Vernon brewpub fined after being caught in sting operation

A Vernon brewpub has been fined $7,000 after it was caught in a government sting operation serving a 17-year-old a speciality beer.

According to an April 29, BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch decision, Silverstar Brewing Company sold the teen an $8.63 pint of Blueberry Vanilla Ale last December.

The decision said during the undercover operation a BC liquor inspector entered the downtown Vernon pub shortly after 8:15 p.m. and sat at an empty table facing the bar. The liquor inspector then texted the teen to say it “was safe” to enter.

The teen walked into the pub sat at the bar and ordered a pint of Blueberry Vanilla Ale, with an alcohol content of 4.8%.

The bartender served the teen, without asking for ID.

BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch then issued an infraction notice.

The brewpub owner, Pardeep Jaswal, appealed the infraction arguing he’d been in the business for 10 years and had a completely clean record.

The brewpub argued it had a very strict policy of asking anyone appearing to be a minor for ID and that the bartender was a trainee who “clearly had made a mistake” and it would make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

The decision said the bartender was immediately fired.

Silverstar Brewing Company argued it had done its due diligence and it shouldn’t been fined.

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The brewpub said the barman normally asked for ID, but he must have been distracted as he made a mistake.

However, the Liquor Branch said the bartender was seen talking to the teen and another customer sitting at the bar.

“This evidence certainly does not suggest ‘distraction’ on the part of the Bartender causing him to make a mistake,” the Liquor Branch said in the decision.

The Liquor Branch also found shortcomings in the pub’s policies.

There were inconsistencies in the pub’s age policy as to whether it was 19, 25 or 30 and “an apparent lack of training for staff to assist them in making an assessment on age and how to approach a patron to ask for identification.”

Along with other shortcomings in its policies, the Liquor Branch said the brewpub had failed to prove it had done its due diligence and offered Silverstar Brewing the options of a $7,000 fine or to be closed for seven days.

The pub opted for the fine.

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