Craft beer makers want NB Liquor to put a cork in proposed markup

A markup that has been brewing from Alcool NB Liquor (ANBL) has been delayed until October.

The markup structure change for craft beer producers was intended to take effect on July 17, with an increase of 20 per cent in some cases.

Jake Saunders, co-owner of Trailway Brewing Company, is feeling hopeful about the delay and a chance to change the terms set out by the province.

"We're optimistic that the delay is going to give us time to have some dialogue with them,” said Saunders.

“And work something out that's a good deal for everybody involved,” he added.

"The increase was pretty dramatic” said Doug Williams, vice president of Craft Alcohol NB.

“Because of how dramatic the increase was, producers were trying to figure out if they're going to eat the cost themselves, most of them can't,” Williams said.

“Then they have to pass the cost on to the consumer, and there was a fear out there that the increase was going to be quite dramatic and people would look at it like, ‘why did the cost of the beer I bought last week go up 50 cents?”

Trailway Brewing Company was looking at an increase on most cans from $4.79 to $5.09.

The instability in the sudden change in pricing makes future sales and growth hard for producers to predict.

"We don't have a crystal ball,” Saunders said.

“We can only go off the information at hand, and in our case we're typically contracting hops, grain, and aluminium -- all of our raw inputs are contracted out years in advance so we can plan accordingly.”

Craft Alcohol NB says they just want ANBL to honour the two per cent a year over five years agreement that was put in place a year ago.

"I'd like to think the finance minister, the premier and the legislature all have more important things to do than to manage the board at ANBL,” Williams said.

“So we need to put a system in place that's fair to everyone, understanding that the province of New Brunswick needs to raise tax revenue, but they can't do it this way.”

ANBL says the markup will now come into effect on Oct. 9.

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