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Entire Senate expense system under scrutiny Long-awaited examination proposes nothing short of a complete overhaul of how spending is governed. A7
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The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Saturday, June 6, 2015
STICKER SHOCK Cost of popular craft beers going up in British Columbia
Jennifer Lewis, president of the Wolf Brewing Co., holds a Scotch ale on Friday afternoon. Small breweries are being hit hardest after new wholesale liquor prices came into effect this week. [AARON HINKS/DAILY NEWS]
Microbreweries hit by pricing shift
DARRELL BELLAART DAILY NEWS
I
t’s hard to beat a frosty beer on a hot day, but as summer nears the price of a mug of suds is rising. On Monday the newest wholesale liquor prices took effect across B.C., with the majority of beer brands up by anywhere from two to 11 per cent. “Our single bottles and four-packs went up in price,” said Harley Smith, brewmaster with Nanaimo’s Longwood Brewery. “I would say we roughly went up eight to 10 per cent.” Jennifer Lewis, president of Wolf Brewing Co., said the new wholesale pricing schedule erases a 16-per cent discount government retail stores formerly got on her product. So retailers “have to charge more,” Lewis said. “Ours just went up 40 cents a bottle.”
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“You’re already paying a premium for craft beer instead of industrial beer. Eventually there’s going to be a breaking point.” Harley Smith, Longwood brewmaster
A handful of products actually dropped in price as much as 7.6 per cent, but many brews — particularly those made by microbreweries — went up by from two to as much as 11 per cent. The government stopped producing wholesale price lists on April 1, so this week the Opposition New Democrats released a list compiled using data from online sources, showing micro-
brewery beers were affected more. “It just means a guy will pay more for it and there’s only a certain amount a guy will pay,” Smith said. “You’re already paying a premium for craft beer instead of industrial beer. Eventually there’s going to be a breaking point.” David Eby, NDP MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey and Opposition liquor policy critic, said the increase was needed after the government set out to correct discrepancies between the 16-per cent discount wholesale price government stores paid and private liquor stores, which were having trouble competing. He predicted price increases, and “government issued an edict saying prices would not go up April 1 and sure enough, prices didn’t go up April 1 and they
said: ‘See, you’re just beer-mongering,’” Eby said. “But the trick is, government retail stores need money to operate, pay salaries, rent and they aren’t doing it with this kind of mark-up,” Eby said. He said government sources show B.C. Liquor Stores need a 17.2-per cent markup to survive, and on craft beer it was six to nine per cent. “They were operating at a loss and now they’ve increased prices so when year-end comes, they aren’t losing. What will happen, there will be waves of increases,” Eby said. The price increase is a “concern (because), if prices continue to escalate people will move away from the category, but time will tell,” said Ken Beattie, B.C. Craft Brewers Guild president. Smith said it eliminates government store’s price advantage.
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“If government didn’t mark it up, private stores couldn’t compete,” Smith said. In a statement, B.C. Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton said government supports the craft brewing industry and is “focused on” helping consumers by creating competition in the marketplace. “We’re also making common-sense policy changes that support the craft beer industry, such as graduating the wholesale mark-up for small breweries to encourage growth, selection and the creation of new jobs.”
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