Thread by @PaulBoudreau83

Some thoughts (without having seen the details of anything beyond the linked article) about #DougFord 's Buck-A-Beer challenge. 1/

First off, all I know is what I've heard and read in articles like this one
theglobeandmail.com/canada/article…

That being said, there are a whole lot of things going on here, and (almost) none of it is good.
1. Incentivising brewers to lower their prives to buck a beer is going to benefit only the larger breweries. Small brewers likely cannot afford to reduce costs to do so.

2. How do I know this? Glad you asked. I worked for one of the first buck-a-beer brewers in the early 2000s as we launched it. We needed a massive volume increase to make it work. We got it, but largely because we got their first and there weren't a tonne of other players.
3/

3. We could afford to do this as we had an entire extra brewery mothballed at the time to ramp up production, large scale investment available (it was a public company) and an existing province wide distribution and sales network.
4/

4. We also had fewer than 20 in province competitors, most of whom were concentrated in the GTA and had limited, local territories.
This is no longer the case. Follow @OntarioBevNet to see the changes in the last 15 years compared to what I am describing.
5/

5. Which brings me to the part that most sticks in my craw here: the claim that this will increase competition. So, if you need to be instantly scalable (most small brewers aren't) with investment and tank space available (same) and prepared to flood the beer store (expensive) 6/

... In a market that is increasingly crowded and localized, who really stands to benefit from the "incentives" being promised here? The only people who can afford it: the Big Brewers (plus the makers of things like Laker).
6. The Craft revolution in Ontario
7/

... Has been a remarkable phenomenon. This is a blow to dozens of independant creators and artisans making quality product who deserve all the help they can get. Instead, it will go in international corporations.
8. I haven't even mentioned the massive inflation in input costs
9/

... Which have skyrocketed in the last decade, and show no signs of slowing due to climate change and increasing demand for quality malts and hops.
9. I am going to avoid the distribution chain rant for now. That is another long one and I have things to do.
10/11

10. Basically,to sum up, this is corporate welfare at its worst being presented as populism, is likely to actually harm one of the most vibrant and growing industries in the province, and just a generally terrible idea.
Fin~
#onpoli #DougFord #BuckABeer