Pacific Western Brewing and other small BC breweries may soon have trouble getting their suds into Alberta.
Alberta is marking up imported craft beers from 10 cents per litre to $1.25 per litre, a boost of over $1000%.
PWB Spokesman Brian Kieran says this could mean a 6-pack of Cariboo Genuine could go up $1.68 in Alberta. PWB and other BC craft breweries are consulting each other before making the next move.
“At the very least, we believe it violates the spirit of the New West Partnership (Trade agreement) between Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC, and the Alberta government has exposed itself to potential legal challenges for interprovincial trade violations,” he says.
TÍžhe BC Parliamentary Secretary for Liquor Reform Policy John Yap says he’s “disappointed with the approach Alberta has taken” in regard to these markups, which create an “unfair advantage for Alberta beer at the expense over 188 craft breweries” in BC. “By raising the beer markup for small craft brewers by over 1,000% and only making grant funding available to brewers in Alberta to offset this fee increase, they are clearly discriminating against craft-beer products from British Columbia and limiting market access for B.C. craft brewers,” he says.
Kieran says the Albertan government expects local value beer will fill the void but he doesn’t see that playing out.
“Craft brewers in Alberta do not typically sell beer in the value segment. The result will be less choice and more expensive ever at a time when Albertans can least afford it.”
PWB spends $5 million a year on Albertan goods like malt and cans and owns 2% of the Alberta market share.
Kieran says it’s too early to know how PWB will be affected by the change.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
