another collaboration last summer was with Mr. Bentley, the Instagram famous English bulldog with a few hundred thousand followers. Mr. Bentley’s “dad” is a helicopter pilot in the Vancouver area and Mr. Bentley is known for riding shotgun in the helicopter. “We did Mr. Bentley’s Cucumber Sour and partial proceeds from every four-pack purchase was donated back to the Children’s Wish Foundation. We raised just over for them,” said Darbyshire.
Russell Brewing is the official beer sponsor of the local Surrey Eagles Hockey team for the 2019-2020 season and pours craft lager and pale ale at home games. “Since we’ve been here since 1995, we really try to work with the City of Surrey and give back whenever we can within our community and be that community leader. We’ve sponsored the Surrey Eagles hockey team this year. We donate all of the beer to them and all their sales go back into the team.”
Longevity is part of what makes Russell Brewing unique. “We have been around for 25 years. A lot of breweries have come and gone in that period of time. Being part of the old club, one of the original breweries, carries some clout within the industry. We’ve definitely built a lot of great long-lasting relationships within the industry. Whether that be within the government liquor stores, restaurants, pubs, or private liquor stores, it’s very beneficial to the brand- especially when fighting for shelf space.”
“In this day and age, it’s very much about relationships. Having that 25-year history and a history of success helps,” concluded Darbyshire.
by Anita Flowers