N.S. says Molson beer from Moncton won't be considered local

Molson may not be able to ship its Moncton-produced beer to Nova Scotia without paying a surcharge because the agreement not to charge the fee on Maritime brews was made before Molson came into the picture.

Nova Scotia Liquor spokesman Rick Perkins said Wednesdaythat "outside" brewers have to pay up to $1.32 a case in surcharges.The fee covers transportation and distribution costs.

Molson's $36-million Moncton brewery, slated to open this year, is coming into the market after that agreement was made.

Part of Moncton's attraction for the beer company was that Molson would be considered a local brewer, allowing it to ship beer to the other Maritime provinces without surcharges, but the Nova Scotia government hasn't agreed.

"Molson is not included in that existing agreement between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, so anything that they would produce in the plant in Moncton that they'd ship to Nova Scotia would be subject to that surcharge," Perkins said.

Molson spokesman Ferg Devins said the company has been working with the Nova Scotia government to try to straighten things out.

"We're hopeful that we will have warehouse and distribution opportunities, plans resolved in the very near future."

Devins said the company is making a big investment in Moncton —one he hopes will pay off.

Meanwhile, the spring 2007 opening of Molson's Moncton brewery will be delayed, the company said, because there is a problem with the welded seam of the pipes in the breweryand they'll have to be replaced. It's not clear how long that will take.