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“To get five bottles for $10, that attracted me to it,” said Kevin, a new member. He also praised its “health aspect,” arguing that drinking homemade beer is better than “drinking rub [rubbing alcohol] or some bottle I found in a bin somewhere.”

On Tuesday morning, Kevin and two other men, Tim and Rob, prepared to bottle two jugs of fermented beer: one containing Dutch lager, the other honey lager. Previous sessions have also brewed wine, and a batch of chardonnay is expected to be ready to distribute Friday.

“It’s more economically viable than buying it at a liquor store; you get more bang for your buck,” said Rob, a Downtown Eastside resident who has been with the program since its inception last summer.

Rob never drank mouthwash or other industrial alcohols, but he did say the program has weaned him off stealing. The five litres, he says, lasts him for about a week.

The co-op is going the easy route of using pre-hopped beer kits sourced from Dan’s Homebrewing, a venerated home brewing supplier located only a few blocks away.

Eventually though, in a bid to cut per-litre costs, the program will start brewing beer from scratch: a complex and hours-long process that involves boiling, mashing and milling.

For now, the co-op with a handful of members is needing to keep an eye on expanding its available reserves.

“As the drinking community becomes aware of what we’re doing, we’re obviously having to expand the program,” said Kailin See, director of the centre.