Changes in the regulations for breweries operating on the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) may be on their way, which would be good news for Persephone Brewing Company.
Last week, B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham announced that the province might relax rules.
“It’s exciting to hear her speaking publicly about it,” said Brian Smith, CEO of Persephone Brewery.
Smith met with Popham in September and since then has been in regular contact with her office. “It all seems to be moving ahead in a constructive way and I’m hoping there may be a more formal announcement in a month,” he said.
Persephone is located on ALR land, just off Stewart Road outside Gibsons. In December 2016, the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) rejected an application for the company to operate the brewery, tasting room and food truck on its land; Persephone has operated in the same location since 2013. The ALC ruling gave Persephone two years to demonstrate compliance with ALR regulations or relocate to non-ALR land.
The current regulations require breweries to grow at least 50 per cent of their product on the farm in order to operate on the ALR. Meeting this regulation is difficult, Smith said, because barley doesn’t grow in this region, it’s difficult to grow on a small scale, and it has to be malted.
“It’s just not viable,” he said.
Smith said the adoption of a Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) resolution regarding the inequities of the ALR policies concerning breweries helped bring the issue to the province’s attention.
Having UBCM members support the changes to the ALR “makes [the province’s] job much easier,” he said. The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) put the resolution forward for consideration at the UBCM convention, and once adopted, the resolution was forwarded to the Ministry of Agriculture for consideration.
SCRD Area F director Ian Winn said, “Although it’s not a certainty yet, it is encouraging” that the province is considering relaxing regulations and leveling the playing field.
“It was never clear to me why there is the inequity in the current regulations, so I look forward to changes that can enable many breweries operating on provincially designated ALR land in the province to be successful,” Winn said.
“We must keep in mind that with changes to regulations to match wineries and cideries, the primary regulated raw ingredient for beer being malted barley could be sourced from other areas of British Columbia and therefore benefit the broader B.C. agricultural industry.”
