Local taprooms set to sell suds later in the evening

The handful of new brewers in the province with taprooms are being given the green light to stay open two hours later than the current 9 p.m. restriction.

The Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba (LGA) has confirmed the hours taprooms can stay open will be extended in the upcoming weeks, shifting from a 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. restriction to an 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. time frame.

John Heim, the president of Torque Brewery and the communications director with the Manitoba Brewing Association said brewers noticed right away that the 9 p.m. closing time didn't make a lot of sense for the new businesses.

"There was a second wave of customers around 8:30 and they were sort of forced to get them to have a quick drink and vacant the premise, as last call was at nine," said Heim.

Heim said typically there is often staff at the brewery in the morning but customers don't often come in until later in the day. The brewers association started meeting with the LGA in the fall, and they wanted the flexibility to move their hours.

"There was a need and an opportunity, not to be open like a regular bar to 2 a.m. but just to extend the hours a wee bit more to get a bit more of a second wave of customers and maybe employ another shift, sell a bit more beer and have people enjoy the taproom experience beyond 9 p.m.," said Heim.

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Liz Stephenson with LGA said the change in rules are coming into effect only after consultation with the business community.

"They showed that they didn't get a lot of traffic into the facilities from 9 a.m. to noon. Some of it was to do with supporting reasonable business hours, customer choice, all of the things the LGA has tried to emphasize," said Stephenson.

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Stephenson said the changes will go into effect once all the manufacturers have been notified in writing.

Heim said other things the association is wanting to look at in the future is the restriction on capacity in taprooms and they would also like to be allowed to sell other local brewers' beers in their taprooms.

Manitoba's liquor laws have been modernized in several ways since 2014, but a spate of new local breweries didn't start opening until mid-2016. The city is looking at reducing zoning red tape for breweries and allowing breweries to sell each others' beer, but some local alcohol producers say the cancellation of a provincial loan program has set them back once more. 

For now, Heim and others are pleased to be able to open later if they choose, saying it has potential to be a good revenue stream and help extend their brand. Torque Brewing will look at possibly starting their later hours on Fridays and Saturdays to see how customers respond.