Don’t mess with Londoners’ homegrown beer.

A public outcry is breaking down a wall of bureaucracy in Toronto for London’s Forked River Brewery.

The Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario backtracked Friday on a decision to not allow Forked River to sell its beer from a new site, near the brewery, after a swift, angry backlash on social media from city beer lovers.

“It would be great if we can resolve this. We just want to get back to the business of selling beer,” said Dave Reed, a partner in the business.

It seems a resolution may come soon, said Eva Innes, a commission spokesperson.

“We will work with them. We want to find a way to make this work,” she said. “This case is unique, without exception.”

The brewer, believing it was complying with commission standards, built a new retail site near its brewery, in the same plaza, and planned to take on more staff.

But the commission initially ruled since it’s not directly attached to the brewery or contained within it — a few businesses separate them in the plaza — it didn’t comply, and refused the retail licence.

The owners now have applied to relocate the retail office and are awaiting word from the commission.

A Facebook post by Forked River and a blog on its website led to outrage on Twitter and social media, and calls to the commission.

“Last night we were trending No. 3 (locally) on Twitter. We were above the London Knights . . . It was crazy,” Reed said. “It just shows you the effect and power of social media.”

“We felt like the whole city was behind us,” Reed added.

An online petition had 2,500 signatures by Friday. Tweets came from the likes of councillors Jared Zaifman and Mo Salih.

“They do great work and I just hope they expand. I want to help them however I can,” Salih said.

Mayor Matt Brown called the brewer to offer support.

It’s still selling beer at its existing retail business but the move to another retail site is critical because Forked River is adding three fermenters — wanting to increase production 150% — and it needs room in the brewery now taken up by the retail space.

“We had expansion plans. We wanted to hire more people (and) this put a big crimp in our plans,” Reed said.

The move would nearly double the size of the business — the existing floor space is 278 square metres and the new store is 260 sq. m.

“It’s frustrating to see hard-working small businesses run into this kind of red tape. The (commission) needs to take a second look at this and find a way to make things work. If a small business in a situation like this wants to grow, we need to be with them every step of the way,” read a statement from Brown.

Forked River won a gold medal at the Canadian brewing awards last year for its Capital Blonde Ale and a bronze for its Belgian tripel last year at a competition in Georgia.

It’s now brewing a rhubarb wheat beer for summer.

norman.debono@sunmedia.ca

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Forked River Brewery