New SLGA rules around craft breweries take effect Sunday

New rules for Saskatchewan craft brewers will make is easier to get their suds into the hands of customers.

On Sept. 13 Saskatchewan's Liquor and Gaming Authority announced they're removing some barriers for craft beer manufacturers in the province, including allowing craft brewers the ability to direct deliver their products to Saskatchewan retailers.

The new laws mean craft brewers, like Black Bridge Brewery and Paddockwood, can bottle their products and deliver them directly to any SLGA or private liquor store, without trucking it to the SLGA warehouse in Regina first, only to truck it back to Saskatoon.

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Having to send products to Regina was a point of contention for Saskatchewan microbreweries, mostly because the warehouse in Regina wasn't completely refrigerated and brewers ran the risk of their product going bad before customers could enjoy it.

Serving pints on site

Changes also opened the door to microbreweries to sell pints on site, something the brewmasters at 9 Mile Legacy said will boost sales.

"We've always been able to serve product on premise because we had the right endorsement, but we weren't able to charge for it. So now it makes business sense to have people in and enjoy a pint and a flight of tasters," said Shawn Moen, co-founder of 9 Mile Legacy.

While customers usually down a sample or two before walking away with a growler full of craft beer, Moen said the demand to buy pints at their brewery adjacent to the Saskatoon Farmers' Market has grown and it's been difficult turning customers away.

"I turned away so many people last weekend, wedding parties who were just killing time before the ceremony who wanted to have a few drinks at the brewery, and I had to say I can't do it, I can't sell it to you," Moen said, adding the first pints at 9 Mile Legacy will likely start flowing Wednesday after the Thanksgiving long weekend.

"It was economic opportunity that was being lost for a lot of us ... When you buy directly from a brewery that's instant cash in our pockets which we then as small businesses invest in our businesses."

More products to offer

Something you might see popping up around craft breweries are products from other Saskatchewan craft manufacturers. Moen said the new SLGA rules allow breweries to serve products from across the province.

"A lot of these changes are really simplifying and removing these odd barriers in how we were able to get our product to market. It's really simplifying our business for us," Moen said.

Currently 9 Mile Legacy is renovating a space on 20th Street in Saskatoon's Riversdale neighbourhood. Moen said he expects to have a new brewery location set up by Christmas, with a tap room opening later in 2017.

"As we grow we pay more tax, so it's only common sense in my mind our regulator would want to look at our barriers for growth and remove them and take a proactive approach to revising those regulations to help support our industry," he said.