Nova Scotia craft beer industry’s true success story ‘but calls for change to help expand – Halifax | The Canadian News

The craft beer industry in Nova Scotia says it is thriving and growing, but some producers say policies still penalize those who become the most successful.

“Nova Scotia craft beer is a true success story,” said Brian Titus, president of the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia (CBANS). “This is a wonderful thing for this province. It helps to retain young workers, it attracts tourists – it is something we must support. “

There are about 70 craft breweries spread across the province, many in rural areas.

While commercial beer sales at the NSLC are relatively stable, Titus says 20 percent of beer sold in the province is made by craft producers.

While the NSLC has added craft brewers to its palette, the craft sector says it works with policies that date before its growth, and hurt those trying to expand.

Story continues below ad

Read more:

Research seeks to harness the craft brewing potential of Maritime wild hops

“Nova Scotia is literally at the bottom of the barrel,” he says. “We have the highest profit on small producers, we have the lowest limit before you become a full-fledged commercial brewer.”

“So it’s a double whammy,” says Titus, who also owns Garrison Brewing.

“Someone who would pay a six or seven percent profit margin in Ontario or Quebec as a small producer pays 40 percent here,” Titus says. “And if you show any growth, they pay 85 percent.”

The producer will pay a profit margin of 84.5 percent if the production exceeds 15,000 hectoliters of beer. At that point, they would pay what a commercial producer would pay.

Nine Locks Brewing in Dartmouth has not yet reached that threshold, but one of its co-owners says they are now paying much more.

This is due to a provision added in early 2020, which adds a “margin benefit limit” to $ 750,000. This means that if a company reaches $ 750,000 in make-up differences (between 40 and 84.5 percent), they will pay the more-than-double rate.

Thus, Nine Locks hit its ceiling for the “preference” remark reduction, despite producing 11,000 hectoliters – about 26 percent less than the original target.

Story continues below ad

“We started making less money on our beer years before we thought we would,” says Shaun O’Hearn, a co-owner at Nine Locks. “It’s a difficult pill to swallow, because when the policy came out, we were told it would not harm anyone.”

Read more:

Concerns over Nova Scotia craft bridge regulations

The craft sector warns other craft producers will soon face the same crisis, halting certain successes or putting difficult business decisions to the fore.

Beverly Ware, an NSLC spokesperson, says the new policy “actually allows [craft producers] to retain the benefits of a local producer that they would have lost under the old policy. ”

“Nine Locks has reached that $ 750,000 margin benefit limit for this financial year. This means he will receive the higher commercial profit margin for the rest of this financial year, ”Ware said in an e-mail statement.

“On April 1, 2022, they will again receive the lower preferential surcharge until they reach either the $ 750,000 margin benefit limit or 15,000 HL in production, whichever comes first.”

Story continues below ad

The industry is calling for a layered approach to comments.

But Titus says all CBANS ‘requests to the new government have been “shut down.”

“Everything we asked for was turned down,” he says. “We did not ask for ‘nice to have’ things, we asked for opportunities for our breweries to stay in business.”

Read more:

Brew for a good cause: new Nova Scotia craft beer creations support local community

Other ideas include adding more independent stores – such as RockHead Wine & Beer Market or Bishop’s Cellar: Wine, Beer & Spirits in Halifax – or allowing craft producers to see each other’s product, similar to a model in New Brunswick.

Gary Andrea, a spokesman for Finance Minister Allan MacMaster, who is also the minister responsible for the NSLC, acknowledges the craft beer industry has grown significantly under its current framework.

“Since the new government took office, the new government has had extensive written communication with CBANS, and the Minister plans to meet with CBANS in the near future,” Andrea said in a statement.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.



Reference-globalnews.ca

Leave a Comment