The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation is boasting big sales of craft beers and ciders in their third quarter.
Craft beer sales jumped 23.7 per cent to $4 million, accounting for about ten per cent of the NSLC’s beer sales.
“Obviously the big commercial breweries are still the major seller in Nova Scotia but given the exponential growth of craft beer sales in this province, customers are really appreciating those products,” says Beverley Ware, spokesperson for NSLC.
She says they expect the trend to grow.
“Nova Scotians are discovering how fantastic these Nova Scotia craft beers are, the tremendous quality, a lot of them have great names, they have sort of great labels and stories connected to them, so there’s a great interest in the industry.”
Ready-to-drink products, mostly ciders, also saw a huge jump – they were up 89.3 per cent to $2 million.
The NSLC carries products from 24 Nova Scotian craft breweries, a jump from six just five years ago.
Ware noted breweries on the South Shore, including Boxing Rock, Hell Bay, and Saltbox, are seeing strong sales.
Emily Tipton, founding partner and beer engineer at Boxing Rock in Shelburne, says they’ve seen growth every year.
Tipton believes Nova Scotians are attracted to not just the quality of craft beer but also what goes into each of the businesses.
“To be able to visit a brewery to know where your beer is made to know your brewer, to … have that full experience.”
Boxing Rock has seen their establishment grow from just three people five years ago, to up to ten full time employees and eight part-timers.
Tipton believes Nova Scotians appreciate both the quality of craft beer and knowing the work behind it.
“My business partner Henry and I are both chemical engineers so we have a very strong focus on quality and consistency in our products,” says Tipton. “I think if you have a mainstay beer, that’s one of the things they’re looking for is that it’s always high quality and it’s always consistently good.”
Tipton says local breweries have become economic drivers and community partners in their hometowns, which she believes has added to their popularity.
Story by Brittany Wentzell
Twitter: @BrittWentzell
Email: wentzell.brittany@radioabl.ca
