Steep markups keep B.C. craft spirits off BC Liquor Store shelves, industry says

With U.S. booze pulled from the shelves of BC Liquor Stores amid the U.S. trade war, the province’s craft distillers say now is the time for the province to support local products.

“Do we want to have BC Liquor Stores with empty shelves when it should be filled with shelves that are powering our own economy? I think most British Columbians would say no,” said Tyler Dyck, president of the Craft Distillers Guild of B.C.

“Right now there has never been a better time.”

To be certified as “craft,” a distillery in B.C. must use 100 per cent B.C. inputs, ferment and distill on site, and not exceed annual production of 100,000 litres.

The industry has boomed in the last two decades, growing from just four distilleries to nearly 10 times that number.

But Dyck said despite the growth, government regulations are keeping products off the shelves of government liquor stores, which account for most alcohol sales across the province.

“They just frankly cannot afford to put their products in BC Liquor Stores, because BC Liquor Stores take 70 per cent of the sticker price of that product,” he said.

Under that scenario, most distillers would lose money on every bottle they sold from a government store, Dyck said.

Dyck compared those markups to the B.C. wine industry, which he said only faces about a 17-per cent markup for Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) certified products.

That’s a result of an agreement between wine producers and the government that allows wineries to keep more of the revenue from sales on products that use 100 per cent B.C. grapes.

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It’s a model he said should be emulated for B.C. spirits.

“They should look at it and say hey, it worked for those guys, why wouldn’t it work for the same producers in distilling or even in brewing for that matter, if they are using 100 per cent local agricultural products?”

“This is the golden ticket right now. The public is calling for it, they want Canadian and they definitely want B.C. products. This helps jobs and helps the economy.”

Dyck said B.C. craft distilleries also face punishing financial penalties for exceeding production caps, which he said the government should drop.

Global News is seeking comment from the provincial government on the industry’s concerns.

In the meantime, Dyck said distillers are missing out on the moment, as shoppers seek to buy Canadian in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats.

“You have to be in a government liquor store to be relevant because 95, 98 per cent of all the sales in the province are going to go through those government liquor stores,” he said.

“So when British Columbians don’t see bc wine there or bc beer or bc spirits, quite frankly they don’t know it exists.”

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