Another Brew-On-Premise Article

[BBrianBoogie]

Absolutely sickeing!

I agree. It's all well and good to pay lip service to supporting business/jobs in Nova Scotia, but when there's no photo op involved (i.e. when it really matters) it's easy to hide behind antiquated prohibitionist nonsense and shut people's small businesses down. Funny, I keep waiting to see lines of 15 year olds standing outside homebrew shops getting ready to pick up their brewed on premise wine. Nothing as of yet, my timing must be off. Fuck the NSLC and our provincial government. While I'm at it, fuck MADD too for preying on people's sympathy and stupidity, and pretending you're anything other than a prohibitionist lobby group with more power than you ever deserve.

I need a beer.

[mr x]

[JohnnyMac]

Absolutely sickeing!

I agree. It's all well and good to pay lip service to supporting business/jobs in Nova Scotia, but when there's no photo op involved (i.e. when it really matters) it's easy to hide behind antiquated prohibitionist nonsense and shut people's small businesses down. Funny, I keep waiting to see lines of 15 year olds standing outside homebrew shops getting ready to pick up their brewed on premise wine. Nothing as of yet, my timing must be off. Fuck the NSLC and our provincial government. While I'm at it, fuck MADD too for preying on people's sympathy and stupidity, and pretending you're anything other than a prohibitionist lobby group with more power than you ever deserve.

I need a beer.

Right fucking on Boogie Man, right fucking on.

[Jimmy]

94% of the poll respondents on the CBC page are for brew-on-premise. How the hell does the Government get away with this shit?

[mr x]

It is our job to see that they don't.

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[mr x]

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia ... -nslc-case" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Home winemakers get more time for NSLC case

Home brew retailers have 16 more days to prepare their defence against the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp.

Wine Kitz Halifax owner Ross Harrington and Water N’ Wine New Glasgow owner Charles Patton told Nova Scotia Supreme Court Judge Michael Wood on Friday that they each needed more time to secure a lawyer and prepare their arguments since they received court documents Wednesday.

Wood agreed and adjourned proceedings until Jan. 28.

“This is a bump in the road. (The corporation) is going to do its darnedest to shut us down and it’s up to us to prove to the judge that we’re not breaking the law,” Harrington told reporters outside the courtroom.

“It’s a David and Goliath-type situation.”

The corporation is requesting a court order to stop retailers from offering in-house beer and winemaking services, which are against provincial liquor laws.

Retailers are legally able to offer in-store winemaking in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Regulatory changes introduced in 2011 granted the corporation the authority to ask for an injunction to stop a business or a person from breaking provincial liquor laws.

The injunction application, filed Tuesday, followed an undercover sting operation in which a private investigator purchased a wine kit and began the process of fermenting the wine in Harrington’s store, instead of at home.

Cheryl Hodder, the lawyer representing the corporation, argued that court proceedings should not be delayed, saying it’s unfair to retailers who are in compliance with liquor laws.

“The fact is they are currently, knowingly and willingly breaking the law,” Hodder told the court.

“The matter has escalated in that ... we’ve received more complaints from retailers who are in compliance. They were contacting the corporation and expressing the fact that if it wasn’t cleared up, they’d be forced to enter into the fray and begin on-site fermentation in contravention of the act.”

Hodder would not comment following the adjournment, saying only that she is not eligible to speak on behalf of the corporation.

There are about eight so-called U-vint retailers in Nova Scotia that also offer up space for customers to make their wine in-store.

Harrington said he knows of just one retailer who does not provide the service who has complained to the corporation.

“Call me a capitalist but compete or get out of the way,” Harrington said.

“Having the corporation being a retailer and a regulator is a conflict of interest. It’s unethical for them to make the rules and control the marketplace. Canada Post doesn’t make the rules for UPS and FedEx so why does the corporation make the rules for me?”

Harrington was fined $310 in 2009 when he was found guilty in Halifax provincial court of keeping liquor for sale, in contravention of provincial liquor laws, as part of the in-house winemaking service offered at his Lacewood Drive store.

Harrington said he has between 100 and 250 kits fermenting in his store at any one time.

If that side of his business is shut down, Harrington said he’ll be forced into layoffs and cutting staff hours.

Meanwhile, the third respondents, David Cvet and Gail Smith of Wine Kitz New Minas, told the court they signed a letter of compliance and ceased all in-house operations Thursday.

Cvet and Smith recently moved to New Minas and purchased the business just a month ago. The couple said they were vaguely aware of the court proceedings but had no idea that they were at risk of being fined or shut down.

“We’re taking the time to understand what this is all about and now we’re trying to understand what we do with our business going forward,” Smith said, adding that the business is “very popular” in the community.

Harrington and Patton agreed to cease all in-house operations until the matter is resolved. Kits that are currently underway may be completed.

[Dirt Chicken]

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia ... -nslc-case

Home winemakers get more time for NSLC case

“Having the corporation being a retailer and a regulator is a conflict of interest. It’s unethical for them to make the rules and control the marketplace. Canada Post doesn’t make the rules for UPS and FedEx so why does the corporation make the rules for me?”

Harrington was fined $310 in 2009 when he was found guilty in Halifax provincial court of keeping liquor for sale, in contravention of provincial liquor laws, as part of the in-house winemaking service offered at his Lacewood Drive store.

As always the local paper seems to make small business owners to look like criminals using their choice of words. " keeping liquor for sale", common Cosgrove, there is not a room of stills making rum or whiskey. Wondering if that play on words was the writer of the article, or was forced by the editor to speak for the herald/NSLC
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[sleepyjamie]

Why is NG not in the spotlight? How is their setup any different from WineKitz?

[RubberToe]

Is there a local group of wine makers as organised as the Brewnosers? There must be a lot of wine makers out there compared to beer brewers. They need to get on this. We certainly should do what we can to help as this also erodes our rights and is complete bullshit.

Sent from the brew timer.

[mr x]

Keep in mind it could always get worse for us too. I'm supportive of the BOP in many ways, EXCEPT as a group - I see little to be gained and lots to be risked.

Somebody needs to re-do the old reefer madness movie poster. Make them look like a joke.

[Dirt Chicken]

I probably could throw something together, also is NG in any way affiliated with NSLC? What makes them any different, other than a larger company with more employees ?

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[mr x]

I'm not sure what is going on there. Maybe they have a license? Maybe they just weren't subject to the original complaint, but obviously could be in the near future.

[LeafMan66_67]

I'm not sure what is going on there. Maybe they have a license? Maybe they just weren't subject to the original complaint, but obviously could be in the near future.

I agree with X - my guess is that they weren't in on the original complaint and they haven't had the "private investigator" try and ferment some wine there yet.

[RubberToe]

They could have been left out since they are larger and may afford better lawyers, etc and put up a better fight. Let the little guys lose the battle and set the precedent.

Sent from the brew timer.

[derek]

They could have been left out since they are larger and may afford better lawyers, etc and put up a better fight. Let the little guys lose the battle and set the precedent.

They're not larger than Wine Kitz - and I would be surprised if Wine Kitz corporate isn't providing some help.

[sleepyjamie]

I thought winekitz was Canada wide as it was a franchise?

[derek]

As always the local paper seems to make small business owners to look like criminals using their choice of words. " keeping liquor for sale", common Cosgrove, there is not a room of stills making rum or whiskey. Wondering if that play on words was the writer of the article, or was forced by the editor to speak for the herald/NSLC

That's unfair. He was convicted of "keeping liquor for sale" - that's the wording in the act, and those were Harrington's own words when he spoke to the CBC. Now, the Herald may not have quoted all he said, because in the CBC interview he pointed out that the definition of "liquor" (in the liquor control act) is so broad that it can include, literally, anything, but he may also never have said that to the Herald reporter. From memory (but you can find it somewhere here, because I dug it up at the time Harrington was convicted), liquor is defined as "any substance which, when combined with water, sugar and/or yeast, can create an alcoholic beverage". The problem with this definition - in these particular cases - of course, is that everything in their store is considered a "liquor", so he's already guilty whether it's currently fermenting or not.

[derek]

I thought winekitz was Canada wide as it was a franchise?

They are. So, two franchisees have been charged - but not Wine Kitz Canada - and they're essentially on the hook for their own legal fees, but I would expect, since Wine Kitz has spent a lot of money across the country trying to get these laws changed (good friends were franchisees in Ontario when u-vint came in there), that they will underwrite this defense to some degree.

[derek]

Is there a local group of wine makers as organised as the Brewnosers? There must be a lot of wine makers out there compared to beer brewers. They need to get on this. We certainly should do what we can to help as this also erodes our rights and is complete bullshit.

There is the Halifax/Dartmouth Wine Circle, who probably have lots of members who would use a u-vint, but they're not well organized, and there's the Annapolis Valley Vintners, who are very well organized, but for the most part make real wine, with grapes, and haven't much use for a u-vint.

[derek]

94% of the poll respondents on the CBC page are for brew-on-premise. How the hell does the Government get away with this shit?

Pretty easy. When MADD will equate supporting BOP, or any kind of loosening of liquor laws, to supporting the right to drive drunk, then it's easy to get 94% of people to support BOP in an anonymous poll, but very hard when their names are attached to it. So, then, it becomes easy for politicians to say there's no support...

[S-04]

That was kinda fun.

[mr x]

Nice!

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[McGruff]

As a homebrewer from Ontario, I just can't believe they are doing this. I wonder who really pushed this? Tea drinking Prohibitionists? Molson/Labatt? The percentage of UBrews taking business away from the big guys isn't even on the scale. How could it be? They should start a "Speak Easy" for wine/beer makers.

[mr x]

I've heard a certain local grocery realtor. That was from one of the bop operators. Could be bullshit.

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[chalmers]

Nice poster, S04!