BC brewers worry aluminum tariffs will drive up beer-making costs

BC breweries are worried an incoming tariff on aluminum imports will raise the price of beer, for their businesses and customers.

Beer cans and lids are made out of Canadian aluminum, but they aren’t made in Canada. The raw materials are shipped across the border to the south to American manufacturers, then imported back across the border in can form by BC beer makers.

The sector has already been struggling with higher costs of ingredients and transportation in recent years, and across the province, 14 craft brewers have shuttered in the past 10 months.

And with cans the most popular choice for beer lovers, some BC breweries have completely decommissioned their glass bottling lines.

The tariffs are set to take effect next month.

–Files by Grant Warkentin, My Cowichan Valley Now