CAMRA BC Craft Beer at Farmers Market Campaign Close to Reality

Yesterday, Premier Christy Clark made an announcement highlighting government support for 12 recommendations made by Parliamentary Secretary John Yap in his report to Justice Minister and Attorney

Clever CAMRA BC campaign, spearheaded by Vancouver
president, Adam Chatburn, put craft beer at farmers markets
on the Liberal radar

General Suzanne Anton related to liquor policy changes.

One recommendation endorsed by Clark's Liberals, the allowance of tastings and sales of craft beer at local farmers markets, has the executive for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) of BC smiling from ear to ear and I should know as I am one of those executive members.

In a press release from the Office of the Premier and Minister of Justice, it was announced that, "(m)anufacturers will be able to sample and sell their made-in-B.C. liquor at venues such as farmers’ markets, festivals and off-site tasting rooms."

This announcement, which the government hopes will help, "growth of the wine, craft brewery and craft distillery industries by allowing the sale of products at locations like farmers’ markets," and help promote BC tourism, as many visitors to our province take in local farmers markets and festivals, is one CAMRA BC has been pushing for and I do believe CAMRA's campaign to get BC craft beer into BC farmers markets has played a huge role in making this idea a reality.

It all started last March when CAMRA BC representatives met with several NDP MLAs in Victoria to present a list of wants to who CAMRA thought were going to be the ruling party after May's provincial election.

On that list was the idea of having craft beer and wine made available for sale at local farmers markets, an idea, that at the time, was a pipe dream at best.

Well, as we all know, the NDP failed miserably in the election, but that did not deter CAMRA BC, specifically Vancouver president Adam Chatburn who took this on and pushed further by securing booth space at several Vancouver-area farmers markets this past summer.

Chatburn cleverly drew people to the CAMRA booth by having an empty cask of beer on the table with a sign, "Free Samples", and once at the table, market goers could see in fine print, "not available here" at which time Chatburn and his CAMRA representatives educated their audience on how BC liquor policy made this sort of activity illegal and offered them form letters to sign requesting that craft beer be allowed for sale at farmers markets.

According to Chatburn, that letter writing campaign resulted in Yap and Anton receiving over 400 letters, a number large enough to immediately get the attention of any politician and in this time of liquor policy review in the province, I can guarantee you Yap and his team were looking at this idea before the consultation even began.

In fact, I had been told from a very reliable and well connected source that beer and wine in farmers markets had already been rubber stamped as a "go" before the consultation was even in full swing and that this would be one of the first announcements, something that appears to be true. The fact that Clark herself made the announcement tells me this is a done deal as Anton is not going to upstage and over-rule her boss by watering down the recommendation or by putting the kibosh on the idea.

The farmers market idea was also apart of the CAMRA BC presentation to Yap and his team during the stakeholder meeting phase of the review and I can tell you the idea was very well received and I, for one, was surprised when it became apparent that the Liberals were considering allowing free samples to be given out as well, which, as you can see by yesterday's announcement, seems to be what is coming down the pipe.

I know this is apparent victory is not 100% due to CAMRA BC and Chatburn pushing as the wine industry were advocating for BC wine sales at the markets as well, and now that Christy Clark is representing Westside-Kelowna, prime wine country, the wine folks will even have more influence on the Liberals than before. Having said that, CAMRA BC members should be proud of what their executives have done to put this on the Liberal radar, especially Chatburn and his Vancouver Executive who took this on and raised awareness by getting the booths at the markets.

This is why CAMRA exists, to advocate on behalf of the craft beer consumer of BC, and it appears they have chalked up one major victory for those of us who enjoy great BC craft beer.

Lets hope they have many more successes!

My Guesses as to What Will Come out of the Liquor Review

Yesterday, Parliamentary Secretary and Liberal MLA, John Yap, handed over his report to Attorney General and Justice Minister Suzanne Anton with his recommendations for modernizing BC liquor policies based on information collected via the massive consultation with BC citizens and stakeholders in the BC alcohol world.

I have been asked by many folks what changes will come from the whole process and I have to be honest in saying that I really have no freaking clue what Anton will implement on behalf of the BC Liberals.

Yes, I was apart of a group that met with John Yap and his crew and I have been on more than a few radio programs talking about the move to sensibly modernize BC liquor policies, but other than making educated guesses based on reactions during CAMRA's conversation with Yap, reading Yap's blog posts and the submissions of others to his committee found on the review website, I have no more official information than the next person.

For what it is worth, here is what I think may happen.

First off, I am getting the impression that BIG changes are coming and the Liberals are seeing this as their chance to be THE government to make one of the most important marks on culture and society in BC history by modernizing the way we perceive and deal with alcohol in this province. Suzanne Anton and her crew know they have the attention of a very wide cross section of the BC citizenry, from big business folks to Joe Sixpack, and I don't think much is off the table at this point as far as what the government is considering. The government will proceed with caution, with some of the more controversial changes being considered, as they cannot give the impression they are disregarding negative health impacts and the possible risks to public safety attached to liberalizing liquor policy, but I really do believe they will go further with changes than the average person believes.

I believe, as do many others, that the changes will not all come at once. There are some "quick wins", a term John Yap is avoiding like the plague, that will not be that hard to implement and which already have a proven track record of popularity and success in other jurisdictions. Down the road, we will see a second wave of changes, those dealing with the more sensitive and controversial ideas being considered.


Here are a few changes I think you will see implemented in the next year.

Happy hours, or discretionary pricing, as CAMRA BC framed it, is, in my mind, a slam dunk. It will take little to bring this popular concept back and as of right now, BC is the only province that continues to  prohibit licensees from being able to change the prices of their alcoholic beverages during the course of a day. The way it works now, a licensee must set the drink price each day and stick with that price from opening to closing. I think you will see controls and limits set as to how low the drink specials will be allowed to go and as to what hours "happy hours" are allowed be held, so as to cut down on the binge drinking concerns those against the concept have, but I honestly believe that we will see the return of this consumer favourite which also benefits the businesses, drawing customers into their establishments during traditionally quite times.

Farmers Markets allowing the sale of alcohol I think will be another change that will be phased in sooner than later. I do think you will see the government make the changes necessary to allow for local craft breweries, wineries and possibly artisan distilleries to provide limited amounts of samples to consumers at farmers markets and sales of packaged products for consumers to take away to be consumed elsewhere. The idea is a popular one, one that fits with the farmers market concept of direct sales from the manufacturer-producer to consumer and this has been very popular in jurisdictions like Nova Scotia and Oregon to name a few places. I do not think you will see actual on-site consumption areas, like beer gardens, at the markets, at least not at first, but I can see this being a part of a long-range master plan. And because the wine industry is behind this concept 100%, the government will immediately give it a second look, especially now that our beloved Premier is the MLA for a riding smack-dab in the middle of wine country.

Liberalization of the rules around serving alcohol at festivals and special events, is another concept the Liberals seem to be considering, especially as some of the law enforcement folks they spoke to support this idea.

It appears the government is considering making changes that will make beer gardens and festivals more family friendly. As it works right now, many festivals that may allow minors, have segregated areas, commonly known as beer gardens, where alcohol can be purchased and consumed. These areas, also referred to as "beer ghettos", only allow +19 folks, which means if a family is attending a local festival in their city-town and Mom, Dad or both want to stop to have a drink with lunch they either have to split up, as kids are not allowed in the alcohol consumption areas, or they just simply decide forgo the pleasure.  By allowing minors into these areas, responsible parents can enjoy an alcoholic drink, in the company of their kids, just like they can in a restaurant, bowling ally, wedding, family reunion event, etc. It is also thought that by making the atmosphere more family oriented, the frat party, beer garden, atmosphere will lessen and rowdiness will decrease, as beer swilling twentysomethings get the evil eye from old man dads like myself.

The other concept out there is to do away with the requirement to have a segregated beer garden area and allow festival goers to walk around with their drink in hand to be enjoyed where they want within the confines of the event. This would rid events of those segregated booze ghettos, where everyone consuming a drink is packed into a confined space. It is this effect and the more family-oriented atmosphere that I have heard has law enforcement supporting these changes.

Alcohol in parks and at the beach is another change that may happen on the provincial level but that does not mean local governments will be on board and pass by-laws allowing for the same in their jurisdictions. Much like the battle fought by Vancouver breweries to have local by-laws amended to be allowed to have on-site beer lounges after the province gave the go ahead, I think you will see some communities bulk at allowing adults to enjoy a glass of wine with their picnic meal at the park.

Licensees buying direct from manufacturers and private retail liquor stores (LRS). As it is right now, licensees must go through the government liquor stores (GLS) to buy their stock...well in theory, as many are cheating and going to their local LRS outlet to get speciality products that the government stores don't stock or to fill up shelves on busy nights after the GLS outlets are closed. Restaurants and bars would be free to order cases of wine from small BC wineries or buy a bottle or two of wine or a few bombers of a limited release craft brew from their local LRS without having to go through the restrictive and bureaucratic beast that is the LDB. Breweries are already allowed to deliver, on behalf of the government, as I believe artisan distilleries are as well, directly to licensees, which helps some, but by allowing licensees to buy from LRS's, it frees them from the restrictive GLS hours and sometimes limited inventory and takes to burden off breweries from having to make these deliveries direct to the licensee's location.

There are a host of other changes I believe will occur, but the above are the changes that I think, in the short term, will grab most of the headlines and be most noticeable. In a few days I will lay out some of the changes I think will happen, but which will take some more time to implement due to their complexity and controversial nature, such as booze in supermarkets.

Free Samples of Cask Beer!: CAMRA Vancouver Wants to Bring Craft Beer to Local Farmers Markets

Imagine ambling down to your local farmers market on a sunny Saturday afternoon and being able to taste one or two sample-sized beers from your favourite, local brewery before purchasing a growler of fresh craft brew to throw into your recyclable shopping bags along with your organic organic veggies, free range eggs and fresh baked whole grain bread.

Crazy talk, you say?

Well here in BC, where adult consumers of alcohol are treated like children and it is illegal to sell or give out samples of any type of alcohol at farmers markets, yes. Government liquor inspectors to toss and turn all night and politicians run for cover at such suggestions saying it is not in the interest of public safety.

But not so in a few places south of the border, such as Oregon, Washington State and New York State, where consumers can purchase and consume beer at farmers markets and in some cases wine and spirits (read here) and you know what, from the reports I have read and heard, there are no gangs of drunken youths or irresponsible adults overturning the organic apple cart. As a result, many other states are considering passing laws allowing booze sales at local markets.

In a bid to raise awareness about this issue, The Campaign for Real Ale BC - Vancouver Branch (CAMRA Vancouver), has struck a deal with the Vancouver's Farmer's Market to set up shop at community tables provided at five different markets over the summer.

To get market goer's attention, CAMRA are setting up a "pin" (20 litre cask) at their table with a sign saying "free samples". Once lured to the table by the thought of a free sample of cask beer, the consumer sees the fine print under the "free sample" sign explaining the illegalities of alcohol at farmers markets in BC and CAMRA representatives are there to answer questions and provide education about this issue and other CAMRA campaigns such as Fess Up to Serving Sizes (FUSS), Bring Your Own Craft Beer (BYOCB) and the Save Growler Campaign and about CAMRA Vancouver and what they stand for in general. If interested, people are also able to sign up for a membership onthe spot and join the CAMRA cause.

CAMRA is also encouraging those who support the idea of beer sales at farmers markets to write Attorney General Suzanne Anton and her Parliamentary Secretary, John Yap to inform them of their desire to be able to sample and purchase craft beer at Vancouver Farmers Markets. To help get the letter campaign going, CAMRA has been printing out form letters which they are offering to mail if signed at the markets. The letter can also be downloaded from their website (download here) and mailed in by the consumer.

Free samples! Not here in BC! Campaign For Real Ale Vancouver is asking the Provincial Gov't why beer samples and sales are
illegal in BC while legal in places like Oregon and Washington States

"All the people we spoke to knew it was illegal but didn't know why," states CAMRA Vancouver President, Adam Chatburn on CAMRA's website. "A couple of the people who signed letters were visiting from Seattle and Oregon and were surprised that it wasn't possible for local artisan alcohol products to be sold at farmers markets."

According to Chatburn, this is not a campaign pushing to have beer gardens and on-site consumption, other than limited samples and is about giving craft beer consumers the chance to purchase growlers from local craft breweries at Vancouver Farmers Markets. It is an idea that fits in with the concept of consumers buying locally produced products directly from the producer.

CAMRA has taken the idea to the BC Legislature, where they met with several NDP MLAs and according Chatburn, the idea was well received, especially supported by long-time NDP MLA Jenny Kwan. Chatburn has also met with Vancouver City Councillor Heather Deal where he brought up the idea of beer sales at Vancouver Farmers Markets.

CAMRA Vancouver has already attended two markets, in Kitsilano and the West End and the response has been good. 

"Everyone who we spoke to about it at the markets agreed to sign a letter and we quickly ran out of letters at our first market, we also ran out at the West End market and in total so far we have over 100 letters ready to go," reports Chatburn. 

They are scheduled to be at the Main Street Market, July 10th, Trout Lake, July 13th and Kerrisdale August 10th. So if you are a CAMRA supporter and in favour of beer sales at Farmers Markets, get out and support the cause.  Who knows, if enough people write letters at this time when liquor laws are being reviewed, reformed and modernized, we may soon be able to fill our growlers and buy great, locally-produced foods at BC farmers markets.