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Craft brewers across the province, including several in Ottawa, are sounding victory bells over the province’s proposed changes to the way Ontarians buy beer.
The changes, which are being made to increase consumer choice and provide more shelf space to Ontario microbrewers while increasing revenues for government, are expected to be announced as part of the Ontario budget later this month.
“It’s not everything that we were asking for as craft brewers, but it really looks like they’ve spent time thinking about how to protect us, while increasing access to customers and making the system fairer,” said Steve Beauchesne, co-founder of Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co in Vankleek Hill. “I’m pretty excited about all of the changes that are coming.”
The proposals included in a report released Thursday and based on recommendations of former TD Bank chief Ed Clark will require The Beer Store to allot at least 20 per cent of its shelf space to Ontario craft brewers and reduce craft brewers’ listing fees. The rules will also allows as many as 450 grocery stores to sell beer.
“It’s got to be positive. The problem for craft breweries has been locations where we can sell beer,” said Lon Ladell, brewmaster at Big Rig Brewery. “If it’s in front of more people, hopefully we will be able to to grow (craft beer’s) three per cent market share to something similar to some other provinces.”
Ontario microbreweries had been asking to create their own store, similar to Wine Rack stores in supermarkets across the province.
While the government is loosening restrictions for on-site beer sales at a brewery, it doesn’t appear new independent craft beer stores will be allowed. In fact, the report applauded The Beer Store for being big and centralized, saying it is efficient and that tearing it apart would be irresponsible and costly.
“Our conclusion was that, despite its faults, the current system has one redeeming feature: it is efficient and low cost, allowing customers to enjoy prices below the Canadian average while supporting a competitive yield for taxpayers,” the report reads.
Beauchesne admitted that while he is on side with a majority of what’s being proposed, he is a little puzzled by some of the recommendations, which include a cap of $1 million a year in beer sales at each grocery store and a new tax on beer that will add as much as $1 per case of 24 over the next four years, and is expected to generate as much as $100 million in new revenues by 2019.
Beauchesne said he hopes the money he saves from lower Beer Store listing fees will help to offset some of the costs associated with new tax.
Ontario lags far behind British Columbia and Quebec when it comes to microbrew market share. In the some U.S. states, microbrew sales account for more than 30 per cent of all beer sold.
Boosting the sale of microbrewed offerings is something that could also help the province’s economy, according to the lobby group Ontario Craft Brewers.
“These new changes will allow craft brewers to double or triple our share, which will create another 1,000 to 2,000 direct craft brewery jobs across the province,” said Cam Heaps co-founder of Steam Whistle Brewing and chair of the Ontario Craft Brewers. “The spinoffs jobs could create an additional 4,000 jobs.”
Microbrewers already account for 1,000 of the 3,000 people employed by breweries in Ontario.
While Ontario’s microbrew movement already seems to have hit full stride, John Hay, president of Ontario Craft Brewers, also said the changes could help to spur more breweries to open.
“We expect to see at least one brewery in nearly every community and multiple breweries in the larger communities,” he said, ” This will give a real shot in the arm to smaller communities and particularly to downtown cores that could really benefit from this economic stimulus.”
Modernizing beer sales was recommended by the government-appointed panel, which examined Crown assets to find ways to squeeze out the maximum value for the Liberals’ infrastructure plans. Other recommendations include creating a “beer Ombudsman” to handle complaints and issues arising from breweries and consumers and restructuring The Beer Store’s board, allowing three seats for the current owners and four for government appointed officials, allowing the government to hold the swing vote on any issues that need to be voted upon.
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The changes, which are being made to increase consumer choice and provide more shelf space to Ontario microbrewers while increasing revenues for government, are expected to be announced as part of the Ontario budget later this month.
“It’s not everything that we were asking for as craft brewers, but it really looks like they’ve spent time thinking about how to protect us, while increasing access to customers and making the system fairer,” said Steve Beauchesne, co-founder of Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co in Vankleek Hill. “I’m pretty excited about all of the changes that are coming.”
The proposals included in a report released Thursday and based on recommendations of former TD Bank chief Ed Clark will require The Beer Store to allot at least 20 per cent of its shelf space to Ontario craft brewers and reduce craft brewers’ listing fees. The rules will also allows as many as 450 grocery stores to sell beer.
“It’s got to be positive. The problem for craft breweries has been locations where we can sell beer,” said Lon Ladell, brewmaster at Big Rig Brewery. “If it’s in front of more people, hopefully we will be able to to grow (craft beer’s) three per cent market share to something similar to some other provinces.”
Ontario microbreweries had been asking to create their own store, similar to Wine Rack stores in supermarkets across the province.
While the government is loosening restrictions for on-site beer sales at a brewery, it doesn’t appear new independent craft beer stores will be allowed. In fact, the report applauded The Beer Store for being big and centralized, saying it is efficient and that tearing it apart would be irresponsible and costly.
“Our conclusion was that, despite its faults, the current system has one redeeming feature: it is efficient and low cost, allowing customers to enjoy prices below the Canadian average while supporting a competitive yield for taxpayers,” the report reads.
Beauchesne admitted that while he is on side with a majority of what’s being proposed, he is a little puzzled by some of the recommendations, which include a cap of $1 million a year in beer sales at each grocery store and a new tax on beer that will add as much as $1 per case of 24 over the next four years, and is expected to generate as much as $100 million in new revenues by 2019.
Beauchesne said he hopes the money he saves from lower Beer Store listing fees will help to offset some of the costs associated with new tax.
Ontario lags far behind British Columbia and Quebec when it comes to microbrew market share. In the some U.S. states, microbrew sales account for more than 30 per cent of all beer sold.
Boosting the sale of microbrewed offerings is something that could also help the province’s economy, according to the lobby group Ontario Craft Brewers.
“These new changes will allow craft brewers to double or triple our share, which will create another 1,000 to 2,000 direct craft brewery jobs across the province,” said Cam Heaps co-founder of Steam Whistle Brewing and chair of the Ontario Craft Brewers. “The spinoffs jobs could create an additional 4,000 jobs.”
Microbrewers already account for 1,000 of the 3,000 people employed by breweries in Ontario.
While Ontario’s microbrew movement already seems to have hit full stride, John Hay, president of Ontario Craft Brewers, also said the changes could help to spur more breweries to open.
“We expect to see at least one brewery in nearly every community and multiple breweries in the larger communities,” he said, ” This will give a real shot in the arm to smaller communities and particularly to downtown cores that could really benefit from this economic stimulus.”
Modernizing beer sales was recommended by the government-appointed panel, which examined Crown assets to find ways to squeeze out the maximum value for the Liberals’ infrastructure plans. Other recommendations include creating a “beer Ombudsman” to handle complaints and issues arising from breweries and consumers and restructuring The Beer Store’s board, allowing three seats for the current owners and four for government appointed officials, allowing the government to hold the swing vote on any issues that need to be voted upon.
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