Domestic beer still tops in B.C. alcohol sales

When it comes to alcohol sales in British Columbia, domestic beer is still king.

The B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch released its market review for the second quarter of 2023-24 (July to September), and domestic B.C. beer sales topped every specific type of alcohol product sold.

For the quarter, just over $220 million of domestic B.C. beer was sold, amounting to 55 million litres’ worth. Domestic B.C. beer includes commercial, microbrew and regional beers.

Beer sales from other parts of Canada tallied $50 million (10.9 million litres), with import beer amounting to $27 million (5.2 million litres).

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B.C. wine sales came in second, amounting to $154 million and 9.8 million litres.

However, when it comes to wine, unlike beer and its three simple categories, the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch has 24 categories, including Canada Other.

But B.C. wine outpaced the other 23 wine categories combined, with American wine coming in a distant second at $33 million in sales (1.4 million litres).

Interestingly, Canada Other totalled $2.1 million in sales and 152,970 litres. China had the smallest figures in wine ($14,917 in sales, 426 litres).

Yet when it came to overall sales, wine ($305 million) eclipsed beer ($298 million) despite producing far less (17 million litres to 71 million litres).

Coolers and ciders totalled $143 million in sales (27 million litres) for the quarter, up from $135 million (26 million litres) in the first quarter and $132 million (26.6 million litres) from the same time last year.

Spirits sales amounted to $237 million (7.4 million litres), with vodka being the biggest seller at $65 million (2.4 litres). In second was whiskey ($61.5 million, 1.7 million litres) with liqueurs ($30 million, 1 million litres) in third.

More about the report is available online.