Craft breweries get go-ahead to open taprooms

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This article was published 07/05/2015 (4138 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A date night in Winnipeg will soon include the option of going to a local craft brewery and sampling what they make in those big tanks.

The province has given the thumbs-up for local craft and microbreweries to open tasting or taprooms.

The industry has been lobbying the province for the approval for several months as a way to increase business.

“If you’re going to have craft beer, if you’re going to have microbreweries, you have to allow those breweries to be able to have the abilities to allow their customers to taste before they buy,” Tourism, Culture, Heritage, Sport and Consumer Protection Minister Ron Lemieux said Wednesday. “To be successful, they really need this.”

Lemieux said the rooms, adjacent to brewery production sites, are common in other provinces and states.

“The idea of tasting rooms is not to have a large bar of 100, 200, 300 people,” he said. “The max is up to about 50.”

Lemieux said the Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba is accepting applications for the handful of operations in the province to open licensed brewery tasting rooms.

David Rudge, owner and brewmaster at Half Pints Brewing Company in St. James, said in an earlier interview a taproom would allow his brewery to hire more employees and be open for longer hours.

Taprooms are common in other parts of Canada, including B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, and are often part of the brewery tour.

Lemieux also said the refillable growler bottle program will be expanded as part of the craft breweries strategy launched last December. Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries is reviewing the popularity of growlers, which will lead to a plan for the future expansion of the program by summer.

The minister said the introduction of growlers, refillable 1.89-litre glass jugs at select Liquor Marts and beer vendors in Brandon and Winnipeg, has also been a boost to the craft beer market.

Lemieux said as of mid-April, the number of growler fills was more than double what was anticipated, adding overall growth in sales for Manitoba producers — Fort Garry, Half Pints and Farmery — is up 10 per cent since 2013.

This summer, MLL will introduce limited-availability products from craft breweries across Canada, Lemieux said.