A BC pub has been fined $7,000 for promoting beer from one brewery contrary to laws that forbid manufacturers from offering inducements to bars to sell their products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a June 29 BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch decision, the Fleetwood Social Tavern in Surrey accepted $35,791 from the brewery over an 18-month period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pub had seven of its 16 taps dedicated to the brewery’s beer and regularly posted on social media about $4 pints from the brewery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe fact that the tavern dedicated seven of its 16 tap lines to the manufacturer\u2019s products is not, by itself, proof of a contravention\u2026 (but) in the context of the monthly payments offered and accepted by the (pub), it is evidence that the tavern was promoting the sale of the manufacturer\u2019s products in exchange for a financial benefit,\u201d the Liquor Branch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The name of the brewery isn\u2019t given in the decision, which only says that it controls 42% of the beer market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BC Liquor laws state that a licensee must not give or agree to accept \u201cmoney or gifts, reward or remuneration\u201d for promoting or furthering the sale of a particular kind of liquor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s unclear how, but the Liquor Branch began investigating the brewery for offering businesses inducements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision said the brewery admitted to offering inducements to a number of establishments in BC, and it had signed a waiver and paid an undisclosed penalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This investigation led to liquor inspectors getting wind that the Fleetwood Social Tavern was offering inducements for promoting the brewery’s beers over others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On average, the brewery paid the Surrey pub $2,083 a month each month for 18 months. The brewery also covered half the cost of putting on entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In return, the pub promoted its beer in 70% of its social media posts and sold its products in seven of its taps. It ran daily $4 pint promotions of the beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision said the pub also received tickets to an event worth $430, a promotional keg worth $182 and a tap handle worth $94, along with several hundred dollars’ worth of cooler bags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Breweries are allowed to sponsor events at bars and pubs as long as the event is \u201ctime-limited\u201d and the pub does not have an ongoing relationship with the manufacturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Liquor Branch found the pub\u2019s ongoing relationship with the brewery breached this rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pub argued it had done nothing wrong and the money was for theme nights and sponsored events, but the Liquor Branch rejected the argument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In another argument, the pub said it had a good relationship with its liquor inspector and questioned why they never brought it up and informed them of the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Liquor Branch wasn\u2019t swayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPleading ignorance because the liquor inspector never informed them of every rule in the\u00a0(Liquor) Act\u2026 is not a defence,\u201d the decision reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pub\u2019s owners, Setyono Linaksita and Jeremy Gall, said they bought the pub in 2023, taking on debt and working long hours for little money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe does not feel that the (Liquor) Branch or the provincial government are helping to support their business, but rather that many decisions made by both are specifically hurting their business and stopping them from being able to support their families and staff,\u201d the decision reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Liquor Branch delegate Nerys Poole found the pub had broken the rules and issued the minimum fine of $7,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The brewery offered inducements to numerous bars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":8549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"","source":"","byline":"","published":"","updated":"","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1810,706,704],"tags":[],"region":[547,548,549,550],"class_list":["post-8548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-local","category-topnews","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8548\/bc-pub-fined-7000-for-accepting-cash-to-push-one-brand-of-beer\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"BC pub fined $7,000 for accepting cash to push one brand of beer","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8548\/bc-pub-fined-7000-for-accepting-cash-to-push-one-brand-of-beer\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8548\/bc-pub-fined-7000-for-accepting-cash-to-push-one-brand-of-beer\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-pexels-pressmaster-3851376.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-pexels-pressmaster-3851376.jpg"},"articleSection":"Featured","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Bulmer"}],"creator":["Ben Bulmer"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwine","logo":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/logo-inwine.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-07-12T01:00:00Z","datePublished":"2026-07-12T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-07-12T01:00:15Z"},"rendered":"