Suds lovers from across Alberta are raising a pint to craft beer at the first annual Alberta Craft Brewing Convention in Red Deer.
It comes amid a recent explosion in craft brewing popularity in the province, with the number of breweries more than doubling in the past two years.
READ MORE: Alberta sees craft brewery boom in last 2 years
The Alberta Small Brewers Association (ASBA) told News Talk 770 there are now 44 craft breweries operating in the province, with another 30 or so in the planning stages. That’s way up from just three years ago, when there were only about 18 active breweries.
“There’s two things that have really led from a regulatory standpoint,” said Terry Rock, executive director of the ASBA, when asked what was behind the recent explosion in local breweries.
“One thing was we got rid of mandatory minimums, so a brewery of any size could open. So, now we have breweries of all sizes and many in small communities entering our province. The second thing is that we’ve created a level playing field between the provinces and between the large multinational industrial brewers and the small craft guys.”
Minhas Micro Brewery, which opened in 2012, told News Talk 770 it was difficult to get up and running and keep the doors open in the early years, but changes to the Alberta tax structure and small beer mark-up have made it easier for small local breweries.
LISTEN: Terry Rock on craft brewing in Alberta
Rock said he expects we could see between 80 and 90 new breweries operating in the province in the next two years.
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“Compared to other places in the country we are behind, but we’re growing fast. So, we see the potential to grow quite a bit more before getting into the situation where the demand isn’t there,” he added.
Rock said Alberta has a wide selection of craft beers available on store shelves, with some 4,000 beer varieties compared to maybe a thousand in other provinces.
“Albertans have tuned in to craft brewing and now they’re starting to understand the benefits of supporting their local brewer.”
He said he’s received a lot of calls from suppliers in other provinces trying to tap into the industry.
“We encourage those outside brewers to actually open a brewery in Alberta. It’s a great place to open a brewery,” said Minhas.
The 2017 Alberta Craft Brewery Convention runs wraps up Wednesday evening.
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