Red Tape Peeling Off Craft Breweries

With Vancouver on the cusp of permitting onsite brewery lounges in industrial zones, regulations surrounding B.C.'s craft breweries loosen up

Brewed in small batches with a passion that can border on obsession, "craft beer" is more of a marketing term than a formal classification—the marriage of the traditional craft of brewing with a playful inventiveness. Spurred by changing public tastes and ever-more sophisticated palates, craft beer is driving the evolution of beer in the marketplace. It can be as complex and varied as wine, and is often enjoyed by those who wouldn't otherwise drink beer. Unfortunately, B.C.'s archaic liquor laws haven't kept pace with the rate of change, and the province's craft brewers have faced numerous challenges, including laws that bar them from selling their products in pubs that they own, and laws that prohibit the establishment of on-site brewery lounges. Could that finally be changing?