British Columbia’s craft beer industry is evolving as some close their doors and others change their names

At least a dozen British Columbia craft breweries closed their doors for good last year, and industry insiders say rising costs — not weak sales — are the cause.

“It’s the cost of the entire business, whether it’s the input cost for grain and aluminum cans, or the rent,” said Ken Beattie of the BC Craft Brewers Guild.

“So that’s the challenge. The challenge is cash flow.”

In the Central Okanagan, three breweries closed their doors in December alone.

Vice and Virtue Brewing, Kelowna Brewing Company and Lake Country Brewing have all closed their doors.

Beattie says some of the breweries that closed last year have been sold and will reopen under a new brand, but some are gone forever.

He says the losses are offset by the fact that eight new entrants to the industry have recently opened their doors.

In some cases, existing businesses simply chose to pivot.

Calister Brewing recently moved from East Vancouver to Port Coquitlam.

The company had been making beer since 2015 and added craft soda a few years later.

Today, it has completely abandoned craft beer and makes sodas exclusively, renamed Calister Craft Soda.

“The market in Vancouver, with the pressures of land and property taxes and commercial leases, has become simply untenable,” said owner Diana Mckenzie. “So we had to find another solution for ourselves and become a little more flexible.”

Craft beer sales traditionally see an increase when the restaurant industry is thriving, but that is not the case currently.

“We are still dealing with the financial consequences of the pandemic. I know no one wants to talk about it, but overall the economy is still not operating at full capacity,” said Jeff Guinard, executive director of the Alliance of Beverage Licensees. Customers go out less often. They don’t have as much money to spend. »

As some customers choose to drink less alcohol or even forgo it altogether, many breweries have added lighter beers and non-alcoholic options to their lineups in an effort to improve their bottom line.