Peterborough’s Publican House Brewery won’t take part in ‘buck-a-beer’

On Aug. 27, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s “Buck-a-Beer” plan will drop the lowest price for a can or bottle of beer from $1.25 to $1 in the province.

But at least one Peterborough craft brewer won’t be selling his beer at a dollar per can.

“We’re a craft brewery. It’s all in the word craft; we make small-batch beers. It’s not a volume business,” said Marty Laskaris, president and co-founder of The Publican House Brewery in Peterborough, Ont. “We can’t afford to put a can on the shelf or 24 in a box for a buck a can.”

READ MORE: Doug Ford’s ‘buck-a-beer’ doesn’t mean $1 beer across the board — here’s why

The Publican House Brewery has been in operation since 2008. The craft brewery produces a line of six regular beers as well as a few experimental brews that rotate in and out. Right now, the lowest price for a can of Publican House beer is $3.15.

More than 70 people work at The Publican House at its brewery, retail store and restaurant.

“Wages have gone up 20 per cent in last year. There’s material costs that keep going up. We’re getting hit by tariffs on cans for aluminum. Our energy costs and property taxes keep going up. We can’t afford ‘buck-a-beer,'” said Laskaris.

“If we can’t put good beer in a can with our name on it, I won’t do it. I couldn’t afford to do it. I wouldn’t want to even pass it off on my friends as an experiment for that type of cost.”