Small Alberta brewers want local beer boost

A group of small-scale brewers in Alberta are concerned about the future of the province’s beer industry.

Last year, Alberta promised to make changes to help level the playing field for local brewers who say they are finding it hard to compete with foreign brand names.

• Click on the "Listen" button above to hear Calgary Eyeopener's David Gray speak with brewer Neil Herbst.

But nothing has changed for small breweries, said Neil Herbst, who owns Alley Kat Brewing Company in Edmonton.

"Right now the tax is applied equally no matter where the beer is produced," he said.

"So if you produced in, say, Estonia, you get the same tax breaks as you do if you produce it in Alberta. We’re asking that it be changed so there is a made-in-Alberta requirement that we think would help bolster the small brewery industry in Alberta."

Most provinces have some sort of policy that encourages local breweries, Herbst said.