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Ross May, co-owner of the 800-square-foot Seed to Sausage General Store, says he was so dismayed by the regulations, he was crafting a letter to his MPP. “We’re way too small, and yet how can a Wine Rack be able to sell alcohol?”

Jennifer Heagle, co-owner of The Red Apron, says that while her local-food business would love to support Ottawa’s burgeoning number of local craft brewers, they didn’t even consider applying for a licence once they saw the regulations, which include having a designated area of the store just for beer.

“Nobody small and locally owned could meet all the criteria,” Heagle says.

On Monday, Savour Ottawa, an Ottawa group dedicated to promoting local food, announced that in addition to certifying farmers, food stores and restaurants as “local”, it is starting a new category for breweries, a move that is expected to encourage more area farmers to grow grains, hops and other ingredients used in brewing.

“When we started, there was absolutely no local supply of grains,” says Steve Beauchesne of Beau’s, which now brews with 20-per-cent local hops. “Now, with so many other craft breweries starting up in the area, maybe it’s not the craziest idea in the world to actually grow some of the ingredients in the area that are used in making beer.”

Moe Garahan, executive director of Just Food, an umbrella advocacy group that includes Savour Ottawa, says she’s disappointed with the new Ontario regulations that will allow stores such as Loblaws, Metro and Walmart to sell beer, but not smaller Savour Ottawa certified stores, such as The Red Apron, The Country Grocer and Herb & Spice.