Craft brewers pan Doug Ford’s buck-a-beer plan

Only one Ontario brewery has said it will participate

Many of Ontario’s craft beer brewers refuse to sacrifice quality and lower their prices to a loonie per can despite the new Progressive Conservative bucka-beer plan.

Instead, consumers may soon be paying more for small-batch suds as brewers adjust to higher prices for cans amid a trade war with Canada’s southern neighbour.

“I would argue that no one in Ontario — at least no one in the Ontario craft brewing market — can possibly afford to sell their beer at that price and make ... any money,” said Matt Gibson, manager of corporate sales and marketing for Burlington, Ont.-based Nickel Brook Brewing.

The brewery’s least expensive product now retails at $3.05, well above the new minimums set to take effect August 27.

Premier Doug Ford announced Tuesday his government would lower the minimum price of a bottle or can of beer with an alcohol volume below 5.6 per cent to $1 from $1.25.

The provincial government will offer a number of non-financial incentives, like prime spots in Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores and advertising in flyers or inserts, to companies that participate.

A number of the province’s craft brewers decried the policy — a highly publicized campaign promise — on social media, saying they could not afford to participate without sacrificing the quality of their product.

Nickel Brook Brewing would have to skimp on ingredients, fire some employees to reduce labour costs or accept the product as a loss leader to be able to charge a loonie, said Gibson, adding all three options are non-starters.

The sole brewery that will reportedly offer a $1 beer so far is Barley Days Brewery, where

Ford made the announcement. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It’s unclear how the larger brewers will respond. Molson Coors Canada, the country’s second-largest industry player according to a recent report by market-research firm IBISWorld, does not publicly comment on pricing, said spokesperson Josh Stewart in an email.

The other two largest companies, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Moosehead Breweries, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The government incentives for companies that can afford to participate, like prime shelf space, concern Nickel Brook Brewing and many other craft brewers.

The brewery regularly pays thousands of dollars for such benefits and they tend to result in a sales uptick, he said. If Nickel Brook Brewing can’t participate in as many of these programs because they’re being given away, he said, that will inevitably impact sales.

Muskoka Brewery, which operates out of Bracebridge, Ont., also can’t lower its prices while maintaining beer quality and paying their employees a living wage, said president Todd Lewin, who added there’s some shock over how the government plans to roll out the policy.

“For sure, it’s a concern that the playing field isn’t level,” he said. Companies like his “invest quite heavily” in participating in those kinds of programs, Lewin said, and seeing others get that space for free “just doesn’t feel very fair.”

That’s potentially problematic for an industry already grappling with recent aluminum tariffs.