Vancouver beer aficionados may soon have another reason to raise a glass.
Vancouver City Council voted unanimously April 24 to approve a motion put forth by NPA city councillor George Affleck in support of the city’s microbreweries and distilleries.
On February 8, B.C. Liquor Minister Rich Coleman announced that the province would allow brewers and distillers to apply to have “on-site consumption areas” – tasting rooms, lounges or event areas – where they could sell samples of their wares to the public.
But a problem remained: the City of Vancouver did not follow suit.
Affleck’s motion directs city staff to examine the changes to city regulations that would allow these brewers and distillers to sell samples directly to the public. He said the issue is zoning.
Current bylaws prevent microbreweries, distilleries and wineries located on industrial land from selling their product.
“You can do tastings for free,” Affleck said, “but most of these guys say, ‘We can’t keep giving away our booze.’”
The city currently requires any business wishing to sell samples in this fashion to buy a liquor primary licence – something the industry said is easier said than done.
“The city hasn’t been giving out liquor primary licences for quite some time,” said Paddy Treavor, past president of the Campaign for Real Ale Society of British Columbia, explaining that it almost seems like there has been a moratorium on issuing the licences.
“Those people that have them are selling them for a king’s ransom because they know they’ve got gold.”
James Walton is the president, owner and brewer for Storm Brewing, a microbrewery located on Commercial Drive. He said he would jump at the opportunity to set up a tasting room as soon as the rules allow, and is working to figure out where he can designate space for this inside his brewery.
“People phone all the time and say, “Hey, we want to go for a tour and sit in your lounge or tasting room,’” he said.
“And I say, ‘Yeah, I don’t have one.’”
Walton said a tasting room would be good way to reach customers.
“You draw people in and get them involved a little bit when they can sit around and taste beers and look at the tanks and things like that.”
Alibi Room co-owner Nigel Springthorpe and business partner Conrad Gmoser plan to launch a new Brassneck Brewery microbrewery this spring at a site he’s renovating on Main Street near East 6th Avenue.
Until the tasting room laws are changed, Springthorpe’s only means of selling beer will be to customers who bring in their own refillable growler.
“If we were allowed to serve more than 12 ounces per person per day in a tasting room,” he told Business in Vancouver in January, “it would really, really, really help with our bottom line and improve our chances of survival.”
Affleck said it’s time to bring the city’s land-use policies in line with the provincial government’s liquor licensing.
“It’s quite uncommon where the province is ahead of us on an issue.”
