Vancouver-area craft beer lovers literally hold the fate of brewery lounges in their own hands and have the rare opportunity to be consulted directly in regards to liquor law changes as yesterday Vancouver City Council officially passed a report from the Vancouver City General Manager of Planning and Development Services recommending that changes be made to City zoning and licensing by-laws to allow for the sale and consumption of beer in lounges located within breweries.
That matter will now be referred to a public hearing, the final step in the approval process, which should be scheduled in a "few weeks", according to NPA City Clr George Affleck, whose motion (see here) started things moving forward. The public hearing is where those in the private and public sectors of the community get to come out and have their say on the matter directly to City Council so it is not just a rubber stamp type step in the process. If major opposition to beer lounges show up and successfully plead their case and those in favour are silent, or less prominent, the whole process could grind to a halt.
"Until the public have had a chance to speak to it, I would not want to speculate on what will happen. But thus far, we have seen very little opposition to this and a ton of support," stated Clr Affleck last week after seeing the report which recommends breweries, distilleries and wineries be allowed to have licensed, on-site lounges, no bigger than 80 m2. To give you an idea of the size, if you have visited Parallel 49's tasting room, it is well within this size limit.
Currently in Vancouver on-site (meaning at the brewery) patron consumption opportunities are limited to tasting rooms where breweries can charge for samples but are limited to selling 375ml per patron per day, otherwise samples can be offered to the public at no charge. Because of the fact that breweries cannot charge for their products in tasting rooms, few have bothered to build and staff them.
This single change to Vancouver by-laws could change the face of the local beer scene in Vancouver completely and according to the report, gives breweries, "a more lucrative means of showcasing their product." It will help support small, local breweries and encourage new growth in the industry.
You need to look no further in BC than to the wine industry who have been allowed this type of lounge for years. Areas like the Naramata Bench have taken full advantage of the lounge opportunity to draw tourists and locals alike to tour from winery lounge to winery lounge to try different wines from the source and purchase products. It is a far more intimate consumer experience and connects the consumer directly to the point of production.
This type of lounge has has also helped make places like Portland Oregon and Seattle, Washington beer tourist meccas and they bring BIG dollars into the cities as beer lovers visit the breweries located within city limits to enjoy themselves. Food and entertainment will be allowed as well and if Vancouver sticks to the intentions of the Provincial Government when they made changes to the laws March 1/13, minors accompanied by responsible adults will also be allowed, making these lounges family friendly.
This is the time for groups like CAMRA Vancouver to shine and make a difference by getting their members to come out to the meeting to ensure the pro side of the argument gets heard loud and clear. CAMRA Vancouver President Adam Chatburn has already been very involved in getting things to this point, having spoken to City Councillor Heather Deal a few months back in a private meeting and having spoken at the council meeting where the motion was presented.
"CAMRA BC - Vancouver Chapter will be there all the way to represent the craft beer consumers of the city and we look forward to the public meeting where we will show just how important these positive changes are to the future of the city and the province," stated Chatburn last week.
Let's hope craft beer consumers and industry types are as committed as Chatburn to come out the the public hearing so we can get this passed and written into law as I would like nothing better than to sit in a local beer lounge by the end of summer to enjoy a fresh, locally brewed beer straight from the source.
I would hate to see the process get this far only to be scuttled by consumer apathy for getting involved in the political process.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Vancouver Beer Lounges One Step Closer to a Reality But Still Requires Public Support
Vancouver craft breweries are one step closer to being able to offer their thirsty and adoring customers the opportunity to purchase and consume fresh beers from the source in on-site (at the brewery) lounges.
In a report (read report here) received by Vancouver City Council from Vancouver City General Manager of Planning and Development Services, recommendations have been made to allow for amendments to the Vancouver zoning and development by-laws to permit licensed on-site lounges at breweries.
The report was generated as a result of a motion, tabled by NPA Councillor George Affleck, requesting city staff to look into what changes needed to be made to Vancouver by-laws to allow for licensed, on-site lounges in industrial zones. The motion was passed unanimously April 23rd by Vancouver City Council and the report was presented to Mayor Robertson and City Council last week.
In short, breweries located within Vancouver's city limits may be able to apply to have beer lounges by the end of summer, giving the Vancouver craft beer scene yet another boost and allow it to showcase fresh, local beers similar to how it is done in places like Portland, Oregon where beer tourism is BIG business for the city.
March 1/13 BC liquor laws changed to allow breweries and distilleries to apply for endorsements to their existing manufacturer's licenses to allow them to have on-site lounges where they could sell their products directly to consumers to be consumed in the lounge, bringing them in line with wineries who have had that opportunity for years. Despite the ability under provincial laws, Vancouver City by-laws and regulations did not allow for the type of liquor liquor license required for lounges to exist in industrial areas that allow breweries, distilleries and wineries to operate.
Currently in Vancouver, breweries can have tasting lounges where they are permitted to sell only one 12-oz beer per person, per day but are permitted to give out multiple free samples. They cannot have entertainment or even televisions! They can sell beer to be consumed off the premises, such as growlers and packaged products.
I posted about the conflict here, a story that was picked up by mainstream media, and had attempted to get some response from Vancouver City Mayor Gregor Robertson and his City Council as to whether they had plans to make changes to support the desire by several local breweries to take advantage of the opportunity to apply to have lounges. After being repeatedly ignored by the mayor and his crew, I posted an open letter (read here), to Mayor Gregor and his council scolding them for their lack of accountability to the voters of Vancouver and as a result Clr Affleck, who described the open letter as "nasty", contacted me to take a meeting with him to discuss the beer lounge issue. After listening to what I had to say, Affleck saw how having such lounges in Vancouver would support the local craft beer industry and promote the city through tourism similar to what is seen in cities like Portland and Seattle.
Mayor Gregor and his Vision Vancouver gang quickly jumped on the band wagon and threw their support behind Affleck's motion, stating they had been working behind the scenes on resolving the issues before Affleck's motion was tabled. I am not saying they were not doing so, as I really have no idea, but I can say that they were given ample opportunity to let those interested in the issue know and remained silent. I am fairly confident that if Affleck had not pushed the issue with his motion that the wheels of City bureaucracy would have turned very slowly and we would not be at this advanced stage in the process so quickly.
In a report (read report here) received by Vancouver City Council from Vancouver City General Manager of Planning and Development Services, recommendations have been made to allow for amendments to the Vancouver zoning and development by-laws to permit licensed on-site lounges at breweries.
The report was generated as a result of a motion, tabled by NPA Councillor George Affleck, requesting city staff to look into what changes needed to be made to Vancouver by-laws to allow for licensed, on-site lounges in industrial zones. The motion was passed unanimously April 23rd by Vancouver City Council and the report was presented to Mayor Robertson and City Council last week.
In short, breweries located within Vancouver's city limits may be able to apply to have beer lounges by the end of summer, giving the Vancouver craft beer scene yet another boost and allow it to showcase fresh, local beers similar to how it is done in places like Portland, Oregon where beer tourism is BIG business for the city.
March 1/13 BC liquor laws changed to allow breweries and distilleries to apply for endorsements to their existing manufacturer's licenses to allow them to have on-site lounges where they could sell their products directly to consumers to be consumed in the lounge, bringing them in line with wineries who have had that opportunity for years. Despite the ability under provincial laws, Vancouver City by-laws and regulations did not allow for the type of liquor liquor license required for lounges to exist in industrial areas that allow breweries, distilleries and wineries to operate.
Currently in Vancouver, breweries can have tasting lounges where they are permitted to sell only one 12-oz beer per person, per day but are permitted to give out multiple free samples. They cannot have entertainment or even televisions! They can sell beer to be consumed off the premises, such as growlers and packaged products.
I posted about the conflict here, a story that was picked up by mainstream media, and had attempted to get some response from Vancouver City Mayor Gregor Robertson and his City Council as to whether they had plans to make changes to support the desire by several local breweries to take advantage of the opportunity to apply to have lounges. After being repeatedly ignored by the mayor and his crew, I posted an open letter (read here), to Mayor Gregor and his council scolding them for their lack of accountability to the voters of Vancouver and as a result Clr Affleck, who described the open letter as "nasty", contacted me to take a meeting with him to discuss the beer lounge issue. After listening to what I had to say, Affleck saw how having such lounges in Vancouver would support the local craft beer industry and promote the city through tourism similar to what is seen in cities like Portland and Seattle.
Mayor Gregor and his Vision Vancouver gang quickly jumped on the band wagon and threw their support behind Affleck's motion, stating they had been working behind the scenes on resolving the issues before Affleck's motion was tabled. I am not saying they were not doing so, as I really have no idea, but I can say that they were given ample opportunity to let those interested in the issue know and remained silent. I am fairly confident that if Affleck had not pushed the issue with his motion that the wheels of City bureaucracy would have turned very slowly and we would not be at this advanced stage in the process so quickly.
"I am so pleased to see staff reporting back so quickly," stated Affleck. "The industry is on
the verge of exploding in Vancouver. Changes like these, which help brewers and
distillers succeed, is another step for Vancouver soon becoming an international
destination for people passionate about beer and spirits."
The report will go before City Council this week I am told and if accepted, it will be referred to a public hearing where anyone who wants to speak about the proposed changes can have their say in front of City Council. Unless there is major opposition that sways City Council to rethink their position, the recommended changes will then be written into Vancouver City by-laws and will become law. All reports I am hearing is that the whole process should be completed by the end of July.
"I am hopeful that Council will pass this unanimously (Tuesday), thus
sending it to public hearing process," says Affleck. "Until the public have had a chance to
speak to it, I would not want to speculate on what will happen. But thus far, we
have seen very little opposition to this and a ton of support."
If the recommended changes to Vancouver by-laws are made, breweries, distilleries and wineries located in areas zoned M-1, M-2, I-1, I-2, I-3, IC-1, IC-2 and IC-3 would be allowed to apply for endorsements to have on-site lounges to a maximum size of 80 m2. Currently it is virtually impossible to run a lounge in these types of industrial zones (read here).
Special event area endorsements will also be allowed and breweries will be allowed to hold up to 2 special events, i.e. arts and cultural events, a month.
Although the majority of work has been done by city staff, the public hearing is still a roadblock. City Council will need to see supporters of the changes out at the hearing and hear them speaking as to why they should be allowed. I know the local breweries are banding together and CAMRA Vancouver is fully behind the proposed by-law amendments. In fact CAMRA Vancouver President Adam Chatburn spoke at the original council meeting where Affleck's motion was passed.
"I'm pleased that the city council has moved forward on the issue of allowing
beer lounges at breweries, there's still a long way to go but each step brings
us closer to being a city that prides itself on our craft beer culture," stated Chatburn. "CAMRA BC - Vancouver Chapter will be there all the way to represent the craft
beer consumers of the city and we look forward to the public meeting where we
will show just how important these positive changes are to the future of the
city and the province."
So CAMRA members stay up-to-date on this issue as I am sure President Chatburn will put out a call for supporters to attend the public hearing. You can be sure there will be opposition and possibly from very influential and organized camps such as the BC Alliance of Beverage Licensees (ABLE), the industry association who represents BC liquor primary establishments, who have been making noises they are opposed to beer lounges at breweries, fearing competition. I have personally had a few on-line Twitter exchanges with ABLE's Executive Director Ian Baillie who seems very anti-lounge endorsements for breweries.
So, stay tuned if you want to be able to amble down to your local craft brewery for a mug of your favourite brew. The ball is in our court and craft beer consumers and industry types can ensure these proposed changes get written into law by going to the public hearing to support the cause.
It just goes to show you, it is possible to fight City Hall and win...
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Unanimous Support From City Council Brings Beers Lounges Closer to Reality
The local craft beer industry was given a glimmer of hope Wednesday after Vancouver City Council voted unanimously to support a motion, tabled by NPA Councilor George Affleck, directing city staff to instigate what changes need to be made to city zoning and licensing regulations to allow for on-site beer lounges.
The motion, which directs Vancouver City, "staff report back to Council on the required changes to the relevant regulations within the City of Vancouver that would permit micro-breweries, wineries and distilleries on industrial land to sample products produced on-site, thus being consistent with provincial liquor policy," in itself does not lead local brewers out of the bureaucratic woods, but at least has given them some hope that a path will soon be available to sell their beers in on-site lounges for consumption beyond the currently allowed 12 oz per-person, per-day.
Recent changes to BC liquor laws have made it possible for breweries and distilleries to apply for endorsements to their manufacturing licenses to have on-site lounges, where patrons can purchase and consume products produced on-site, putting them in line with wineries who have been able to do so for decades, but Vancouver City zoning and licensing regulations have made it next to impossible for beer, wine and liquor producers in the city to take advantage of the on-site lounge possibility. Currently tasting lounges are allowed, but except for the one 12-oz beer which can be charged for, all other beers must be given away as tasting samples.
These types of lounges, which have helped cities like Portland and Seattle become Pacific Northwest craft beer tourist destinations, could set up a win-win-win situation for the local craft beer industry, Vancouver City and and local and visiting craft beer consumers. Existing and future breweries would have yet another way to market their products and produce revenue, the City would benefit from an increase in beer tourism and economic spin-offs of having a vibrant local industry and consumers would have greater access to world-class, locally produced beers.
After writing a blog post on the situation (read here), I attempted to contact Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vancouver City Council to try to start some sort of dialogue about how supporting these types of lounges could be a great move for Vancouver, but I received no response prompting me to write a scathing open letter voicing my displeasure at being repeatedly ignored by local politicians.
Clr Affleck was the only person to respond and after meeting face-to-face with me tabled the motion which since being passed officially signals Vancouver City Council's intent to look into how to align City by-laws and regulations with provincial liquor laws regarding on-site lounges.
After the motion was passed late Wednesday, Clr Affleck, the lone NPA representative on Vancouver City Council, stated he was "very pleased to get unanimous support," and believes passing the motion was, "an important move forward for Vancouver and sets us (Vancouver) up to be micro brewery tourism destination location."
After the motion was tabled last week, Mayor Gregor and Vision Clr Heather Deal immediately, via Twitter, made it be known they had been working with Vancouver City staff on a solution to allow for the lounges, but if this was true, they were keeping their activities very quiet. When CAMRA Vancouver President Adam Chatburn met with Deal a few weeks ago to talk about the beer lounge impasse, Deal only stated "they would look into fixing the problem" and gave Chatburn no indication as to when or how and definitely did not offer to table an official motion before City Council.
Another positive to come out of the Affleck motion is that local, Vancouver-based breweries have banded together to create one, organized voice. This unofficial, and I stress unofficial, "Vancouver Craft Brewers Guild" is very significant as local brewery representatives are finally seeing the importance of forming a united front to advocate for the local craft beer industry, for the greater good, while still fighting it out in the marketplace with their brews as individual breweries. Thirteen signatures, from 11 different existing or soon-to-be-opened Vancouver breweries were present on a letter presented to City Council, "respectfully asking for the opportunity to consult with planning and building departments as they draft forthcoming regulations pertaining to brewery lounges." City representatives did in fact meet with local brewery representatives before Wednesday's debate on the motion to listen to their concerns and wishes.
The motion was also supported strongly by CAMRA Vancouver, with President Chatburn both sending a pre-debate letter outlining CAMRA's position supporting beer lounges and by speaking directly to City Councilors at the debate on behalf of Vancouver craft beer consumers.
No offical timeline has been set for the report to come back to City Council, but Affleck hopes "by summer" so hopefully we will have a better idea as to how much the City of Vancouver really supports this beer lounge idea or whether they were simply buying time to take off pressure in regards to this issue.
Time will tell, but I am cautiously optimistic as this is the first time in a long time the local craft beer industry and craft beer consumers have organized and worked together and have been successful penetrating the political process to bring about possible positive, meaningful; change.
Let us hope this trend continues.
The motion, which directs Vancouver City, "staff report back to Council on the required changes to the relevant regulations within the City of Vancouver that would permit micro-breweries, wineries and distilleries on industrial land to sample products produced on-site, thus being consistent with provincial liquor policy," in itself does not lead local brewers out of the bureaucratic woods, but at least has given them some hope that a path will soon be available to sell their beers in on-site lounges for consumption beyond the currently allowed 12 oz per-person, per-day.
Recent changes to BC liquor laws have made it possible for breweries and distilleries to apply for endorsements to their manufacturing licenses to have on-site lounges, where patrons can purchase and consume products produced on-site, putting them in line with wineries who have been able to do so for decades, but Vancouver City zoning and licensing regulations have made it next to impossible for beer, wine and liquor producers in the city to take advantage of the on-site lounge possibility. Currently tasting lounges are allowed, but except for the one 12-oz beer which can be charged for, all other beers must be given away as tasting samples.
These types of lounges, which have helped cities like Portland and Seattle become Pacific Northwest craft beer tourist destinations, could set up a win-win-win situation for the local craft beer industry, Vancouver City and and local and visiting craft beer consumers. Existing and future breweries would have yet another way to market their products and produce revenue, the City would benefit from an increase in beer tourism and economic spin-offs of having a vibrant local industry and consumers would have greater access to world-class, locally produced beers.
After writing a blog post on the situation (read here), I attempted to contact Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vancouver City Council to try to start some sort of dialogue about how supporting these types of lounges could be a great move for Vancouver, but I received no response prompting me to write a scathing open letter voicing my displeasure at being repeatedly ignored by local politicians.
Clr Affleck was the only person to respond and after meeting face-to-face with me tabled the motion which since being passed officially signals Vancouver City Council's intent to look into how to align City by-laws and regulations with provincial liquor laws regarding on-site lounges.
After the motion was passed late Wednesday, Clr Affleck, the lone NPA representative on Vancouver City Council, stated he was "very pleased to get unanimous support," and believes passing the motion was, "an important move forward for Vancouver and sets us (Vancouver) up to be micro brewery tourism destination location."
After the motion was tabled last week, Mayor Gregor and Vision Clr Heather Deal immediately, via Twitter, made it be known they had been working with Vancouver City staff on a solution to allow for the lounges, but if this was true, they were keeping their activities very quiet. When CAMRA Vancouver President Adam Chatburn met with Deal a few weeks ago to talk about the beer lounge impasse, Deal only stated "they would look into fixing the problem" and gave Chatburn no indication as to when or how and definitely did not offer to table an official motion before City Council.
Another positive to come out of the Affleck motion is that local, Vancouver-based breweries have banded together to create one, organized voice. This unofficial, and I stress unofficial, "Vancouver Craft Brewers Guild" is very significant as local brewery representatives are finally seeing the importance of forming a united front to advocate for the local craft beer industry, for the greater good, while still fighting it out in the marketplace with their brews as individual breweries. Thirteen signatures, from 11 different existing or soon-to-be-opened Vancouver breweries were present on a letter presented to City Council, "respectfully asking for the opportunity to consult with planning and building departments as they draft forthcoming regulations pertaining to brewery lounges." City representatives did in fact meet with local brewery representatives before Wednesday's debate on the motion to listen to their concerns and wishes.
The motion was also supported strongly by CAMRA Vancouver, with President Chatburn both sending a pre-debate letter outlining CAMRA's position supporting beer lounges and by speaking directly to City Councilors at the debate on behalf of Vancouver craft beer consumers.
No offical timeline has been set for the report to come back to City Council, but Affleck hopes "by summer" so hopefully we will have a better idea as to how much the City of Vancouver really supports this beer lounge idea or whether they were simply buying time to take off pressure in regards to this issue.
Time will tell, but I am cautiously optimistic as this is the first time in a long time the local craft beer industry and craft beer consumers have organized and worked together and have been successful penetrating the political process to bring about possible positive, meaningful; change.
Let us hope this trend continues.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Beer Lounge Possibilities in Vancouver to be Debated by City Council
Vancouver City Council is set to debate a motion put forward by NPA City Councilor George Affleck that proposes to look at what changes need to be made to allow for on-site consumption lounges for breweries, wineries and distilleries in Vancouver.
Several liquor law changes were announced Feb 08/13 by Rich Coleman, the minister responsible for alcohol policy in BC, among them a change allowing for breweries and distilleries to be allowed to apply for endorsements to their manufacturing licenses to have an on-site consumption area such as a lounge, tasting room or event area, putting them in line with the province's wineries who were allowed these possibilities for years. Due to zoning by-laws and liquor licensing policies in Vancouver, it was next to impossible to be able to apply for these types of on-site lounges as the zoning areas that typically allow for breweries, distilleries and wineries do not allow for liquor primary licensing.
I wrote about this issue here, and here. I also wrote an email to Mayor Gregor Robertson and City Council about the conflict between Vancouver City zoning & licensing and Provincial liquor policy and received absolutely no response. I then wrote an open letter to Mayor Gregor and his City Council and finally did receive one response, from Affleck who met with me, listened to what I had to say and who put the motion together (see end of post for actual motion) triggering the debate set for the Vancouver City Council meeting April 23rd. It is an open meeting which allows for anyone who wants to speak directly to City Council on this subject to sign up with the City Clerk ahead of time to get a slot to speak.
“Current City of Vancouver regulations do not allow for brewery and distillery operations to offer customers samples and purchasing options. I’m asking staff to come back to Council with recommendations on how we can change that” said Affleck in a news release April 16.
“This motion is intended to bring the City of Vancouver up to date with Provincial policy directives, and is aimed at giving local breweries and distilleries a greater chance to thrive while adding to the vibrancy of the city’s robust food scene.”
It appears from the Twitter banter from @MayorGregor that the Mayor's office is now on-board with trying to make the necessary changes to allow breweries, distilleries and wineries and Affleck seems confident, stating in his press release that he had, "already received a great deal of support from the Mayor’s office since
submitting the motion and am confident it will receive unanimous support at the
Council table.”
On-site beer lounges could really open up Vancouver for smaller nano-style breweries to open up and sell their beer directly to consumers from the actual point of production. This in turn could be a boon for local consumers and beer tourists alike, giving Vancouver the opportunity to become something of a Portland North.
The motion put forward by George Affleck
Enabling the Micro-brewery and Distillery Industry
MOVER: George Affleck
SECONDER:
WHEREAS:
1. The City of Vancouver prides itself on its local tourism sector;
2. The City of Vancouver wants to foster a robust local food scene, which includes the distilling of spirits, the making of wine and brewing of craft beer;
3. The Province of BC announced Policy Directive 13-02 effective March 1, 2013, which allows for changes to brewery and distillery operations in the province and the ability for customers to sample and purchase locally produced spirits and beer for on-site consumption;
4. The policy change thus align regulations for brewers and distillers with wineries who have been able to serve and sell wine for on-site consumption for years
5. The City of Vancouver's Zoning and Development Bylaw only permits micro-breweries, wineries and distilleries on industrial land to serve or sell product in a limited way because industrial land is not zoned for liquor primary;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
A. THAT staff report back to Council on the required changes to the relevant regulations within the City of Vancouver that would permit micro-breweries, wineries and distilleries on industrial land to sample products produced on-site, thus being consistent with provincial liquor policy.
On-site beer lounges could really open up Vancouver for smaller nano-style breweries to open up and sell their beer directly to consumers from the actual point of production. This in turn could be a boon for local consumers and beer tourists alike, giving Vancouver the opportunity to become something of a Portland North.
The motion put forward by George Affleck
Enabling the Micro-brewery and Distillery Industry
MOVER: George Affleck
SECONDER:
WHEREAS:
1. The City of Vancouver prides itself on its local tourism sector;
2. The City of Vancouver wants to foster a robust local food scene, which includes the distilling of spirits, the making of wine and brewing of craft beer;
3. The Province of BC announced Policy Directive 13-02 effective March 1, 2013, which allows for changes to brewery and distillery operations in the province and the ability for customers to sample and purchase locally produced spirits and beer for on-site consumption;
4. The policy change thus align regulations for brewers and distillers with wineries who have been able to serve and sell wine for on-site consumption for years
5. The City of Vancouver's Zoning and Development Bylaw only permits micro-breweries, wineries and distilleries on industrial land to serve or sell product in a limited way because industrial land is not zoned for liquor primary;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
A. THAT staff report back to Council on the required changes to the relevant regulations within the City of Vancouver that would permit micro-breweries, wineries and distilleries on industrial land to sample products produced on-site, thus being consistent with provincial liquor policy.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
VEBB Post & CAMRA Vancouver Campaign Prompts NDP Promise to Scrap Growler Mark-up Increase
Yesterday the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) BC - Vancouver Branch scored what could become a major victory for BC craft beer consumers and craft breweries when NDP liquor critic Maurine Karagianis announced that if elected the NDP would scrap the increased mark-up for growlers being implemented by the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) as a result of them reclassifying the 1.8 litre, refillable jugs as "packaged" product.
Growlers are, as mentioned, refillable jugs, used by consumers to buy fresh, draft beer directly from the brewery to be taken away for consumption elsewhere. Growlers date back to pre-Prohibition and have made a huge comeback in recent months with the opening of numerous small, craft breweries around the province. Growlers are unique in that consumers travel to the actual brewery to buy beer directly from the brewer and are usually cheaper than six-packs which are of comparable volume. The growlers are reusable, therefore great for the environment and cut down on a brewery's carbon footprint as the beer does not need to be transported to liquor stores, bars or restaurants to be sold.
The story of the reclassification and impending mark-up increase was first broken here on the VanEast Beer Blog and on the same day CAMRA Vancouver President Adam Chatburn launched the "Save the Growler Campaign" aimed at stopping the increase which will either result in less profits for breweries selling growlers or increased consumer prices, depending on whether the breweries decided to eat the increase or pass it on to their customers.
The campaign quickly gained momentum as mainstream media picked up the story. CAMRA's "Save the Growler" petition has over 1900 signatures as of today, gathered in four weeks since the launch of their campaign. March 11th saw CAMRA BC President Rick Green and CAMRA Vancouver President Adam Chatburn travel to Victoria to join up with CAMRA BC VP Maureen Blaseckie, who had arranged for the three to meet with several NDP MLAs, including Karagianis, at the BC Legislature with the growler issue being front and centre of the issues they discussed.
"This is unfair tax on small business and a sustainable industry has to go," stated Karagianis in a media release. "When it comes to liquor policy, this government (BC Liberals) just doesn't get it. Just weeks after a long-awaited announcement of a handful of liquor law changes, they are at it again, slipping through a tax that will make life harder for the growing (craft beer) industry."
To give a little back ground, breweries must pay a mark-up per litre of beer to the LDB and the amount they pay depends on their brewery's annual production levels and whether the product is sold as "packaged" product, which according to the LDB are "products that are packaged for customer consumption off-site," or "draught", which is product consumed at the point of purchase.
Mark-ups as of April 1/13 (HL is 100 litres)
For the most part, breweries that sell growlers are in the 15,000 HL or less category of production so the increase from draught to packaged is going to rise from $.67 to $.97 per litre. That may not sound much, but if you have a brewery that sells mainly growlers, which many new nano-breweries are planning to do, then this $.30 increase becomes thousands of dollars more being paid to the LDB each year, a number that can really impede small breweries operating on a tight budgets.
There has been mass confusion lately about how mark-ups regarding growlers are implemented, with some breweries being charged the lower draught rate per litre and some the higher packaged rate for growler refills creating an uneven playing field in the marketplace. Some brewery representatives were shocked when they found out they had been paying the LDB 30% more of a mark-up than some of their competitors, all at the direction of LDB officials.
It was obvious that the LDB had no handle on what was going on with breweries selling growlers.
When I found out about this reclassification and put in a media request to the LDB for information about growler mark-up policy, I was told repeatedly for three weeks that no one from the LDB could supply me with an explanation as to how growlers were marked up, information that should be very easy to access and explain.
When I finally did get an explanation in an email Feb 28/13, I was told, "currently, the packaged mark-up rate is applied to the first Growler fill and the draught mark-up rate is applied to refills," but that, "it was determined that Growlers, both the first fill and all refills, should be subject to the packaged beer mark-up rate because they are packaged for customer consumption off-site."
In another email forwarded from LDB General Manager Blaine Lawson March 26/13, it was explained that,
If the promise is kept and the roll-back implemented, it will be the first major campaign victory for CAMRA here in BC and hopefully the beginning of CAMRA being included in any future consultations in regards to reviewing and reforming liquor laws. It may also help CAMRA get some support in regards to their other existing campaigns like FUSS and BYOCB, both of which the NDP have shown interest in over the past year, or any future issues they see fit to tackle on behalf of the province's craft beer consumers.
 |
| Classifying growlers as draught would help support small local breweries like Townsite in Powell River |
The story of the reclassification and impending mark-up increase was first broken here on the VanEast Beer Blog and on the same day CAMRA Vancouver President Adam Chatburn launched the "Save the Growler Campaign" aimed at stopping the increase which will either result in less profits for breweries selling growlers or increased consumer prices, depending on whether the breweries decided to eat the increase or pass it on to their customers.
The campaign quickly gained momentum as mainstream media picked up the story. CAMRA's "Save the Growler" petition has over 1900 signatures as of today, gathered in four weeks since the launch of their campaign. March 11th saw CAMRA BC President Rick Green and CAMRA Vancouver President Adam Chatburn travel to Victoria to join up with CAMRA BC VP Maureen Blaseckie, who had arranged for the three to meet with several NDP MLAs, including Karagianis, at the BC Legislature with the growler issue being front and centre of the issues they discussed.
"This is unfair tax on small business and a sustainable industry has to go," stated Karagianis in a media release. "When it comes to liquor policy, this government (BC Liberals) just doesn't get it. Just weeks after a long-awaited announcement of a handful of liquor law changes, they are at it again, slipping through a tax that will make life harder for the growing (craft beer) industry."
To give a little back ground, breweries must pay a mark-up per litre of beer to the LDB and the amount they pay depends on their brewery's annual production levels and whether the product is sold as "packaged" product, which according to the LDB are "products that are packaged for customer consumption off-site," or "draught", which is product consumed at the point of purchase.
Mark-ups as of April 1/13 (HL is 100 litres)
Breweries (>160,000 HL)
Packaged - $1.63
Draught - $1.12
Breweries (>15,000 ≤ 160,000 HL)
Packaged - $1.08
Draught - $0.75
Breweries (≤ 15,000 HL)
Packaged - $0.97
Draught - $0.67
For the most part, breweries that sell growlers are in the 15,000 HL or less category of production so the increase from draught to packaged is going to rise from $.67 to $.97 per litre. That may not sound much, but if you have a brewery that sells mainly growlers, which many new nano-breweries are planning to do, then this $.30 increase becomes thousands of dollars more being paid to the LDB each year, a number that can really impede small breweries operating on a tight budgets.
There has been mass confusion lately about how mark-ups regarding growlers are implemented, with some breweries being charged the lower draught rate per litre and some the higher packaged rate for growler refills creating an uneven playing field in the marketplace. Some brewery representatives were shocked when they found out they had been paying the LDB 30% more of a mark-up than some of their competitors, all at the direction of LDB officials.
It was obvious that the LDB had no handle on what was going on with breweries selling growlers.
When I found out about this reclassification and put in a media request to the LDB for information about growler mark-up policy, I was told repeatedly for three weeks that no one from the LDB could supply me with an explanation as to how growlers were marked up, information that should be very easy to access and explain.
When I finally did get an explanation in an email Feb 28/13, I was told, "currently, the packaged mark-up rate is applied to the first Growler fill and the draught mark-up rate is applied to refills," but that, "it was determined that Growlers, both the first fill and all refills, should be subject to the packaged beer mark-up rate because they are packaged for customer consumption off-site."
In another email forwarded from LDB General Manager Blaine Lawson March 26/13, it was explained that,
"Growlers were subject to the packaged beer mark-up rate for over a decade, until January 2012 when an error was made that created a distinction between the first fill and subsequent refills. We recently reviewed the application of mark-up on Growlers and reaffirmed that the packaged rate is the correct rate that should be applied. The packaged mark-up rate is applied to products that are packaged for customer consumption off-site. Growlers clearly fall within this category. The Liquor Distribution Branch has a responsibility to apply mark-up equitably within product categories and the correction of this error was done for that purpose."It seems that if the NDP are elected, all this will be a moot point as they have committed to lower the growler rate back to the draught rate in order to help support small businesses in one of BC's fastest growing industries and help promote the sale of these ecologically friendly jugs. But it is pre-election, so promises will be coming from all political sides at a fast and furious rate and we all know how many times these pre-election promises get forgotten about post-election.
If the promise is kept and the roll-back implemented, it will be the first major campaign victory for CAMRA here in BC and hopefully the beginning of CAMRA being included in any future consultations in regards to reviewing and reforming liquor laws. It may also help CAMRA get some support in regards to their other existing campaigns like FUSS and BYOCB, both of which the NDP have shown interest in over the past year, or any future issues they see fit to tackle on behalf of the province's craft beer consumers.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Open Letter to Mayor Robertson & Vancouver City Council
Dear Mayor Robertson and Elected Vancouver City Councillors:
First of all I want to introduce myself as Paddy Treavor, a long-time Vancouver resident and one that takes his civic duty to vote in elections very seriously.
Democracy only works with participation and that participation, on both the voter and politician side of the equation, reaches beyond election campaigns and the act of voting. Once the votes are cast and the candidates chosen for public office, it is of paramount importance that those elected to office are held accountable by the citizens they represent and that the politicians take this responsibility seriously, and not consider themselves above the people who hold the power of returning the politicians to office or replacing them with other, more responsible and accountable candidates in the next election.
It is because of this concept of political accountability I am writing you all.
I recently sent an email entitled "Vancouver City's Lack of Support for Local Industry" outlining how supporting the new provincial liquor law allowing for on-site beer lounges at breweries could be a great way for the City of Vancouver to support local, small businesses, promote local tourism, provide more opportunities for local employment and attract businesses to locate in Vancouver in the future. The email was a follow-up on a blog post I wrote entitled "No Fun City Bureaucracy Stands in the Way of Beer Lounges", a story that highlights how current Vancouver City zoning by-laws and liquor licensing polices are prohibiting local breweries from taking advantage of this great opportunity. Even if you did not read my blog post, and I encourage you to do so, the story was picked up by The Province newspaper a few days later so you may be familiar with the problem.
Almost two weeks have passed and the only response I have received is one from the city clerk stating they had forwarded my email to Mr Mayor and City Councillors. This is not the first time I have received no response to emails sent to Vancouver City Hall regarding issues involving the rights of local craft beer consumers and the local craft beer industry, so I am beginning to think that Mayor Robertson's appearances at Vancouver Craft Beer Week, to tap the first cask, were more photo opportunities than a true desire to support the local craft beer industry and that Vancouver City Council does not take the craft beer industry and the consumers who support it, very seriously.
When I was president (2011-2012) of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) BC - Vancouver Branch, a Vancouver-based consumer advocacy group which currently boasts a membership of close to 1000 members, either myself or a member of my executive sent several emails asking for City Council support on campaigns like Fess Up to Serving Sizes (FUSS), addressing the common practice of liquor licensees misrepresenting their draft beer serving sizes in your city and Bring Your Own Craft Beer (BYOCB), asking for your support to have beer included in changes to provincial liquor laws involving corkage which would have been great for craft beer consumers in your city and would help spur on the local hospitality and craft beer industries.
Silence. Not even the courtesy of an email saying, "not interested". That doesn't seem very accountable to me.
I understand you are all busy running our great city, but these issues have been important enough to illicit responses from other busy politicians such as Liberal Cabinet Minister Rich Coleman, and NDP Caucus Chair, Shane Simpson, to name but a few, as well as from Liquor Control and Licensing Branch General Manager, Karen Ayers. These issues I wrote you all about were also important enough to be brought up and discussed in the BC Legislature, but not important enough to get any response from yourselves even thought they are issues that impact the voters this city on a daily basis and which, with your support and attention, could be resolved here in Vancouver.
The only time I have received any response to emails sent to Vancouver municipal politicians was just prior to the last election when I sent out an email to all candidates asking them a specific set of questions regrading how they would support the local craft beer consumer and craft beer industry. During that pre-election period, when politicians are doing their best to connect with as many voters as possible in attempts to get their votes, I did receive email responses from several candidates, including current City Councillors:
I am a very active advocate, championing the rights of BC's craft beer consumers and the vibrant and growing craft beer industry here in our province. As I mentioned, I am a blogger, the author of the award-winning VanEast Beer Blog, the very blog you are reading now, a blog that reaches thousands of people each month, many of whom live in Vancouver and will be voting in the next election. I am not saying I can persuade these readers to vote one way or another, but I do think that those voters knowing you are ignoring these issues that they are so passionate about may cause them to rethink whether they want to re-elect politicians who so blatantly ignore their voices.
Yes, I am but one person, one vote, but there are thousands of others who think the same way as I do on these issues and these people are my readers.
And just to let you know that I was on to something when I wrote in my post that is Vancouver City does not embrace the idea of beer lounges ASAP, they will lose businesses to other municipalities, the exodus has started. I already know of one person who has recently scrapped plans to open a small brewery in Vancouver, in favour of a neighbouring city, because of your restrictive zoning by-laws, stifling liquor licensing policies and unnecessarily complicated and onerous process of opening a brewery here in Vancouver City.
If you do not start paying attention to people like myself who are advocating on behalf of one of the most vibrant consumer markets and industry segments of this province, you are going to see many more breweries opening in neighbouring cities, paying their taxes and luring tourism and business away from Vancouver City. That would be a travesty as Vancouver, if politicians have enough vision, could become the Portland North, attracting millions of tourist dollars a year because of their great craft beer scene.
I can tell you, politicians at the provincial level are listening and meeting with people like myself and CAMRA Vancouver President Adam Chatburn and listening to what we have to say. I hope, for the sake of our great city, you all start to take some notice as well before it is too late for both the craft beer industry in this city and yourselves come the next election.
First of all I want to introduce myself as Paddy Treavor, a long-time Vancouver resident and one that takes his civic duty to vote in elections very seriously.
Democracy only works with participation and that participation, on both the voter and politician side of the equation, reaches beyond election campaigns and the act of voting. Once the votes are cast and the candidates chosen for public office, it is of paramount importance that those elected to office are held accountable by the citizens they represent and that the politicians take this responsibility seriously, and not consider themselves above the people who hold the power of returning the politicians to office or replacing them with other, more responsible and accountable candidates in the next election.
It is because of this concept of political accountability I am writing you all.
I recently sent an email entitled "Vancouver City's Lack of Support for Local Industry" outlining how supporting the new provincial liquor law allowing for on-site beer lounges at breweries could be a great way for the City of Vancouver to support local, small businesses, promote local tourism, provide more opportunities for local employment and attract businesses to locate in Vancouver in the future. The email was a follow-up on a blog post I wrote entitled "No Fun City Bureaucracy Stands in the Way of Beer Lounges", a story that highlights how current Vancouver City zoning by-laws and liquor licensing polices are prohibiting local breweries from taking advantage of this great opportunity. Even if you did not read my blog post, and I encourage you to do so, the story was picked up by The Province newspaper a few days later so you may be familiar with the problem.
Almost two weeks have passed and the only response I have received is one from the city clerk stating they had forwarded my email to Mr Mayor and City Councillors. This is not the first time I have received no response to emails sent to Vancouver City Hall regarding issues involving the rights of local craft beer consumers and the local craft beer industry, so I am beginning to think that Mayor Robertson's appearances at Vancouver Craft Beer Week, to tap the first cask, were more photo opportunities than a true desire to support the local craft beer industry and that Vancouver City Council does not take the craft beer industry and the consumers who support it, very seriously.
When I was president (2011-2012) of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) BC - Vancouver Branch, a Vancouver-based consumer advocacy group which currently boasts a membership of close to 1000 members, either myself or a member of my executive sent several emails asking for City Council support on campaigns like Fess Up to Serving Sizes (FUSS), addressing the common practice of liquor licensees misrepresenting their draft beer serving sizes in your city and Bring Your Own Craft Beer (BYOCB), asking for your support to have beer included in changes to provincial liquor laws involving corkage which would have been great for craft beer consumers in your city and would help spur on the local hospitality and craft beer industries.
Silence. Not even the courtesy of an email saying, "not interested". That doesn't seem very accountable to me.
I understand you are all busy running our great city, but these issues have been important enough to illicit responses from other busy politicians such as Liberal Cabinet Minister Rich Coleman, and NDP Caucus Chair, Shane Simpson, to name but a few, as well as from Liquor Control and Licensing Branch General Manager, Karen Ayers. These issues I wrote you all about were also important enough to be brought up and discussed in the BC Legislature, but not important enough to get any response from yourselves even thought they are issues that impact the voters this city on a daily basis and which, with your support and attention, could be resolved here in Vancouver.
The only time I have received any response to emails sent to Vancouver municipal politicians was just prior to the last election when I sent out an email to all candidates asking them a specific set of questions regrading how they would support the local craft beer consumer and craft beer industry. During that pre-election period, when politicians are doing their best to connect with as many voters as possible in attempts to get their votes, I did receive email responses from several candidates, including current City Councillors:
- George Affleck, who stated he "would
be happy to take a lead" on the subject of allowing for "smaller
pubs spread around the city like they are in the
- Jerry Jang, who stated Vancouver City Council can, "encourage the establishment of the (craft beer) industry through zoning,", the same zoning that is prohibiting beer lounges at this time. He also stated, "neighbourhood pubs are important not only because they add to the
character of a neighbourhood, but also prevents drinking and driving as one can
walk home!". Hmmm, beer lounges are not neighbourhood pubs, as the legislation states they are "endorsements" on manufacturing licenses, but they sure would function in a very similar way.
- Heather Deal, who stated she would "like to see more small pubs in neighborhoods throughout the city.” Again, beer lounges could be a great way to have these small, licensed establishments dotted around the city. To Heather's credit, although she has ignored all emails sent post-election by myself or CAMRA when I was president, has kept her pre-election promise to "work with" CAMRA, having just taken a meeting with current CAMRA Vancouver President, Adam Chatburn. Whether that meeting comes to anything is yet to be seen, but at least she responded.
I am a very active advocate, championing the rights of BC's craft beer consumers and the vibrant and growing craft beer industry here in our province. As I mentioned, I am a blogger, the author of the award-winning VanEast Beer Blog, the very blog you are reading now, a blog that reaches thousands of people each month, many of whom live in Vancouver and will be voting in the next election. I am not saying I can persuade these readers to vote one way or another, but I do think that those voters knowing you are ignoring these issues that they are so passionate about may cause them to rethink whether they want to re-elect politicians who so blatantly ignore their voices.
Yes, I am but one person, one vote, but there are thousands of others who think the same way as I do on these issues and these people are my readers.
And just to let you know that I was on to something when I wrote in my post that is Vancouver City does not embrace the idea of beer lounges ASAP, they will lose businesses to other municipalities, the exodus has started. I already know of one person who has recently scrapped plans to open a small brewery in Vancouver, in favour of a neighbouring city, because of your restrictive zoning by-laws, stifling liquor licensing policies and unnecessarily complicated and onerous process of opening a brewery here in Vancouver City.
If you do not start paying attention to people like myself who are advocating on behalf of one of the most vibrant consumer markets and industry segments of this province, you are going to see many more breweries opening in neighbouring cities, paying their taxes and luring tourism and business away from Vancouver City. That would be a travesty as Vancouver, if politicians have enough vision, could become the Portland North, attracting millions of tourist dollars a year because of their great craft beer scene.
I can tell you, politicians at the provincial level are listening and meeting with people like myself and CAMRA Vancouver President Adam Chatburn and listening to what we have to say. I hope, for the sake of our great city, you all start to take some notice as well before it is too late for both the craft beer industry in this city and yourselves come the next election.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
The Fat Tug Standard - One Man's Search for the Ultimate Pint
Things have been getting kind of heavy & political lately on VEBB so I thought I'd break up the rants with something I have enjoyed researching...back to your regularly broadcast programming shortly...
 |
| In search of the ultimate Fat Tug...sounds like a lot of fun to me |
One such skill of great importance was the one I used to decide which restaurant or bar I was going to plant my ass in and this method I dubbed "The Amstel Standard".
I developed this in Greece, where at that time the only decent beer I could find was Amstel and by decent, I mean best of a bad, Eurotrash selection. My method was based on sound empirical research and basically involved me looking at countless menus around whatever city/town/village I was in to see if they sold Amstel beer and if so, at what price.
If they did and the price was good, that's where I camped out and drank beer. Having only a few dollars a day to spend while backpacking, finding the cheapest place to slake my thirst was a top priority, as often I had to choose between food and beer (and you know who won that battle most days), so I would be on constant lookout for the best deal while out sightseeing or doing whatever it was I was up to that day.
Very advanced and clever, don't you think.
I adopted this method in each country I visited, renaming it after my favourite, or sometimes the only available beer in that country. In Israel, it was the "Gold Star Standard", the best adaptation of the name, but probably the worst beer I ever used as a standard, not that there was much choice in mid-80's in Israel.
The other day I got to thinking (yes, sometimes I have a momentary lapse of reason or two) and decided to research "The Fat Tug Standard", which, now that I think about it, sounds more like something that should catch the attention of the vice squad than searching for the best deal on my favourite beer. My love for this beer is only surpassed by my love for my wife and daughter so I thought I would do some "research". I just love it when my wife asks me where I am off and I can reply, "just doing research for my blog dear, see you in a few hours." Of course, she knows what this means, but in this case, at least she won't be able to easily find me perched at the bar in either St Augustine's or Tangent Cafe, my two locals, as I wander all Vancouver looking for the ultimate (read cheapest) Fat Tug.
I do have to say that there are many different factors that contribute to cost here in Vancouver that may not apply in the beach bars of Greece, such as the existence and cost of a liquor license and business permit, paying staff more than just drinks, costs of building upkeep (there is little upkeep when your bar is a palapa with no walls) and I tend to be less picky about where I drink when I am sitting with my feet in the sand surrounded by merry backpackers and scantily-clad Scandinavian women (obviously the Amstel Standard was developed during my single days) and when I am paying in currency valued much less than the Canadian dollar.
Here in Vancouver I choose where I belly up to the bar based on many different factors such as staff knowledge and service levels, how my beer is served, atmosphere, the ethics of the bar management/ownership, whether I want to watch the game or not, convenience to transit, approval of my wife, whether Fat Tug, or a suitable substitute IPA, is one tap and, of course, price, but price usually only factors in if it is so prohibitive that it obliterates all other factors.
I will do my best to break down the city into geographical areas and find as many taps of Fat Tug as I can and I will do a post per area researched. I know I will miss some areas and some locations, but hey, a man only has so much spare time, one liver and I cannot afford a divorce lawyer.
And for those of you who feel I am favouring Driftwood and Fat Tug beer, well, you are absolutely right. This is my blog and I prefer Fat Tug over any other beer in the world I have found.
Since I live about 200 metres of Commercial Drive, I figured that would be as good a place as any to start, so here we go...
(All prices pre-tax & rounded to the nearest cent in ounces only)
Commercial Drive - Draft
Establishments listed from south to north from 12th Ave to Venables
Licensee
|
Serving Size
|
Price Regular
|
Price Special
|
Regular Price Breakdown
|
Special Price
Breakdown
|
14oz/414ml
|
$6.00
|
$5.00 (Tuesdays)
|
|||
16oz/454ml
|
$6.00
|
||||
16oz/454ml
|
$6.50
|
$4.75 (Tuesdays)
|
|||
20oz/568ml
16oz/454ml |
$6.25
$4.99 |
$0.31 oz
$0.31 oz |
|||
20oz/568ml
|
$5.75
|
||||
16oz/454ml
|
$6.50
|
$.41 oz
| |||
Commercial Drive - Bottle
Licensee
|
Size
|
Price
|
Price Breakdown
|
|
22.9oz/650ml
|
$6.90
|
$0.30 oz
|
||
22.9oz/650ml
|
$5.99
|
$0.26 oz
|
||
22.9oz/650ml
|
$5.50
|
$0.24 oz
|
If you see any places I have omitted, please email me at vaneastbeerblog@gmail.com and let me know. Also, if you work in an establishment in Vancouver that serves Fat Tug, email and let me know where, how much and serving size (uses ounces not words like sleeve that have absolutely no value).
Cheers and Happy Fat Tugging my friends.
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