Beyond Distilling Company Opens The Door To A More Inclusive Workplace

By Samantha Paternoster

The Beyond Distilling Company Mission | The Process Behind The Product
Spirits and Brews Like You've (probably) Never Tasted Before 
Distilling In North Charleston

Beyond Distilling Company Opens The Door To A More Inclusive Workplace

By Samantha Paternoster

The Beyond Distilling Company Mission | The Process Behind The Product
Spirits and Brews Like You've (probably) Never Tasted Before 
Distilling In North Charleston

Beyond Distilling Company is opening the door to a more inclusive workplace culture. As they prepare for their grand opening in the Spring of 2021, co-owners Ryan Sadis, Tyler LaCorata and Kerianne Krause are finalizing an accessible workplace for individuals with disabilities.

“[We want to] set the stage for business owners,” says Kerianne. “If you own a business, you’re not tapping into a whole group of people to hire.”

“[Most companies] want to change the person, not the environment,” says Kerianne. “But it would be very easy to change the culture of a workplace to make any individual successful.”

The Beyond Distilling Company Mission


Beyond Distilling CompanyWhile all three owners have a personal connection to the cause, Kerianne also owns an applied behavior analysis therapy company called Building Independence Together. In 2018, she reached out to Tyler and Ryan about combining their areas of expertise into one mission.

“One thing that resonated with us,” says Ryan, “was the desire for employment and the need for positive mental health. People [with disabilities] want a purpose and opportunities, and there’s just limited opportunities for this part of the population.”

Every detail that’s gone into creating Beyond Distilling Company plays a part in their mission. “Our logo is an open door,” says Tyler. “There’s no one person that can’t work here.”

Their ultimate goal is to employ a diverse team, with 50% of their open positions being available to individuals with mental or physical disabilities. Employee training will be centered around the success of each individual.

“It makes a lot more sense to train everyone else in the company on how to make the other individual more successful - rather than trying to change the individual,” says Kerianne.

“Beyond Distilling Company will train anyone that comes in how to not do for someone else. You’re going to learn a way to prompt and create a sense of independence [for the other individual], so if they just need help in one area, you’re still efficient.”

Beyond Distilling Company is opening the door to a more inclusive workplace culture. As they prepare for their grand opening in the Spring of 2021, co-owners Ryan Sadis, Tyler LaCorata and Kerianne Krause are finalizing an accessible workplace for individuals with disabilities.

“[We want to] set the stage for business owners,” says Kerianne. “If you own a business, you’re not tapping into a whole group of people to hire.”

“[Most companies] want to change the person, not the environment,” says Kerianne. “But it would be very easy to change the culture of a workplace to make any individual successful.”

The Beyond Distilling Company Mission


Beyond Distilling CompanyWhile all three owners have a personal connection to the cause, Kerianne also owns an applied behavior analysis therapy company called Building Independence Together. In 2018, she reached out to Tyler and Ryan about combining their areas of expertise into one mission.

“One thing that resonated with us,” says Ryan, “was the desire for employment and the need for positive mental health. People [with disabilities] want a purpose and opportunities, and there’s just limited opportunities for this part of the population.”

Every detail that’s gone into creating Beyond Distilling Company plays a part in their mission. “Our logo is an open door,” says Tyler. “There’s no one person that can’t work here.”

Their ultimate goal is to employ a diverse team, with 50% of their open positions being available to individuals with mental or physical disabilities. Employee training will be centered around the success of each individual.

“It makes a lot more sense to train everyone else in the company on how to make the other individual more successful - rather than trying to change the individual,” says Kerianne.

“Beyond Distilling Company will train anyone that comes in how to not do for someone else. You’re going to learn a way to prompt and create a sense of independence [for the other individual], so if they just need help in one area, you’re still efficient.”

The Process Behind The Product


Tyler and Ryan have an innate talent when it comes to creating unique flavor combinations. Their combined culinary experience, as well as Ryan’s background in music, has defined a creative process that carries throughout the company.

“Our approach is: we have an idea, so let’s try it. Why not? We [Ryan and I] literally text each other at all hours of the day like ‘oh, this would be cool!’ We have a big passion and drive for this,” says Tyler.

“Similar to making your own song or cooking your own dish - do it how you want to do it. There’s no right or wrong way,” says Tyler.

“We’re going to be coming out with core products - bourbon, tropical gin, and coconut rum - three different kind of skews that fit our personalities very well.”

Each spirit is a blank canvas to the Beyond Distilling Company team. Their zen garden - or gin garden - helps inspire new flavors and ideas.

“The three of us talk so much about what would make a cool distillery,” says Ryan. “Full disclosure, we’re kind of nerds about gardens and plants. [We thought] it would be so cool to grow everything we use. We call it our gin garden. We can go out there and basically pick what we want, fresh, and throw it in and distill.”

Juniper, tamarin, fig, grapefruit, tarragon, passion fruit, papaya, grapes, raspberries, blackberries - these are only some of the plants you’ll find in Beyond Distilling Company’s gin garden.

“None have grown any fruit yet, so we’ll see,” says Ryan.

The Process Behind The Product


Tyler and Ryan have an innate talent when it comes to creating unique flavor combinations. Their combined culinary experience, as well as Ryan’s background in music, has defined a creative process that carries throughout the company.

“Our approach is: we have an idea, so let’s try it. Why not? We [Ryan and I] literally text each other at all hours of the day like ‘oh, this would be cool!’ We have a big passion and drive for this,” says Tyler.

“Similar to making your own song or cooking your own dish - do it how you want to do it. There’s no right or wrong way,” says Tyler.

“We’re going to be coming out with core products - bourbon, tropical gin, and coconut rum - three different kind of skews that fit our personalities very well.”

Each spirit is a blank canvas to the Beyond Distilling Company team. Their zen garden - or gin garden - helps inspire new flavors and ideas.

“The three of us talk so much about what would make a cool distillery,” says Ryan. “Full disclosure, we’re kind of nerds about gardens and plants. [We thought] it would be so cool to grow everything we use. We call it our gin garden. We can go out there and basically pick what we want, fresh, and throw it in and distill.”

Juniper, tamarin, fig, grapefruit, tarragon, passion fruit, papaya, grapes, raspberries, blackberries - these are only some of the plants you’ll find in Beyond Distilling Company’s gin garden.

“None have grown any fruit yet, so we’ll see,” says Ryan.

Spirits and Brews Like You’ve (probably) Never Tasted Before


Beyond Distilling Company has about ten different products that are in various stages of the distilling process, ranging from wheat whiskey, rye whiskey, 100% corn bourbon, rum and gin.

Beyond Distilling Spirits and Brews “Rum is such a cool culture,” says Ryan, which is why one of their first releases will be a coconut rum. “There’s more market room for us to explore and do something different. Not a lot of craft distilleries are doing rum right now.”

“We’ve got some aged rum sitting right now,” adds Tyler. “It’s kind of a blank canvas - you can do a lot of cool stuff.”

What really sets them apart - in addition to their company mission - is their tropical gin and distilled beer.

“Right now our tropical gin is very unique in that we’ve never seen [something like this] on the market,” says Ryan. “I don’t call it a gin drinkers’ gin.” The Beyond Distilling Company gin has notes of mango, papaya, and watermelon - to name just a few.

“If you don’t drink gin, this will get you to like it,” Kerianne adds.

“We are also one of the very select few distilleries in the world that have made distilled beer to hit the market,” says Ryan.

“I had a little bit of a home brewing background and remember being like, we should distill some beer. Tyler had already done that before. I was like, if making whiskey is malted barley and yeast - what’s the difference? There is none. One you ferment and drink, one you ferment, distill and drink.”

Spirits and Brews Like You’ve (probably) Never Tasted Before


Beyond Distilling Company has about ten different products that are in various stages of the distilling process, ranging from wheat whiskey, rye whiskey, 100% corn bourbon, rum and gin.

Beyond Distilling Spirits and Brews “Rum is such a cool culture,” says Ryan, which is why one of their first releases will be a coconut rum. “There’s more market room for us to explore and do something different. Not a lot of craft distilleries are doing rum right now.”

“We’ve got some aged rum sitting right now,” adds Tyler. “It’s kind of a blank canvas - you can do a lot of cool stuff.”

What really sets them apart - in addition to their company mission - is their tropical gin and distilled beer.

“Right now our tropical gin is very unique in that we’ve never seen [something like this] on the market,” says Ryan. “I don’t call it a gin drinkers’ gin.” The Beyond Distilling Company gin has notes of mango, papaya, and watermelon - to name just a few.

“If you don’t drink gin, this will get you to like it,” Kerianne adds.

“We are also one of the very select few distilleries in the world that have made distilled beer to hit the market,” says Ryan.

“I had a little bit of a home brewing background and remember being like, we should distill some beer. Tyler had already done that before. I was like, if making whiskey is malted barley and yeast - what’s the difference? There is none. One you ferment and drink, one you ferment, distill and drink.”

Distilling In North Charleston


Finding the right location was crucial to making Beyond Distilling Company’s mission a reality.

“We were looking for months to find the spot that we could walk into and all three of us would look at each other like this is it,” says Tyler.

Beyond Distilling in North Charleston“There were a lot of places that weren’t conducive to people with a physical disability,” adds Kerianne.

“When we did find this spot,” says Ryan, “it was almost like a Godsend. I remember looking at the square footage like ‘This is sick!’. We walked away from the real estate agent like play it cool, play it cool.”

With 25 foot ceilings, the cavernous warehouse was the perfect blank slate to build their dream distilling company. Currently full of about 300 barrels of whiskey, among other spirits, their main focus is bottling their product to sell to local bars and liquor stores.

“Once things calm down and resemble what was normal, we would love to open our doors to tours and tastings and share our company culture,” says Ryan.

With ample space to add a kitchen, they fully plan to tap into their culinary talents and add an airstream outside for craft cocktails.

Follow Beyond Distilling Company here for the latest updates on their grand opening.

Distilling In North Charleston


Finding the right location was crucial to making Beyond Distilling Company’s mission a reality.

“We were looking for months to find the spot that we could walk into and all three of us would look at each other like this is it,” says Tyler.

Beyond Distilling in North Charleston“There were a lot of places that weren’t conducive to people with a physical disability,” adds Kerianne.

“When we did find this spot,” says Ryan, “it was almost like a Godsend. I remember looking at the square footage like ‘This is sick!’. We walked away from the real estate agent like play it cool, play it cool.”

With 25 foot ceilings, the cavernous warehouse was the perfect blank slate to build their dream distilling company. Currently full of about 300 barrels of whiskey, among other spirits, their main focus is bottling their product to sell to local bars and liquor stores.

“Once things calm down and resemble what was normal, we would love to open our doors to tours and tastings and share our company culture,” says Ryan.

With ample space to add a kitchen, they fully plan to tap into their culinary talents and add an airstream outside for craft cocktails.

Follow Beyond Distilling Company here for the latest updates on their grand opening.

 

**This article was originally published on December 29th, 2020 for Let's Talk Charleston. To view the original article click the button below. 

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