Governments craft deal to allow Yukon beer to flow directly to B.C. music fest

WHITEHORSE – A unique, one-time deal will allow a Yukon craft brewery to ship its beer directly to a British Columbia music festival this summer.

Yukon Brewing owner Bob Baxter says fans of the Atlin Music Festival, which runs in northwestern B.C. from July 10-12, want to consume his company’s products.

The problem is B.C. regulations don’t allow out-of-province brewers to ship their suds directly to customers.

For Baxter, the shipment would mean a trip of about 180 kilometres, but the current rules state that the beer needs to be sent to all the way to Vancouver before shipment thousands of kilometres north again to Atlin.

Yukon’s Ministry of Economic Development says in a news release that the territorial government and festival organizers have been working with officials in B.C. for months on an agreement.

The ministry says the one-time deal eliminates the need for festival organizers to pre-order their beer months in advance, and they will now receive same-week delivery. (Whitehorse Star)