Archive record · Brewery

Tool Shed Brewing Company

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

ActiveSingle breweryMicrobrewery

Founded: 2013
Archive ID: TB-9KC515ZW
Last checked: 2026-10-02

#Alberta#Independent

Who owns this brewery?

2582568 Alberta Inc., Graham Sherman

Named in dated ownership records. No parent company is held, and each owner's sources are shown below.

From the record

Summary

Started in a backyard shed by two homebrewers; instrumental in changing Alberta's archaic minimum production liquor laws. ⚠ toolshed.beer no longer serves a site — the domain resolves to a parking IP and refuses HTTPS connections (checked 7 August 2026). A replacement address is needed before this record can be sourced.

A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.

Tally’s Take

Two homebrewers in a backyard shed who then went and got Alberta's minimum production law changed. They rewrote the rules to make their own brewery legal.

The founding thesisGraham Sherman and Jeff Orr met doing military IT work in Kabul, came home, started brewing in a backyard tool shed — then took on the Alberta law that made small breweries illegal, and won.

Ownership & corporate history

Owned by 2582568 Alberta Inc.May 2024
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
Court-approved reverse-vesting transaction provided for 2582568 Alberta Inc. to acquire 100% of Tool Shed equity; current industry evidence says Tool Shed emerged from the proposal process May 5, 2024. Exact closing certificate date should remain attached to the court file.
Owned by Graham ShermanDate unknown
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
2026 reporting says founder/president Sherman partially owns Tool Shed. Exact percentage/entity holding route unknown. Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dontse/2026/06/23/westjet-first-major-north-american-airline-to-offer-only-craft-beer/

Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.

Where it is

51.05934, -113.99015

Supplied by the research pass; method not recorded

Open on a map

Events

Tool Shed files Notice of Intention to Make a Proposal2024-01-31
2582568 Alberta Inc. acquires Tool Shed equity through approved restructuring2024-05

The Museum

Timeline

2007
Kabul
Graham Sherman and Jeff Orr meet in Afghanistan, working on government and military IT and satellite communications networks.
2012
The actual tool shed
Back in Calgary, the two start brewing small batches in the tool shed behind Graham's house — the shed the brewery is named for.
2012
Illegal by minimum
Alberta law required new breweries to produce at least 500,000 litres a year, so they couldn't even apply. They brew in Vancouver instead and import their own beer back into Alberta.
2013
The law changes
On 5 December 2013 the AGLC announces its Class E policy, eliminating the minimum production requirement — the single decision that opened Alberta to small brewers.
2014
Home at last
Graham and Jeff open their own brewing facility in northeast Calgary in the summer of 2014.

The People

Behind the beer

Graham Sherman

Co-founder

Met Jeff Orr in Kabul in 2007 working on government and military SATCOM networks. Drove barley to Vancouver and finished beer back to Calgary for years because Alberta wouldn't license them — reportedly putting 500,000 km on a new car doing it.

Jeff Orr

Co-founder

Co-founded Tool Shed with Graham Sherman after the two met doing IT and communications work in Afghanistan.

James Costello

CEO

2026 Alberta Craft Brewing Convention profile identifies James Costello as CEO of Tool Shed Brewing Company Inc.

Jim Webster

Current leadership / ownership status unresolved

2026 industry profile says CEO James Costello led Tool Shed alongside Graham Sherman and Jim Webster through the 2024 proposal process.

The Beer Library

Beers

People Skills

Year-Round

Cream Ale

ABV5.2%

The flagship — the beer the brewery is known for province-wide.

Summary

Timeline

Behind the beer

Beers

People Skills

Red Rage

Star Cheek

Flat Cap Stout

Belgian Dip

Late To the Party

Papa Bam Bam's Oatmeal Pale Ale

Prairie Pride

Pete's Pils

Czechs & Balances

Peter O'Tool

Zero People Skills

Double Tap

Rampaging Red

Prairie Berry Sour

Zero Red Rage

Bridge Builder West Coast IPA

Plan a visit

Awards

Gold — Non-Alcoholic — Zero People Skills

Bronze — Non-Alcoholic — Zero Red Rage

Silver — Amber Ale — Red Rage

Bronze — New England/Hazy — Golden Hour

Gold — Non-Alcoholic Beer — Zero People Skills

Silver — Non-Alcoholic Beer — Zero Red Rage

Gold — No to Low Alcohol Beer — Zero People Skills

Bronze — North American Stout — Flat Cap

Bronze — Czech Pale Lager — Pete's Pils

Bronze — Strong American Ale — Rampaging Red

Silver — North American Pale Ale — Tool Shed Hopped Wheat Ale

Gold — Non-Alcoholic — Zero Red Rage

Drinking Tool Shed Brewing Company? Stamp it in your passport.

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