Summer Sales Soared for BC Craft Beer

BC’s craft brewery sales saw a whopping 24.9% increase this summer compared to last year. That growth came at the expense of commercial breweries, which saw a 1.8% decrease in sales. British Columbians love our Canadian wine, which enjoyed a 44.6% increase.

Spirit-based coolers were up 13.7%, whereas malt-based coolers went down 5.5%.

Following is a breakdown of wholesale volume sales of beer, cider, coolers, wine and major spirits.

Wholesale Sales in Litres (000s) with % Change 2016/17 vs 2015/16
July – Sept 2016

Beer – Domestic BC Commercial $46,497, -1.8%
Beer – BC Micro Brew: $5,966, 24.9%
Beer – BC Regional: $10,391, +6.9%
Cider – Domestic & Import: $5,905, +2.1%
Coolers – Malt Based: $1,519, -5.5%
Coolers – Spirit: $6,916, +13.7%
Coolers – Wine/Fruit: $182, -17.9%
Gin: $445, +1.2%
Rum: $986, -1.7%
Tequila: $244, +7.4%
Vodka: $2,253, +2.5%
Whisky: $1,731, +10.3%
Wine – Canadian: $112, +44.6%
Wine – USA: $1,840, -2.7%
Wine Total: $19,988, +5.1%
Source: BC Liquor Distribution Branch, Quarterly Market Report