Dozens of new and planned B.C. microbreweries have combined with substantial investments in existing craft brewers to tap accelerating growth in B.C. craft beer sales.
Domestic microbrewers, or breweries that sold less than 1.5 million litres annually, sold $67.4 million in B.C. in the year that ended June 30, according to BC Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) data. That's 43.4% more than the previous year.
Their sales picked up as the year progressed, as they sold 59.1% more beer than in 2014's second quarter compared with the same three-month period in 2013.
Packaged beer led the way with 62.7% growth in the quarter compared with a 53.7% increase in draft beer sales.
“The trend toward craft beer started slowly, but clearly it's gaining momentum,” said Steamworks owner Eli Gershkovitch.
Sales have risen dramatically at his brewery, which has evolved from a microbrewery into a medium-sized player.
Gershkovitch invested millions of dollars late last year so he could open a 30,000-square-foot brewery in Burnaby near Boundary Road. He is now producing about five million litres of beer at that facility as well as 150,000 litres annually at his longtime location on Water Street.
Sales for new businesses are also growing. According to the BC Craft Brewers Guild, about 10 new microbreweries opened last year. That number could be surpassed this year, given that 21 small breweries earlier this year had plans to open in either 2014 or 2015.
“People like beer with flavour, and we craft brewers are doing innovative flavourful beers,” said Gershkovitch, who has had success this summer with a new cucumber beer.
Longtime microbrewers such as Storm Brewing owner James Walton agree. He has long been known for pushing the flavour envelope. Some of his new brews include the Storm Wormwood India Pale Ale (IPA), which uses B.C.-grown wormwood to create a distinctive bitterness, unlike most IPAs, which rely solely on hops for bitterness.
“We have a beer made with locally sourced cranberry,” Walton said. “There's a grapefruit beer, the Storm Mojito Pilsner, an iced mocha stout and a vanilla whisky stout.”
Meanwhile, sales for big domestic brewers, which produce more than 16 million litres of beer annually, have dropped for the sixth consecutive year.
In 2008, their combined sales were $842.9 million. That number has dropped steadily each year. In the fiscal year ended June 30, their sales were $717.9 million, down 14.8% from 2008.
The BCLDB first reported total B.C. microbrewery sales in 2009, when the sector generated $22.4 million, or 66.8% less than last year.
