Route 19 Brewing; photo courtesy Route 19 Brewing FB page
A local brewer says places they can sell products are drying up with the pandemic, restrictions, and lockdowns.
Evan Gillis, a partner with Route 19 Brewing in Inverness, says they can still sell through the NSLC, but the corporation’s rules are becoming an issue.
Gillis tells The Hawk the bottom-selling fifth of craft beers are regularly cut from NSLC shelves.
“We do home deliveries, which is great, but we pretty much rely on the NSLC.”
Gillis says he understands the policy in normal times, but he would prefer an approach that takes more factors into account.
He says the process puts undue stress on small breweries during COVID-19, since it’s one of the few places they can sell.
“We’re heavily relying on the NSLC, and to not be able to sell there would be kind of a huge loss for us,” he says. “(We) really wouldn’t probably be able to continue to operate to be honest if things stay the way they are for much longer.”
Gillis says he wants the procedure suspended while the pandemic continues.
He says it should be reviewed in the long run.
