Alberta at odds with its biggest craft brewery after substantial beer tax hike

Jack Farrell · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 14, 2025 3:39 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

A standoff is brewing betwixt Alberta's authorities and the province's biggest and oldest trade brewery.

Big Rock Brewery, founded successful 1985, is facing a abrupt 22 per cent summation to the fees it pays the state aft a caller complaint was introduced past period — a complaint that mostly has nary interaction connected immoderate different brewery.

Brad Goddard, vice-president of concern improvement and authorities relations for Big Rock, says the hike means the Calgary-based institution volition manus implicit $1.4 cardinal successful further taxes annually.

"The state wherever we person built our business, overnight — virtually with 8 hours' announcement — accrued their taxation 22 per cent and decreased our capableness to turn by 55 per cent," said Goddard.

"That doesn't consciousness similar the Alberta that I'm utilized to."

The bureau tasked with regulating intoxicant — Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis — takes successful fees from companies for each litre of intoxicant they make. The much a institution produces, the higher the fee.

AGLC introduced its caller rates connected Feb. 28, conscionable 1 time aft the Alberta authorities tabled its budget.

Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally, who oversees AGLC, says "99 per cent" of Alberta's tiny brewers volition wage the aforesaid complaint arsenic earlier — $0.10 per litre — due to the fact that they nutrient overmuch little brew than companies similar Big Rock.

"Out of the 137 tiny trade brewers successful this province, the immense bulk of them ... bash 5,000 hectolitres oregon less," helium said. A hectolitre is adjacent to 100 litres.

Under AGLC's caller interest rate, each brew shaper that produces much than 180,000 hectolitres per twelvemonth volition wage $1.25 per litre. Previously, breweries could nutrient much than treble that magnitude earlier being charged the $1.25 rate.

Big Rock, which Goddard said makes astir 150,000 hectolitres per year, volition present wage betwixt $0.78 and $0.81 per litre, astir $0.20 much than before.

Nally said the caller rates weren't designed to summation authorities revenue, contempt the province's caller fund forecasting a $5.2-billion deficit.

Instead, helium said, the alteration volition support tiny brewers and complaint bigger producers accordingly.

"We request to support tiny brewers successful this province, and we bash that by ensuring that the tiny brewer markup goes to tiny brewers," Nally said.

Beer Canada, which represents breweries crossed the country, endorsed the minister's statement past month, calling it a measurement toward equity.

"(It's) an encouraging archetypal measurement toward implementing a much balanced and transparent brew fiscal model for Canadian brewers operating oregon selling successful Alberta," said president CJ Hélie successful a statement.

But Goddard says it means Big Rock is being lumped unneurotic with multinational breweries similar Molson Coors oregon Labatt, which nutrient millions of hectolitres of beer.

"The brewers that they're trying to comparison maine to, the brewers that predominate the marketplace, are unbelievably ample compared to me," helium said.

Alberta Small Brewers Association manager Blair Berdusco said the caller interest complaint could discourage different breweries from growing.

"Fortunately, astatine this moment, thing instantly changes truly for the smaller Alberta breweries," Berdusco said. "But again, you spell to that outlook for them and the communicative changes."

Berdusco said she expects large breweries to instrumentality an adjacent higher stock of the marketplace arsenic a result.

Goddard said Big Rock's ain maturation plans are uncertain and its long-held narration with the Alberta authorities appears to beryllium successful tatters.

"The Alberta authorities has encouraged america to grow, to pull investment, to prosecute much people, to marque much products present successful Alberta," helium said.

"Now it feels similar the connection coming retired of the Service Alberta bureau is, 'No, maturation isn't what we're looking for."'

Nally's property secretary, Brandon Aboultaif, said successful an email that a ceremonial reappraisal of the interest structures for brew and different types of intoxicant volition instrumentality spot each 5 years moving forward.

"This volition assistance support a just equilibrium betwixt manufacture growth, authorities gross needs, and user interests," helium said.