More Price Increases to Come for BC Craft Beer Drinkers?

Many in BC find themselves paying more for their beer this week than they did last week due to the BC Liberal Party's announcement of new minimum drink prices, which are now the highest in the country, but this may not be the last beer drinkers see for price hikes.

I have heard, though the grapevine, that the government is still planning on tying beer prices to alcohol content (ABV), in the name of public health and safety, because apparently us alcohol consumers just can't stop ourselves from over-consuming and we are all incapable of self-regulating.

Recommendation #18, in Parliamentary Secretary John Yap's BC Liquor Policy Review Final Report, submitted to Justice Minister and Attorney General, Suzanne Anton, states:

"LDB should consider tying minimum prices to the amount of alcohol (e.g., a beer with seven per cent alcohol would have a higher minimum price than a beer with four per cent alcohol)" 

When the new minimum price structure was announced last week, I thought maybe the Liberals were backing away from this recommendation, as I had heard from some reliable sources that Christy Clark and her crew were afraid of the public backlash related to increased liquor pricing, but that is obviously not true as the new minimum is taking its toll in those less affluent areas outside the Lower Mainland.

But if the info I received the other day is true, then those who enjoy some of the stronger beers out there on the market, which are usually craft beers, may be digging even deeper into their pockets to purchase those beers and not just in pubs and restaurants. If this recommendation is converted into policy, it will impact all beer, whether bought to be consumed in a licensed establishment or packaged product purchased to be consumed elsewhere,

It means growlers, which have escaped the new minimum drink price, will be impacted and depending on the policy and what it dictates some growler fills will increase.

Keep in mind this is 3rd-hand information and I have not had confirmed by the LCLB or LDB so this may not in fact be true. But if the government keeps caving to health advocates and anti-alcohol lobby groups, who are using scare tactics and meaningless statistics to try to get what they want, which is higher priced booze which is harder to access, I think this change to increase the price of stronger beers will become a reality.

No one knows exactly what is going to happen and when but after last Friday's happy-hour-minimum-price fiasco, I am very afraid of what what may coming down the pipe. The Liberals seem to like to pull these announcements out of a hat and the policies do not seem to be very well thought through in some cases, read booze in supermarkets.

CAMRA Vancouver has posted about beer-ABV issue and let their stance be known, which has shifted significantly sine the drink minimum announcement. Read what they have to say here.

I would recommend consumers get ahead of this. At the bottom of the CAMRA Vancouver post is all the contact information for government and the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch. If you want to let the Liberals know how pissed off you are with how they rolled out happy hour - and be clear that I am not against happy hour but with the minimum drink prices that were imposed - and want to head off any further price increases by letting them know enough is enough by e-mailing, tweeting.

If the beer consumers of BC do stand up and shout loudly, maybe we can make a difference.

One thing is clear, if we do not, we have no chance...

BC On Tap - Every Month Can Be BC Craft Beer Month

October is upon us which means it is, once again, BC Craft Beer Month (BCCBM).

For those of you who do not know, October was officially declared by the BC Provincial Government in 2011 to be BCCBM, a month that, according to the official proclamation, "will feature a celebration of British Columbia craft beer".

The month is meant to be a time for those who support the local craft beer industry to shine the spotlight on themselves, by creating their own special celebrations which highlight specifically the world-class, craft beer brewed here in BC and raise awareness as to just how successful and important the craft beer industry is here in this province.

More importantly than that, it is an excuse for us who love to tip back a jar or three to get out there and enjoy the BC craft beers that we love.

Although it happens less frequently these days, often our local craft beers get over-shadowed by the amazing beers, and the buzz they create, imported from well known craft breweries down south. In my opinion, it was when these great US beers started arriving on the scene here in BC that the local craft breweries really started to push themselves to create and brew more unique and interesting beers to keep up and hold their places in the local market. Although there was a definite craft beer scene here, especially in Victoria and Vancouver where there were some great beers being brewed, it was these US beers that really started to educate the consumer here in BC as to what craft beer was all about and pushed it out into the open, beyond the beer nerd scene and CAMRA crowd.

In the past five years or so local brewers have not only managed to keep up with their very talented brewing cousins to the south, but have often surpassed them at their own game which is pushing the limits and challenging the norms of how beers taste and pushing the boundaries of recognized beers styles to create new styles and beers others try to emulate.

BC craft beer plays second fiddle to no one these days and one Vancouver establishment, Tap & Barrel, celebrates that fact every day of the year, not just during BCCBM.

This is not a review of the Tap & Barrel, although I personally really like the place and love what owner Daniel Frenkel and his staff  are doing there. No, you will have to go there yourself to judge whether you enjoy the place or not. I think you will, but I have been known to be wrong before.

What I want to highlight is the fact that Tap & Barrel has 24 beers on tap and all are brewed in BC breweries. They embrace and highlight the local scene on a daily basis and are none the worse for wear for doing so because our craft beer industry is producing more than enough great beers to occupy the 24 taps on offer there. And they are just scratching the surface, pouring only a fraction of the good BC beers available. Hopefully, as they get going and gain popularity, they can begin to rotate some of their taps and include some of the great beers and breweries that are not currently represented on their tap list. Hopefully, if they are successful, and I see every indication that they will be, more and more establishments will expand their beer menus and will focus more on our locally produced beers. Tap & Barrel are not the only licensee who boast an all-BC, craft line-up, but I do believe they do have the biggest selection of BC-only beers. If I am wrong, please send me word of where I can find a larger selection of BC beer, and only BC beer, on tap.

The fact that a restaurant like Tap & Barrel can go with an all-BC, craft line-up on their draft beer list - they do offer some macro lagers and imported beers on their modest bottle list - is something I could never of imagined when I first started enjoying beer back when I had hair and a waistline. I come from a time when three national breweries had a complete stranglehold on the market here in BC and when you ordered draft beer, you didn't even bother to order by brand because they all tasted the same and often pubs only had one brewery's beers to offer. Now you not only have multiple styles and categories of beers to choose from, but also many choices within those different styles.

And even as recently as a few years back, although there was a growing selection of craft beers available on the market, many were from cities like Seattle, Portland and San Diego. Now our BC beers are legitimately in the mix and earning more and more tap and shelf space and they are there own their own merit, not just because they are locally brewed.

Before I start getting hate mail from those who love their beers from down south, this is not a knock against those brews or the establishments who serve them. Great craft beer is great craft beer and I am lucky to live in a city where there is a seemingly endless supply of craft beers from all over North America and beyond. But what I am finding more often than not is that I am drinking BC craft beer and not just because it is BC craft beer, but because I prefer them over the others available. I can honestly say that about 90% of the beers I purchase and consume are BC craft beers and like at Tap & Barrel, every month of the year is, for me, BCCBM.

I think because of the huge wave of momentum the BC craft beer industry is riding on right now, you may see more licensees concentrate more heavily on the local breweries. It would be great if the LDB caught on and stopped restricting  the number of listings they give BC breweries, which they should be promoting and supporting as much as possible, not ignoring, especially since domestic craft beer sales are one of the only segments of the alcohol market that is consistently growing. This would help grow the BC craft beer market and as the market grows, it will be able to support more and more breweries giving the consumer more and more choices.

What a great time to be a craft beer lover and living in BC!

Craft Beer Defined

This evening, when I heard the on the 6:00 news that the term craft beer had been defined and included in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, I was very excited.

Finally I would have a conclusive answer when I am inevitably asked the question ,"what is craft beer?"

This is always one of the first questions posed to me in interviews and it always catches me off guard for some reason, causing me I mumble out some lame-ass definition that makes me sound like I have no clue what I am talking about and which makes the interviewer think they are going to fire their assistants for recommending me for the interview. This inability by me to nail down the perfect definition might be because there was no real consensus as to what constitutes a craft beer because the term was created mostly as a marketing ploy. You ask 10 different beer aficionados to define craft beer and you will get 10 different and often conflicting answers.

But that was before Merriam-Webster got involved.

You can imagine my excitement as I quickly went to their on-line dictionary and typed in "craft beer". Merriam-Webster have been defining the English language since the 1800's so surely they would know how to nail down precisely and succinctly the definition that has alluded all of us beer geeks for the past 15 years or so.

Finally there would be no argument or debate as to what constitutes a craft beer. I was prepared to be enlightened.

So here it is, according to Merriam-Webster: craft beer (noun) - a specialty beer produced in limited quantities.

Well that sure clears things up doesn't it? No longer will I have to struggle to sound learned and intelligent when asked to define craft beer. I can just sit back, with an all-knowing smirk, and spout forth the definition endorsed by those who define the English language, making myself look every inch the expert my interviewer expects me to be.

Seriously, I'm even more confused and have more questions than ever. What defines "a specialty beer"? What defines "limited quantities"? Does that mean my beloved Fat Tug IPA is not a craft beer? Say it ain't so!  It is regularly produced, can be found virtually everywhere in Vancouver year-round and is a beer from a recognized style, so is it a specialty beer made in limited quantities? 

Who cares. I like it so I will drink it until I don't like it any more, no matter what label gets attached to it or pigeon hole its gets shoved into. I don't drink Fat Tug because it is called a craft beer, I drink it because I love its flavour.

I think maybe we, the beer geeks, get too carried away with this whole craft beer thing sometime, especially since no one really knows what the Hell craft beer is exactly. Isn't the point of going out for a beer to enjoy said beer and the company you are with while drinking it? If you like a beer's taste and it hits the spot for you, does it matter whether it is craft or crap? Hell, if Molson M and it's microcarbonation blew away my tastes buds, I would drink it, but predictably, it just blew, so I don't. I have tasted beers that were supposed to be great tasting beers, brewed by the most hip and reputable "craft breweries" and I have disliked them because, yes, you guessed it, they didn't suite my palate.

I've said it before and I'll say it again,  I would drink beer filter through dirty socks if I liked the taste and it didn't kill me.


So maybe this ambiguous definition from Merriam-Webster and lack of consensus on any other definition from the beer world about what defines a craft beer is not all that important. What is important is that we all have ample access to the beers that we love, sold at reasonable prices, in the volumes promised and served in the correct manner.

Meanwhile, I'm going to start memorizing this new definition so I am ready for that next interview. How can I go wrong by answering, "well, according to Merriam-Webster..." 



  

No Consular Privilege for GCBF's 20th Anniversary

The Great Canadian Beer Festival is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year and to mark the occasion the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch have decided that the festival is not eligible for the Consular Privilege Program.

For two decades festival organizers have been using Consular Privilege, which allows alcohol to be imported tax and duty free into Canada by foreign consulates for registered charitable events, but this year they have been told by LCLB General Manager Karen Ayers that beer will have to be sourced through regular channels, namely the Liquor Distribution Branch, meaning the festival will have access to beers listed with the LDB or they can try to access unlisted beers through "special orders" which are never guaranteed to be brought in by the LDB.

"The federal government requires that all proceeds go to a registered charity, and the province requires that you have to be a registered charity to apply," stated a LCLB spokesperson, contacted via email. 


"The Great Canadian Beer Festival is not a registered charity. The Province has concerns the festival does not meet the criteria for a consular liquor event because it is not a registered charity. This concern has been communicated to festival organizers."


So by that rational, as I see it, the GCBF does qualify for Consular Privilege under federal rules, as they do donate proceeds to two registered charities, but do not qualify according to provincial requirements because the applicant has to actually be a registered charity.

Hieter states another reason cited by the LCLB for not granting Consular Privilege is that the alcohol consumed at the GCBF is not done so on consular property. This issue was not specified by the LCLB in their communications with me as being part of the reason for their decision.

The LCLB also pointed out that the GCBF had not applied for Consular Privilege this year, but that seems to be a moot point due to the stance being taken by provincial liquor regulators.

This move by the LCLB cannot be too much of a surprise as last year a warning shot was launched by the LCLB last year when they unexpectedly pulled Consular Privilege less than 24 hours before the 2011 GCBF was set to begin, then reversed the decision just a few hours prior to the gates opening (for full story go here). It was a somewhat bizarre move, considering the timing, but definitely a hint of things to come. If the LCLB had stuck to their guns with their original decision to pull Consular Privilege, the GCBF would not have been allowed to let any of the US beers to be poured and would have had no time to work out an alternative, leaving a massive hole in the festival's line-up.

This year Hieter had reached out to the office of Liberal Cabinet Minister Rich Coleman and the LCLB to try to arrange meetings to ease the tensions and clear up any misunderstandings. They were granted a meeting with Lori Wanamaker, Deputy Minister to Rich Coleman and Karen Ayers. According to Hieter, he felt that meeting was somewhat positive.

When GCBF organizers were granted a second  meeting with Ayers and a few others from the LCLB, Hieter was excited that him and GCBF organizers may finally be getting somewhere with opening a dialogue with the LCLB GM about Consular Privilege and a number of other issues, but those hopes were soon dashed when Hieter and his team realized the meeting was a one-way communication with the LCLB delivering bad news on all fronts.

Hopefully the impact of no Consular Privilege will be negligible as there has been sufficient warning given for Hieter and his team to source other beers. It will mean that festival goers will not be able to sample those US beers that do not make it north of the border except for special events like the GCBF, but there still will be an American presence..

"We will be looking more to the east instead of south," said festival organizer Gerry Hieter, during a recent phone interview, meaning that there may be a decidedly more Canadian flavour to the beers poured at this year's event, to be held in Victoria's Royal Athletic Park Sept 7-8. Hieter also believes that the line-up of beers being poured will remain top-shelf. "More and more (beers fro the US & Canada), are getting listed in BC all the time."

For their part, the LCLB report they will work with the GCBF organizers to get the beers they require to host a top-class event.

"The Province recently met with Greater Canadian Beer Festival officials and offered to work with them to bring in casked and/or kegged beer from outside the province (US or other provinces) through the Liquor Distribution Branch," stated the LCLB spokesperson via email.


It seems once again that both sides see things from completely different angles and Consular Privilege is only one of many issues that concern Hieter but I will address some of the others in future posts.


Lets hope there are no other surprises in store for the GCBF from LCLB officials and inspectors so that we can celebrate Canada's longest-running beer festival's 20th birthday in style.

Tied House Laws Revisited - Middle Ground May Be the Way to Go

With the recent opening of East Vancouver's Parallel 49 Brewery, the dilemma of whether or not to relax the tied house and trade practice laws has once again become a topic of discussion in Vancouver and BC craft beer circles.

For those not familiar with what tied houses and trade practices are, "a tied house is an establishment that has an association, financial or otherwise, with a liquor manufacturer or its agent that is likely to lead to its products being favoured," according to the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch's Tied Houses and Trade Practices Consultation Paper, released January 2011. If a tied house situation exists, the manufacturer is not allowed to sell its alcohol through the tied house.


Trade practices laws regulate "commercial interactions between liquor suppliers and licensed establishments including restrictions on promoting specific manufacturers and their products in exchange for benefits provided by the supplier" (LCLB Consultation Paper, p.2).These trade practice restrictions are meant to stop producers of alcohol from basically bribing licensed establishments by offering freebies to them in exchange for exclusive or preferred sales deals.  

Vancouver's newest craft brewery

Because of these laws and the fact that Parallel 49 Brewery and St Augustine's Craft Brew House and Kitchen have some common owners, St Augustine's is considered a tied house and are not only prohibited from pouring Parallel 49 beers from any of its 40 taps or sell any of the brewery's bottled products, but are also prohibited from placing so much as single Parallel 49 coaster, poster, beer umbrella or any other Parallel 49 promotional swag in the restaurant. This is not an isolated problem as there are other tied houses here in BC where small breweries and wineries are being hurt by the laws that are meant to protect them.


"Quite simply I can't do any sort of cross-promotion, cross-branding, cross-anything with my 2 businesses," states Parallel 49-St Augustine's co-owner Anthony Frustagli.  

Vancouver's newest tied house

"I don't know of any other industry this applies to.  If you own a farm and grocery store, can you not sell your veggies in your store?  If you own coffee roaster and a cafe, should you not be able to sell coffee made from your beans?"

Frustagli makes some good points, but then the alcohol industry, especially in BC, is like no other industry out there in regards to unique regulations, restrictions and government control.


The existing tied house-trade practice laws date back to the 1950's and were put into place to stop the larger, national breweries from using their deep pockets to buy up pubs or bribe them in order to feature and favour their beers. The laws were meant to protect the smaller, local breweries by allowing them compete on a level playing field, but as the craft beer industry grows here in BC and more and more entrepreneurs, with varied business interests get involved, these laws, in some cases, are actually harming those smaller businesses they are meant to protect.

When asked if he felt the tied house and trade practice laws were protecting his newly-opened, craft brewery, Frustagli was not really in support of maintaining the status quo.

"Does it (tied house-trade practice laws) protect P49 (Parallel 49),  debatable," stated Frustali. "Giving the big boys the green light to open up their cheque books is a bit of a scary thought, but at the same time the rule isn't exactly being enforced right now anyway.

"I'd like to see a reasonable middle ground.  Perhaps capping a percentage of taps/bottles in your bar/restaurant/LRS that can come from your brewery/winery/distillery, and something ensuring that they are marketed competitively with other products."

This seems to me like a reasonable middle ground, allowing the alcohol manufacturer to offer their products in licensed establishments linked to them, but prohibiting them from favouring their products by mandating them to offer competitors' products at a competitive prices. This would restrict the bigger breweries from squeezing out competition by monopolizing all the taps and cooler/shelf space and still allow the smaller breweries to offer their products in these tied houses.

In my original post dealing with this issue, I came out as against loosening up the laws due to a fear that the big breweries would open up their wallets and try to stifle the competition, namely the craft beer industry, which is slowly eating into their market share here in BC. But in the past year the craft beer market, at least here in Vancouver, has changed so much, with craft beer getting support from a variety of new establishments, including unlikely sources like The Donnelly Group, The Cambie Malone's Group and Earls. I believe the smaller local breweries will have no problems finding licensed establishments that are willing to ignore the big breweries. There are just too many places committed to serving locally produced, quality craft beers and there are more and more coming on board the craft beer wagon every week. Some are motivating by money, just wanting to cash in on the craft beer craze, some are motivated by wanting to serve the best local beers they can source because, quite simply, they are superior products, but either way, more and more taps are becoming available to pour craft beer.

As mentioned above, the BC Liberal Government issued a consultation paper asking for written feedback on three proposed options to loosen up laws and/or deregulate in regards to tied houses and trade practices. Since that time, not a word has been spoken about the tied house rules. At the time when the deadline for the written submissions passed, the whole HST debacle was in full swing and the Liberals were in survival mode so "non-important" issues, like tied houses, were put on the back burner where they have seemingly been forgotten about.

 I recently asked the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch directly as to what happened to the proposed changes and received an email from a LCLB spokesperson saying, "the Province (government) is reviewing possible changes to tied house regulations that specify how liquor manufacturers can promote their products in licensed establishments. Meetings have been held with industry associations to seek their views. Results of the consultations have been mixed and the Province is continuing to review the matter."


In other words, nothing has been done. I don't know who these "industry associations" are, but I certainly have not talked to anyone who has been involved, including a few people I know who are directly impacted by the tied house rules. I spoke to one LCLB Liquor Inspector a few months back and he stated to me the government would "never" relax or change the tied house or trade practice laws, but offered no reasons as to why he believed this or where his information came from.


Let us hope that the government gets it right if they are indeed going to include these issues in the upcoming review and promised changes to the province's liquor regulations. If they choose to not make changes, small breweries like P49, who are motivating by making great beer and not by crushing the competition, will continue to be restricted by the laws that are meant to help them and if they deregulate completely, it may leave the door open for the big, national breweries, owned by gigantic, multi-national corporations, to attempt to throw their financial weight around in order to crush the craft brewing industry. 


I think even if the market is opened up completely, the local breweries are producing enough great beer and have enough loyal support to withstand the onslaught, but why even put them in that position. The government should be supporting this local, viable industry and encouraging it to grow, not stifling it or allowing it to be swallowed up by mega-conglomerate corporations.


And on a more person level, I would love nothing more than be able to walk 200 metres from my front door and enjoy a P49 IPL in my favourite local craft beer establishment, which happens to be St Augustine's.

CAMRA Vancouver Making a FUSS About Serving Sizes

CAMRA Vancouver is making good on its promise to put the Campaign back into CAMRA by launching their Fess Up to Serving Sizes (FUSS) Campaign.

Fuss is aiming to get licensees to comply with their legal obligation to make available to customers serving size lists for alcoholic drinks sold in licensed establishments and not about trying to get licensees to favour one measure over another. The campaign is not trying to tell licensed establishments what sized pours to offer, or alter their pricing, but is aimed at making transparent for the consumer what exactly is being offered for what price.

If CAMRA Van is successful in reaching their goal, consumers will no longer be in the dark as to just how much draft beer to expect to be served to them when they are ordering their favourite draft brews. No longer could bars advertise "pints" while actually selling much smaller sleeves because the measure would be defined in actual millilitres and ounces. Consumers would actually know, ahead of time, what sized sleeve they were ordering - sleeve glasses range from 341ml (12oz) to 454ml (160z) with all looking almost identical - instead of trying to figure out the beer glass's capacity after it is delivered to their table.

Although there is a law in place that dictates a licensee must have a list available to patrons outling the prices and serving sizes for all alcoholic drinks available, few establishments comply and the BC Liquor Control and Licensing Branch seems to have little interest in enforcing one of the few BC liquor laws that actually benefits consumers.. To make matters worse, more often than not servers and bartenders have no idea as to the measure they are serving, or are misinformed, causing them to misleading customers when asked about glassware capacities.

Although CAMRA is advocating on behalf of craft beer drinkers, the issue of misrepresented serving sizes and/or lack of disclosure by licensees as to what measure they are indeed serving affects all draft beer drinkers in BC. Whether you order a locally-brewed craft beer or a macrobrew lager from one of the national breweries, you want to know what you are paying for in advance of making the decision to order.

Get behind this if you care about your consumers`rights. How can you complain about being short-poured when you have absolutely no idea what a full-pour measure is...stand up for your rights!! First step, sign CAMRA Vancouver`s on-line petition which they will present to the BC Liquor Control and Licensing Branch in the future. For a more in-depth read about what FUSS is all about and what CAMRA Vancouver's action plan is, click here.

While on the subject of CAMRA, I think it is important to note CAMRA BC has just announced their combined membership (individual & corporate members) has gone over the 1,000 mark!!
Congratulations.
The more voices speaking in concert, the louder the voice. I know there are a growing number of craft beer lovers out there in BC who are not CAMRA members. Many have stated to myself the reason they are not members is that CAMRA BC and its BC chapters are nothing more than a beer appreciation group...well, see the above post about the FUSS Campaign for proof that CAMRA chapters in BC are getting more active and doing more than organizing drink-ups.
Next stop, 5,000 members!!
Click here to join in the fun and help support the craft beer consumers of this province in their quest to be able to more readily access locally-brewed, craft beers served in the proper manner for fair prices. It is a great way to educate yourself about craft beer, home brewing and the craft beer industry in general and gives you a chance to have a voice and help shape our local craft beer community.

US Breweries Almost Banned From GCBF

Due to a decision made by the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) and Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB), less than 24 hours before the gates opened for this year’s Great Canadian Beer Festival (GCBF), participating American breweries were hours away from being excluded from the event which has GCBF organizer Gerry Hieter believing the LCLB has it in for Canada's longest-running beer festival. 

According to Hieter, he received, without any warning, an email from the LDB/LCLB on Thursday, September 8, at 4:56 PM, just 22 hours before the event opened, advising him that consular liquor privileges had been revoked for the festival, meaning US breweries would not have been able to pour their beers. Luckily for festival organizers and those attending, the decision was reversed at 1130 AM Sept 9, just 3.5 hours before the festival opened. 

Consular Privilege allows alcohol to be imported into Canada by foreign consulates, tax and duty-free, for registered charitable events. Charitable events must apply to the appropriate consulate, fill out the appropriate applications, be approved by the consulate and get approval from the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) before they can successfully import the alcohol they desire for their event. According to the US Consular General Wine Promotion Program, which is the same system used to import beers,

"Canadian regulations stipulate that promotional goods imported into Canada under Consular Privilege cannot be auctioned, sold or disposed of in any way other than by consumption during the charitable event for which they are intended. Wine not consumed during the event must revert to the custody of the United States Consulate General.  As soon as possible following the event, contact (the US Consulate) to arrange delivery of unused wine to the US Consul’s residence.  Unless otherwise agreed in advance, surplus wine will be served at future charitable functions or representational events selected and sponsored by the U.S. Government. Within one week following the event, organizers are required to submit a signed statement describing the disposition of all wines imported under the Consulate General’s auspices". 

Hieter states that the GCBF has been importing beer for the festival using Consular Privilege for 17 years without problems and "had no inkling, no warning" there was a problem this year until receiving the 11th-hour email from Karen Ayers, the General Manager of the LCLB. To date, Hieter has no explanation as to why the Consular Privilege was revoked, or why it was re-instated just hours before the festival began. It appears the GCBF had all their paperwork in order and had received approval from both the US Consulate and the DFAIT.

Representatives from 15 American breweries had already managed cleared customs with their beers and were in Victoria readying themselves for the festival before the decision. Representatives from two other breweries were actually held up at the border and were not allowed to clear customs with their beer until the decision was reversed.

"The amount of stress caused to me and the American brewers who had to sit in customs all morning after being told they couldn't bring their beer in to the province was a travesty and an abuse of power that should at the very least, result in a new General Manager," stated Hieter via email. "They (American breweries) wouldn't have been able to pour without that program in place which would have taken out 25% of our breweries. That would have spelled disaster for us."

 Not to mention the embarrassment for the festival organizers, the costs attached the the US breweries who came up to Victoria, on their own dime, to participate and the extreme disappointment of the thousands of beer-loving festival goers who bought tickets and traveled to the festival with the expectation that certain breweries would be participating.

The LCLB state that they had been looking into the validity of the GCBF's eligibility for Consular Privilege and the last minute decision to revoke it was just bad timing.

"Both the Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) and the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch had expressed concerns with respect to whether the Great Canadian Beer Festival was eligible for consular liquor privileges," stated, via email, Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General spokesperson Cindy Stephenson. 

"At issue is the timing of the letter revoking the consular liquor privileges. Because of the lateness with which the revocation letter was issued, it was decided that letter would be rescinded and consular liquor was approved for the festival for this year." 

When questioned further as to why the GCBF was the target of this decision, Stephenson stated that the LDB and the LCLB were not specifically targeting the GCBF and are, "looking at issuance of consular liquor privileges to festivals generally," which is not good news for other festivals such as the Vancouver International Wine Festival and the soon-to-be-held Hopscotch Festival. Despite asking for details, I could not get any specific answers as to what the problems or issues were with the GCBF or why suddenly the way Consular Privilege has been used for years by festivals to import foreign products for locals to enjoy at charitable events is not valid.

For their part, the LDB  and LCLB do voice regret for the stress caused by their oddly-timed decision.

"The LCLB and the LDB regret any confusion and inconvenience that may have been caused by the last minute revocation and reinstatement of consular liquor privileges for the Great Canadian Beer Festival," stated Stephenson on behalf of both agencies.

"We (LDB & LCLB

 

On the other side of the issue, Hieter is determined to find out why he was put through the ringer, without warning, just hours before his event was set to kick off. He still believes this latest  incident with the LDB/LCLB powers that be was, "was a malicious act against us (GCBF) personally," and vows to get answers.

"I will be following up with  our lawyer," said Hieter. "The gloves are off."

Demand Out-Distancing Supply at Times in the Growing Craft Beer Market

Has anyone else been having problems lately finding their favourite craft beers when they want them?

Over the past several months I have had the frustrating experience, on several occasions, of walking into a liquor store to pick up a few of my favourite local craft brews only to find an empty spot on the shelf where that they usually sit indicating that they were sold out with no hopes of restocking until their next delivery. Often it has not been just one brand that is sold out and I am forced to purchase my third or fourth choice, leaving the store with a distinct feeling of disappointment.

It has not just been in the liquor stores  where I have been experiencing this drinkus interuptus. I have found that some of the more popular local craft brews are becoming hard to keep in stock and it is not a given that I will be able to sip on a sleeve of my favourite brew in my restaurant/bar of choice, even if that beer is one of their "regular" taps, which pisses me off at times when I have made a specific trip to that location to drink that beer.

It is not that these beers are particularly hard to find. In fact, over the past few years it has become increasingly easier to find craft beers in Vancouver with more and more restaurants, bars and liquor stores carrying these locally-crafted gems. But as these beers have become more available, more and more craft beer aficionados are discovering and drinking them which is causing the supply-demand issues I have been experiencing.

There can be no argument that craft beer popularity in this city is on the rise. The latest BC Liquor Distribution statistics, from their March Quarterly Market Report shows that despite the fact that overall domestic beer sales are down 9.2% in this province over the past 12 months, sales for smaller breweries, those producing less than 150,000 HL, usually the segment of the brewing world that produces craft beers, are up 7% for draft and a whopping 30.5% for packaged products!! The market share for these breweries has increased from approximately 13% in the LDB's December report to 15% in March. These smaller breweries in BC have taken their market share from 7% in 2007 to the current 15%.

Yes, it looks like more and more beer drinkers are choosing local, quality brews over mass-produced swill. Samson is sticking it to Goliath a little in the BC beer market but here-in lies the problem, I believe.

Local brewers are creating world-class beers which are growing in popularity because they are superior, quality products. Craft beer sales are increasing, as the stats show us, which has more and more establishments, the non-traditional craft beer bars, restaurants and liquor stores, seeing dollar signs and bringing these beers in to increase sales by riding the wave of craft beer popularity. Traditional craft beer spots are becoming more and more popular, are attracting larger crowds more consistently and are selling more and more craft beers on a daily basis.

Breweries, seeing dollar signs, are selling as much as they can in this quaffing frenzy that is the Vancouver craft beer scene. But the problem is, they are, in some cases, out-selling their supply lines, leaving sales reps scrambling to keep all their customers in beer all the time. It is a juggling act for some of the sales folk for the more popular local breweries, as they attempt the impossible of supplying more beer than their breweries have the capacity to produce.

I am happy that these breweries are finally getting the recognition they deserve and are slowly taking a larger bit out of the local beer market, but I wish they would slow down slightly and realize they are at capacity and should not expand their market any further until they expand their operations. Some do have expansion plans, to help keep pace with demands, while others are capping sales, happy with their current size and market share. It will be interesting to see if more breweries are able to open, to help fill the gaps left by more demand than supply.

Only time will tell if this problem will correct itself. I hope the brewery owners realize this craze will stick and soon will just become the norm as craft beer continues to increase it's sales and the consumer base. I believe now is the time for careful planning, not greed. Expanding into new markets, both in the non-traditional spots in the city and geographically across Canada and into the US is great, but not at the expense of those who have supported the beers since Day One, when sales were difficult.

Don't over-sell your beer please. There is no point selling to X amount of liquor stores, restaurants and bars when you can only keep Y amount stocked, leaving the others sitting with empty taps and shelves. You may not care that I have been experiencing this frustration, but eventually, if the situation continues, or gets worse, myself and others will begin to find alternatives and there are many out there as US-based craft brews find their way increasingly into the local market.

My Thoughts on the New CAMRA YVR President

A few weeks back I wrote about the resignation of Martin Williams from his position as president for CAMRA Vancouver and in that post I suggested that the next CAMRA YVR President would have to be a strong leader, able to keep the momentum moving forward at this pivotal time in the organization's history.  I wrote the next leader needed to be, "an energetic, focused and knowledgeable person willing to lead and motivate the CAMRA membership at large," in order to continue CAMRA YVR's growth and development.

Well, I hope I didn't raise expectations to high in regards to what was required of the next CAMRA YVR prez because, as it turns out, I am that person.

Talk about setting myself up!

When I wrote that post, I had no idea I would be filling the position. Being named president comes as a bit of a surprise to tell the truth. Being nominated didn't surprise me because I had let the remaining executive know I was interested, but I was sure that there would be strong competition from multiple others. There are some strong leaders in the Vancouver craft beer community, many of which I thought might like to put their stamp on CAMRA YVR during this exciting period of growth. In the end, I am not in the position because I was the best person, or convinced the executive and the membership I was the right person, I am there because I was the only person who, when asked to accept a nomination, responded with a "yes". But at this point, it does not matter how I got there, only that I am now in a position to make a direct difference working with the executive on behalf of the CAMRA YVR membership.

I am a little nervous about how it will all go, especially at the start. It is always hard joining a team in mid-season but due to the fact I have been actively involved in the Advocacy and Policy Meetings and am good friends with Martin, I have some idea what I am walking into. I do have strong opinions and tend to voice them more often than not, just ask my wife. But, I believe years of experience being in leadership roles has taught me to be open, flexible and to listen to others, even if their ideas and beliefs are not in sync with my own.

Many of my thoughts about what CAMRA should and could be here in Vancouver and in the bigger picture, BC, are similar to Martin's. I think the biggest similarity is that both of us feel that the membership has to be active, involved and engaged in the actual advocacy and education portion of CAMRA's mandate. Supporting craft beer and real (cask) beer is as easy as buying and consuming it, but advocating and lobbying for changes to the status quo here in BC regarding the liquor industry, specifically how it relates to the consumers of craft beer, will be arduous and tedious work. It takes energy, focus, careful strategy and numbers, as in a substantial enough amount of people to make the politicians take notice.

I am a believer that CAMRA Vancouver needs to continue to grow and must become more focused and active as an advocacy consumer group to be effective. I would like to see CAMRA Vancouver executive continue to move in the current direction of trying to motivate and activate its membership. I would also like to see CAMRA Vancouver working in concert with CAMRA BC and the other CAMRA chapters in this province to formulate a plan and create one strong voice that cannot be ignored.

But before CAMRA can become an effective and successful consumer advocacy group in this province, it must increase its membership, develop political connections and insert itself into the political realm. Organizing beer festivals, beer bus trips and securing 10% discounts at local establishments are activities that CAMRA should continue to carry out for their membership but I feel CAMRA here in BC can be much more than that and can actually effect positive change for the craft beer consumers of BC. CAMRA can set standards and be leaders in the local craft beer community, being proactive instead of reactive & passive. Craft beer consumers deserve to be acknowledged, considered and should not just accept the status quo, unless of course, they are satisfied with the status quo. If the membership is not willing to do so, then CAMRA YVR will never been seen by outsiders as more than a beer appreciation group for beer snobs and beer geeks.

Unfortunately, many do hold this perception of our group and CAMRA must change this perception. The membership needs to continue to grow and,  in fact, I believe this is key as those who are in position politically to effect change to our liquor laws and taxation will take notice quicker if CAMRA's numbers are in the thousands as opposed to the hundreds. At times, I think that those in the craft beer scene lose sight of the fact that they are a distinct minority and there are many among those who love craft beer here in this city who are not CAMRA members, many by choice. CAMRA must work hard to try to enlist these folks to join the cause and must work even harder to try to introduce those outside the craft beer scene into the fold and encourage them to join CAMRA to try to effect the changes we all want to see.

These are some of the ideas I have in regards to CAMRA here in BC and CAMRA YVR in particular. Time will tell in regards to how well my ideas, hopes and wishes for the group melds with those of the membership and the existing executive already in place. In the end, it is not about me and what I want, but about what the membership wants. If it turns out that there is no will to go beyond organizing festivals and going to cask nights to socialize, my time as president may be short and I will move on to do what I do.

Having said all that, we have to remember that this is about craft beer. We are not charged with curing cancer, stopping world hunger or initiating world peace. We all have families, friends and lives out in the real world and must always remember to maintain that balance. What CAMRA is doing is important, but should be kept in perspective in regards to what we hold dear in our lives. Along those lines, I will continue to blog as I enjoy the process of looking into issues, researching, writing and advocating. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you can continue to expect the same erratic, all-over-the-map approach. When I started doing this, I had no idea what blogging was really about...many will say I still don't.

So, the journey as prez begins. Please feel free to let me know what it is you would like to see happen for CAMRA YVR. If you are not a member, please consider joining up and getting involved. Together we can make our voice be heard.

And remember, advocating, effecting change are better enjoyed with a great craft beer in hand.

Reports & Ramblings From a Beer-Addled Mind #4

BC Beer Awards

The winners of the BC Beer Awards were recently announced and I have to say that it is quite surprising how the voting goes when those judging are doing so without previous knowledge of what brewery the beer comes from or what beer they are judging. I believe that at beer festival events and competitions like the annual CAMRA awards, the voting is often a popularity contest and winners are decided even before the beers are drank. Beers, breweries and establishments at times win on reputation. Block voting skews results and great brews get overlooked because they are not from the sexy, brewery-of-the-moment or brewed by the most popular brewer.

Another factor in these awards is that they actually had knowledgeable judges working within a specific set of guidelines. I understand they judged on how the beers fit the specific styles they are entered into. Judging was more than,``Wow, that was a great, tasty beer`` and had everything to do with official beer style guidelines. From what I understand, this was a bit of a sticking point with some of the judges who wanted to vote according to likes and dislikes and not according to whether the beer was a good example of the style or not. It really shocked me to see a pilsner take ``Best in Show``, but from what I have heard it was because this beer was the best example of a beer rating the highest for all the criteria within that beer`s style. Congrats to Steamworks and Conrad Gmoser for taking this honor.

With all due respect to breweries such as Lighthouse, if they put their beers into the same competition with the beers identified, I don`t think they would have won awards. Maybe I am wrong, but I can`t see it. That is not a knock on their beers - Keeper`s Stout is a great beer which my wife and I drink all the time and on the rare occasions that I pick up a six-pack of lager, I usually reach for their`s - it is a cynical observation and a commentary on the way people vote for beers in most competitions. It is my belief that more often than not the name and brand of a beer has a major influence in what people think about that beer, at least what they think publicly. Often, it seems to me, that unless a beer is high octane and an imperial this, imperial IPA or barrel-aged/infused that it does not rate with the beer snob crowd. And at times I think certain breweries could just piss in a bottle, label it a ``special/limited release`` and it would sell, receive great reviews and be raved about.

So I was really intrigued by the results of this blind tasting competition and you know what, the usual suspects did not win all categories.

Congrats to all the winners. I was very happy to see some of my favourites among those collecting hardware, particularly Howe Sound`s Woolley Bugger Barley Wine, which took the bronze medal in the Strong Beer Category and which I think was one of last year`s best brews and has been very under-rated. I was also very pleased to see Driftwood get so much recognition as I feel they are the best overall brewery in BC at the moment and can seemingly do nothing but hit home runs with their beers. Their Fat Tug IPA is a regular in my pint glass these days and very nicely priced to boot.

I was a little surprised at the beers that didn`t make the cut. Howe Sound`s Pothole Filler, which I rate up with the best Imperial Stouts around was, in my opinion, conspicuous by its absence but then I am not sure if it was even entered. Same with Crannog`s brews which were not mentioned at all in the awards. But that is the nature of beer. What I like and rate highly may repulse the person sitting next to me. That is why I don`t review and rate beers on this blog.

On a final note in regards to the BCBAs, I just want to let organizers know that I would be willing sacrifice a day of my life and suffer through a long day of tasting some great BC beers if they find themselves in need of another judge next year. It is a dirty job but somebody has to do it. Keep me in mind folks...just saying.

CAMRA YVR Has Some BIG Shoes to Fill



Martin Williams and myself
enjoying a pint together

 Earlier this week I, along with all other CAMRA YVR members, received an email message announcing that CAMRA YVR President, Martin Williams has resigned from his post. This is not good news for CAMRA as Martin, although not in the position long, had really infused a lot of his personal energy into the organization in his attempt to motivate and mobilize the membership to get involved and try to effect change as an active consumer advocacy group.

In short, he was attempting to put the CAM back into CAMRA.

Of course it was not just Martin spearheading this move to action. The rest of the CAMRA YVR executive have worked very hard and are still in place, ready to help support the new president, whoever that will be. I just hope that the focus and momentum won`t be lost with this change and that membership have some worthy potential presidents to choose from and do so wisely.

I believe CAMRA can be a successful lobby group here in BC if they continue to grow and stay focused on trying to effect some change to the status quo. I would hate the see the organization slip back into old habits and do nothing more than organize a few beer festivals here and there. To keep moving forward, CAMRA YVR requires and energetic, focused and knowledgeable person willing to lead and motivate the CAMRA membership at large. This next choice of president could be a pivotal point in CAMRA YVR`s development and growth. The craft beer industry here in BC is booming but both the industry and consumers need to press government to make changes to the existing liquor laws and the BC Liquor Distribution Branch to bring the liquor industry into the 21st Century. CAMRA could definitely have a roll in lobbying the government to make these changes but first must continue to grow, organize and formulate a strategy. CAMRA`s membership, guided by their president and the executive, must develop a political will and a political voice if they want to be anything more than a beer appreciation club.

As a CAMRA YVR member, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Martin for his hard work in regards to CAMRA. I wish him well in his future endeavours, whatever they may be. He was one of the major reasons I became a CAMRA member last year.

Vancouver Craft Beer Week

I have not blogged on the Vancouver Craft Beer Week as I knew that there would be no shortage of people doing so. I only was able to attend one event, Brothers in Hops, which I enjoyed immensely. I thought the event was very professional, intimate and there were some great beers on offer.

I know that VCBW has its detractors and critics, some of which have leveled criticism at the event organizers for featuring too many US-based breweries. Although in some peoples' minds local breweries get overshadowed by their US cousins such as Hopworks, Deschutes, Elysian, etc at events such as VCBW and GCBF, I believe our best brewers are second to none and more than hold their own. At Brothers in Hops events, I felt that Central City Brewery had the two best brews on offer, with their Imperial IPA and sherry/oaked cask conditioned imperial porter outshining the excellent beers on tap from Ninkasi (Eugene, Oregon) and Hopworks (Portland, Oregon). Although BC craft breweries may not compare in numbers to those in say Washington and Oregon, they are on an equal level when it comes to skill level, creativity and the beers they produce.

It would be nice to have a larger event that features just BC beers and maybe BC brewers should get together to run their own festival doing just that. I, for one, really don`t care if there are US-based breweries at events such as VCBW. The organizers are trying to sell tickets and would be crazy not to take advantage of the fact that there are many world-class craft breweries just south of the 49th. There was plenty of local representation at the VCBW events. I really liked the concept to the BC beer tap takeover at St Augustine`s where at one point there were 30 BC beers on tap! There were many great BC beers not represented at the BC tap takeover but a lot of that has to do with the fact that there are some breweries and brewpubs out there that just won`t put their beers on tap at St Augustine`s for some reason known only to the brewers. But that is another rant for another time. I also liked the concept of the VCBW Cascadian Dark Ale collaboration beer, where 28 BC breweries pitched in to create a beer especially for the event.

I hope that one day we do see a BC-only multiple-day festival, but we should not expect organizers of events like the VCBW to limit what beers they feature in their event because at the end of the day, they are attempting to make money. I applaud the organizers for their hard work and commitment to bringing great world-class craft beers to Vancouver and for creating a buzz in this sometimes sleepy city.

BeerTourist Planning a Foray to the Great Canadian Beer Festival

Before I go any further, I must let you know that I am one of the founding members of BeerTourist so that is why I support it and advertise for it here on my blog. I, along with the rest of BeerTourist, are in the process of putting together a trip to Victoria for the Great Canadian Beer Festival on Sept 10/11. We still need to confirm a few things and work out some minor details, but BeerTourist hopes to have everything in place by the end of June so we can begin selling tickets. A priority waitlist for those interested has been started as we will only be selling 50 tickets, enough to fill one bus.

The list is close to full, but we are still taking names as those on the priority list may opt out when time comes to buck up, so if you are interested, please email info@beertourist.ca with your name and contact info. We plan on leaving early on the Saturday morning so we can arrive at Victoria`s Royal Athletic Park in time for the noon opening of the festival and will return to Vancouver directly after the festival closes at 6 PM Saturday evening. Our ticket will include admission into the GCBF and return transportation (including ferry fees). Those going on the trip will be responsible for buying their own beer tokens, except for the tokens included with the admission ticket, and feeding themselves at the festival.

If you are interested, please get your name on the waitlist. It is not a commitment to buy, but does get you your chance to buy a ticket (or two) if you want. Last year the festival sold out on-line in a matter of minutes. BeerTourist, through their connections, are hoping to be able to secure tickets for our tour. Please check back at http://www.beertourist.ca/ or at our Beer Tourist Facebook page for more details and updates. You can follow us on Twitter @vanbeertourist.

BC as a Beer Tourist Destination is a Win-Win-Win Situation

VCBW along with The Great Canadian Beer Festival show
BC has the right stuff to become a major
destination for beer tourists.

Well done Vancouver Craft Beer Week organizers, host establishments and to all those who bought tickets and made the week-long celebration of craft beer a success!!

The main thing I took away from the VCBW, not counting the IPA-induced hangover I had the day after the Brothers in Hops event, is that British Columbia has a huge potential to become a craft beer destination and not for just one week of the year and not just centered in Vancouver. Victoria's Great Canadian Beer Festival, which has been highlighting BC craft beers and drawing beer tourists to their event since 1993, is another example of how a local event has the ability to draw beer enthusiasts from beyond their local scene. The Okanagan Fest of Ales is another prime example of how an event can draw both local and out-of-town beer enthusiasts to a craft-beer focused event. At the Brothers in Hops event I met several people who had come to Vancouver from out-of-town, some from quite a distance, for the VCBW and I am sure this was the case for the majority, if not all the events held during the week.

But I am wondering to myself why those involved in the craft beer industry wait for a major event such as the VCBW to lure out-of-towners to their communities to explore and taste the amazing craft beers available in this province. British Columbia is thought of as one of the most beautiful places in the world, hence Beautiful BC on our license plates. This province has something to offer almost everyone including the discerning craft beer lover. Tourism is a major industry here and we have a burgeoning and booming craft beer industry so it makes sense to me to marry the two. I know that I have seen advertising and package tours produced by the wine industry trying to lure tourists to the Okanagan, so why would it not work for craft beer? Our province is carved up into distinct and diverse regions, each with their own unique characteristics, including, for the most part, great craft breweries. It seems only natural that an industry such as the craft beer industry, take advantage of these natural assets to help draw people to their areas to tour their breweries and drink their beers.

The Ontario Craft Brewers Opportunity
Fund  encourages craft beer manufacturers
to expanded activities to grow their
business and be more competitive

The Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) successfully lobbied the Ontario Provincial Government for grant money to help their industry thrive and grow by working the angle they could help increase and enhance tourism in the province. The government developed the Ontario Microbrewery Strategy (OMS)and provided the OCB with significant grant money, $5 million over five years, "for marketing, training and other promotion activities for Ontario's small brewers". With that money, the association has been able to join together to market craft beer and promote themselves, benefiting both the industry as a whole and the breweries individually. In addition to the OMS, the Ontario government, once it realized how viable the craft beer industry was and how much of an economical upside there was to supporting it, went a step further and put $8 million into the Ontario Craft Brewers Opportunity Fund, which helps support the development and expansion of smaller craft breweries (those that produce 300,000 hectolitres or less).

According to Steve Eaton of the BrandFire Marketing Group, who have worked with the OCB for the past four years to develop their marketing campaign, the province's craft beer industry saw significant growth after being able to secure their substantial government grants which allowed them to develop such great promotional tools as their Discovery Pack, iPhone app, podcasts and very interactive and informative website. By getting the politicians on board, using tourism as their proverbial foot in the door, the OCB have put themselves on the Ontario political map. 

By actively trying to lobby the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Training and its minister Pat Bell, the BC Craft Brewers Guild may be able to tap into funding they can use to help their industry grow in strength and numbers so they can better take on the mega macrobreweries in the market place. When I recently spoke to the BC Craft Brewers Guild (BCCBG) Co-chair, Tod Melnyk, for a recent post entitled "No More Excuses", Melynk's Number One reason why the BCCBG are not more active and high-profile is the guild's lack of financial resources. He stated this was the OCB's government support was a major factor in their ability to be so advanced, organized and successful and he is not wrong. But the OCB did not just sit on their butts and wait for the government to dump money on their front door. No, they actively formulated a plan and went after the money. If I were the BCCBG, I would be sitting up and taking notice of my Ontario brethren and contacting them for some advice on how to successfully lobby a government for funds. Those are some substantial dollars being funneled the way of the Ontario craft beer industry. I know the political climate may be different out east, but we have both provincial and municipal elections looming, which is usually a good time to go looking for money from the powers that be who are trying to befriend as many voters as possible.

A quick glance at the BC Tourism Partners BC Tourism Associations list shows that both the their are 38 groups working with Tourism BC, three related to the wine industry, but none related directly to the craft beer. This may be a good place to start. Lobbying the government to recognize and support the craft beer industry may take substantial time and effort, but if the payoff is grant money and support like the OCB currently have, it would be well worth the effort. Our provincial government seems to always want to follow in the footsteps of Ontario (hello HST) so the BC brewers can use the example set by Ontario to help further their lobby. It seems to be a win-win-win situation in Ontario, with the OCB getting substantial funding to help their industry grow and market itself while the Province of Ontario is gaining jobs and positive economic spin-offs from the contributions the craft breweries to the economy and the consumers are getting more and more great craft to choose from.

The Ontario Craft Brewers successfully lobbied
the Provincial Government for millions of dollars...maybe our BC craft brewers
should take some lessons.

If it is too daunting a task for the BCCBG to organize craft breweries from the entire province to lobby, I don't see why smaller regional craft brewers associations can't be formed which can then work in smaller groups to promote their regions and go after municipal and provincial government support. Why not a Vancouver Island Craft Brewers Association, Lower Mainland Craft Brewer's Association or an Okanagan Craft Brewers Association? Maybe if the brewers get organized and in sync on a local level, they can then move to join forces province-wide later on down the road. Smaller regional brewers associations may also be able to link up with local wine and vintners associations to promote tours and tourism through advertising, festivals etc.

I think it is about time that those breweries employing our talented brewers get more politically motivated and up their game. If we want our craft beer scene to continue to mature, grow and become more vibrant, then those involved need to start supporting and promoting their own industry as a whole. If we want to strive to be an Oregon/Portland-like mecca for craft beer and destination for craft beer lovers from all over N America, our local craft breweries have to develop the political will to do what they can to better their industry here. By luring tourists to our great province to drink craft beer, the industry can widen its market and local consumers will undoubtedly benefit from a stronger local scene which will be able to support more craft breweries, producing more great craft beers and craft-beer friendly establishments for them to frequent.

Beautiful BC is the perfect
setting to turn into a craft-beer
mecca

The government should be able to see the logic in supporting a growing industry. Supportive grant money could mean more craft breweries which means more jobs in BC and increased tax dollars taken in from the businesses themselves and from the sale of the beer to licensed establishments and to consumers.  Creating a beer tourist friendly atmosphere could bring new travellers to BC who will be also spending money on hotels, meals, entertainment etc which benefits all in the communities they are visiting.

Let's face it, this shouldn't be hard of a sell.

Supernatural BC, great craft beer....sounds like a great place for a vacation.

Por la Cerveza Libre, Vive la Révolution

Craft beer in Mexico!!

There may be hope for craft beer lovers heading to Mexico after all.

It seems my January 12, 2011 post, entitled In Search of the Ultimate Cerveza - Final Chapter, may have been a bit premature when I wrote about the lack of a craft beer scene in Mexico and the apathetic attitude from the locals about the need for one. Although I could find no evidence of craft beer during my month in Acapulco/Mexico City last December and had not been able to locate any suds of quality on my many previous trips to various parts of the country, it appears there is a craft beer revolution afoot, spearheaded by a small-but-passionate group of Mexican craft brewers and craft beer advocates who are fighting tooth and nail against Mexico's big two breweries, Grupo Modelo and Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, who have dominated and controlled the country's beer scene for decades.

Can it be true that finally Imperial stouts, barley wines, IPAs and Belgian wits, Mexican style, are muscling out the light lagers from Mexico's tavernas and beaches?
Will I finally be able to find and enjoy brews with body, flavour, hops and 5+ ABV while vacationing in the sunny clims of Mexico?


Yes, it appears so, but don't expect to find these artisan beers to be widely available. As with the craft beer scene here in BC, circa 1990, it does exist, you just have to know where to look for it and in a country of 112 million+ inhabitants, it can like looking for a needle in a haystack if you don't know where to start.  Trust me, I have been looking for that damn needle for years.

As with many things in my life, I stumbled upon this information through no effort of my own. This past week I had two separate friends, completely independent of each other, alert me to the fact that there is craft beer being produced in Mexico. One friend told me he had spoken to someone who had recently attended a Mexican craft beer festival and immediately thought of my blog post and my voiced frustration of not being able to find anything but macrobrews will on my last vacation there. A few days later another friend forwarded me an excellent article written by Cristian Salazar, of The Associated Press, dated May 5/11, about the Mexican craft beer movement. This was too much of a coincidence for me so I thought I'd continue my search for the ultimate cerveza virtually and do a little investigation.

Despite the fact I have searched on-line, as recently as Jan/11, for info on craft beer in Mexico and found none, I found plenty of websites (in Spanish) and a few good articles, in English relating to Mexican craft beer this time around. In keeping with Mexican history and tradition, the craft beer movement mentioned in the Salazar article has the revolutionary-sounding name Por la Cerveza Libre (For the Liberated Beer) and the idea for it was apparently hatched in a Mexico City pub designed to look like an illegal, Prohibition era speakeasy.


If my Spanish skills are up to speed, according to info on the Por la Cerveza Libre website, the two big breweries have tied up 95% of all establishments who sell/serve beer in Mexico with exclusive contracts. I can vouch for the fact that the two main chains of convenience stores, Extra and Oxo (similar to 7-11), are exclusively tied to either one brewery or the other. The site also states that for every 1,000 beers consumed in the country, only two are craft beer. Other statistics and articles state the ratio is 8 craft beer per 1,000 but even that is a drop in the bucket and shows just how little headway the craft breweries have made into the Mexican beer market. Por la Cerveza Libre want to change all that and state in a written manifesto they want, "to choose what we consume based on our tastes, translates as free choice, a fundamental right of every person."  The group are hoping to use social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to support and promote establishments serving and selling craft beer to spread the word.

True to form, like all revolutionaries, the Mexican craft brewers are up against it - out manned, out gunned, and going up against the establishment, backed by the full weight of the ruling elite and who want to keep the status quo. They number somewhere just shy of 20 and are at a distinct disadvantage, so it won't be easy for them to grow and grab a greater share of the market. Tied houses and trade practice inducements are alive and well in Mexico which is how the two big breweries have managed to secure exclusive deals with most retail chains, restaurants and distributors. Many of the breweries have had to take advantage of the lack of tied house regulations and start their own restaurants/pubs/liquor stores in order to sell their beers. Two of the bigger craft breweries, Minerva and Primus, have banded together to open a chain of pubs/retail liquor stores, kitted out to look like Prohibition era gin joints and speakeasies, called El Deposito which are are based mainly in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta and which feature dozens of Mexican and imported craft beers. In fact it was in one of the El Depositos that the forces behind Por la Cerveza Libre hatched their plan. I was also able to locate websites for another chain of tavernas and boutiques called The Beer Box which feature a array of craft beers both domestic and imported as well. I even noticed they sell Old Rasputin, which although not Mexican, I would happily drink after a stressful day on the beach. 



Minerva and Primus breweries opened a chain of
pubs/liquor stores designed to look like Prohibition Era
booze cans in order to feature Mexican
 & imported craft beers

Distribution and sales are not the craft brewers only hurdles they need to clear to compete in the market with the big boys. As is the case here, craft beer tends to be more expensive to brew, due to the use of traditional, quality ingredients, many of which have to be imported into Mexico and due to the fact that they brew in much smaller batches compared to the large macrobreweries. As well, most brewing equipment must be imported and when dealing in Mexican pesos on the international market this can be quite costly. When I add together nearly non-existent distribution and sales points, higher production costs, the terrible economy that you find in Mexico, non-existent tax breaks from the government and the extremely small craft beer culture that exists there, I understand why I have had trouble finding these beers. There are more and more craft beer-friendly establishments trying to make a go of it, due in large part to the brewers showcasing their own brews by starting their own pubs and restaurants, like El Deposito.  The brewers are also banding together to bring attention to how the big two breweries have been limiting consumer choices and dictating what types of beer are available on the market. If you look at the end of the post, I have included a list of craft-beer establishments taken from the Por la Cerveza Libre website. It is not an all-inclusive list, but it does give you a starting point if you are searching for good beer in Mexico.

Despite all the odds stacked against them, some of the Mexican brewers are pushing the limits and challenging Mexican palates by introducing styles never-before produced in that country. Instead of light lagers and Viennese pilsners, the craft brewers are producing a variety of styles including imperial stouts, porters, IPAs and Belgian style beers. I even read one brewery, Mexicali's Cerveceria Cucapa, has released a tequila barrel aged barley wine! I would love to get my hands on a case or two of that for my beer cellar. It is going to be a battle with my wife for space in our luggage the next time we return from visiting her family in Mexico if I can get my hands on any of these beers. Instead of bringing home bottles of tequila, it will be tequila barrel-aged barley wine!!

 Mexico is also now also home to the second biggest Latin American beer festival, which has only been in existence since 2008.  La Festival de la Cerveza  (The Festival of Beers), is held each year in Guadalajara, Mexico, the country's second largest city and one of the craft beer epi-centres. The festival last year featured 24 different breweries, both micro and macro, from Mexico and around the world. The notes on the festival's web page stated they could accommodate up to 10,000/day, but there was not actual stats as to how many attended. I had to laugh when I read the ticket info, which listed the event at 40 pesos ($3.5 Cd), with ninos gratis (kids free)! I couldn't find any info about when next year's event will be held from the website but I have fired off an email requesting information...at least I think that is what I wrote in Spanish. I have holidays next October and would love nothing better than to head south so I can check out the festival and the craft beer bars so I can give a firsthand report.

My wife, who was born and raised in Acapulco and whose family still resides there, is very excited I have stumbled upon this information and not because she is curious to see what Mexican craft beer tastes like. She is a Corona gal, who will, if there is no choice, sip a Keeper's Stout or three, so craft beer is not a draw for her. No, she is excited because after spending all of our holidays in Mexico the last two years, I was leaning to going somewhere else. Now, she knows that the siren's song is calling me back south and that I will not be able to resist heading back to Mexico next October to discover what the craft beer scene there is all about. I see it as a win-win-win situation...my wife gets to visit with her family and vise versa, my in-laws get to visit with their granddaughter and I get to sneak off to do more "research" in search of the ultimate cerveza.

Por la Cerveza Libre!

Vive la Révolution!!! 

List of craft beer friendly establishments in Mexico (Taken from www.lacervezalibre.tumblr.com/)

Name	City	Address
El Depósito	Mexico City	Baja California 375, Condesa
Makena	Mexico City	Tamaulipas 56, Condesa
La Nacional	Mexico City	Nuevo León frente al Péndulo, Condesa
Zazá	Mexico City	Pachuca 1 Col. Condesa
Lilit	Mexico City	Orizaba 125 Int E col. Roma
The Beer Box Córdoba	Córdoba	Av. 3 620-B, Col. Centro
The Beer Box Cuernavaca	Cuernavaca	Vicente Guerrero 104, Col. Lomas de la Serva Oriente
The Beer Box Condesa	Mexico City	Francisco Márquez 129, Condesa
The Beer Box Satélite	Mexico City	Av. Fuentes de Satélite 112, Satélite
The Beer Box Villa Coapa	Mexico City	Calzada del Hueso 140-C, Villa Coapa
El Woko	Mexico City	Nuevo León 139, Col Condesa
La Belga	Mexico City	Querétaro casi esq. Orizaba, Col Roma
The Beer Box Guadalajara	Guadalajara	Niño Obrero 502
The Beer Box "La Taverna"	Guadalajara	López Cotilla 1959 Esq. Fco Javier Gamboa, Col. Obrera
El Depósito	Guadalajara	López Mateos 805, Col. Jardines del Bosque
El Depósito	Guadalajara	Av. Chapultepec 129, Col Americana
The Beer Box Mérida	Mérida	Calle 1H 105 x8 y 10, Fraccional Residencial
The Beer Box Monterrey	Monterrey	Bosques de la Cima 2735, Bosques de la Pastora
The Beer Box San Pedro	Monterrey	José Vasconcelos 301, Col del Valle
The Beer Box Puebla	Puebla	Rosendo Márquez 23B, Col. La Paz
El Depósito	Puerto Vallarta	Pulpito 116, Col. Emiliano Zapata
The Beer Box San Luis Potosí	SLP	Cuauhtémoc 1300, Esq. Juan Oñate, Col Jardín
The Beer Box "La Taverna"	Tijuana	Boulevard Sánchez Taboada 4499, Zona Rio
The Beer Box Toluca	Toluca	Aquiles Serdpan 203, Col. La merced
The Beer Box Tuxtla	Tuxtla	1a Norte Poniente 1255B Poniente, Col Centro
La divina comida	Mexico City	Coyoacán