City rules leave one Edmonton brewery feeling flat

Nestled into a small space of an industrial area in northeast Edmonton, Bent Stick Brewing is the brainchild of four partners.

“Every bottle hand-labelled, every bottle hand-capped,” Patrick Gaudet explained, as he gave Global News a tour of the nearly 1,700 square foot space.

Bent Stick started selling this past Canada Day, shipping about 1,100 bottles a week to various retailers and pubs.

In setting up the space, the business partners also looked to the idea of selling what they make.  But that’s when the roadblocks started to go up.

“No liquor store can be closer than 500 metres to another liquor store,” Gaudet said, explaining the first hurdle in attempting to get a licence to sell.

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Gaudet said the city worked with him to find an alternate solution.  One idea was a licence for a neighbourhood bar and pub.

“Later on I received news that because of the way the bylaw was written, it was interpreted that we did not directly abut a neighbourhood or residential.  And so we wouldn’t qualify,” he said.

But then, a reinterpretation of the rules followed and this week, a green light to start selling. However, it comes after what Gaudet describes as a “frustrating” process.

“We’re kind of in a grey area,” David Hales, the branch manager for development services with the City of Edmonton, said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're kind of in a grey area," David Hales, the branch manager for development services with the City of Edmonton, said.

City bylaws consider breweries in an industrial context.  But with the growth of local brewing, council has asked for changes.

City staff are looking into a variety of issues including distance setbacks.

“We want to be fair to all that are involved,” Hales said.

He acknowledged the “public demand” for local brewing.

“So, we’re actually looking at how we can evolve the bylaw.”

Changes are expected to come in the new year.

“We’re hoping to grow and get bigger,” Gaudet said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're hoping to grow and get bigger," Gaudet said.

Meanwhile, with their approval, Gaudet and his partners hope to have their storefront ready by the end of this year.

The hours will be limited but according to him, “as a business, it allows us that every bit of extra piece of revenue we can get.”