Doug Ford’s buck-a-beer election promise may have been a crafty way to cement his folksy reputation, but the folks who run some of the GTA’s craft breweries aren’t about to start cheapening their products for the premier.

Adin Wener, vice president of sales for Toronto’s Henderson Brewing Co., called Ford’s initiative a “race to the bottom” and said craft beer consumers covet the quality ingredients that carry a higher price tag.

“I don’t think that the Ontario craft beer movement needs to take part in the buck-a-beer initiative. I think we’re all about quality and expensive ingredients,” he told CityNews. “I don’t think that the local craft consumer is looking for beer at that price.”

Wener also noted that it wasn’t a feasible business model for smaller craft breweries who put a premium on quality over quantity.

“The buck-a-beer thing is very much for the big guys to play if they choose to do that in high-volume (products) like 24-packs at the Beer Store.”

Rainhard Brewing Manager Pat Bolbuc agreed.

“It doesn’t make sense as far as pricing goes,” he said on Tuesday. “Ingredients costs are constantly going up, not to mention aluminum pricing is going up too, and we are transitioning to a lot more cans these days as well. So costs are going up and it makes it just basically impossible to get a beer out for a dollar.

“I think people kind of expect a good quality from us and anything lower I think people would just assume that we are compromising our quality … so I don’t think it’s going to affect us in the slightest.”

Great Lakes Brewery has been around for over three decades, and spokesperson Troy Burtch said the company isn’t about to compromise its reputation by producing a bargain basement brew.

“We feel that by doing a buck-a-beer it diminishes your brand, it diminishes your perception in the public of having good-quality crafted beer. Craft brewing in general stands for something and I think by doing the buck-a-beer challenge, we’re in it to make — no pun (intended) — a quick buck.”

Burtch said there may be room for buck-a-beer, but it will have to come from beer behemoths, not the little guys. And even then they may be taking a risk by helping the premier’s vow come to fruition.

“When it comes to the big brewers and doing 24 beers for $24, that’s something if they’re able to do it based on the high volumes of product that they can produce, all the power to them. That will just hurt other brands that they have in their portfolio.”

Steam Whistle Brewing is one of the larger local craft brewers, producing around 88,000 thousand bottles of its signature pilsner a day.

The company’s content marketing manager, Michael Bates, told CityNews low cost brewers often turn to added ingredients to lower prices — something they are not willing to do.

“We do know substitute additives like high fructose corn syrup and foam enhancers are commonly used in discount beers to decrease the cost of production. Steam Whistle is a pure pilsner that only uses natural ingredients and authentic brewing methods that ensure our consumers receive a world class beer, therefore we are priced in the premium segment.”

At the same time, Bates says the government can help make beer more affordable by lowering federal taxes.

“Beer as an entire category is becoming increasingly unaffordable due partially to the escalation of federal taxes, specifically the federal excise tax which is escalating twice a year.

“Long term, we hope that governments will choose to address some of the key factors resulting in the increasingly unaffordable cost of one of Canada’s favourite beverages; beer.”



