B.C. liquor stores will start stocking microbrewery products that are not listed in the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) system, the B.C. government announced November 20.
“Beginning on November 30, B.C. liquor stores will accept up to 12 non-listed products from the breweries closest to their location,” the government said in a release.
“Non-listed products are products that are not generally sold across the B.C. liquor stores chain.”
The move is intended to tailor each store’s selection of microbrewery products to its local market and to quench consumer thirst for craft beer products.
Microbreweries are considered to be those that produce 15 million litres, or less, annually. There are currently 102 microbreweries in B.C. that are eligible for this program, although the number of microbreweries in B.C. seems to be rising by the day.
BC Craft Brewers Guild executive director Ken Beattie told Business in Vancouver November 18 that the sector is undergoing a doubling in size within a mere three years.
Beattie counted 68 craft breweries in B.C. two years ago. There are now 113 craft breweries, he said, before forecasting that at least 30 more will open in the next year.
