So then I made a presentation

On Monday, the province held a pair of public consultations in Brandon. It was the latest stop in a cross-Manitoba series of consults before the final amalgamation of the provincial liquor commission with the gambling — sorry, gaming — agency.

I was going to go to the afternoon one, to talk about some of the issues I've uncovered, related to Brewtinerie, but got busy here at work.

So I decided to go to the evening one instead. It was slated to run from 7–9 p.m. in one of the salons at the Victoria Inn.

From reading about it, I figured it would be like some of the city's public consultations, where there is informational material on display, and staff are around to answer questions, to take the pulse of the room, and to generally chat with all comers.

There is also usually a survey you can fill out. And cookies.

Well, after I finished up supper, I moseyed on over to the Victoria Inn and wandered through until I found the right room.

Uh-oh. I quickly realized that walking in at twenty to eight was not the correct way to approach things. Braden Pilling, the downtown development specialist with Renaissance Brandon was in the middle of a slideshow presentation — and I quickly sussed out that I had mis-read the very concept.

From listening to the final half of Braden's talk, I figured out that they had already spoken about the brewpub proposal, and that there were other presentations scheduled.

Uh-oh — I had told my girlfriend that I would be back in half an hour or so.

After Braden finished, the trio of panelists had some questions for him. I was pleased to see that they seemed really interested in what he had to say, and some of the ideas that I heard sounded great.

Did you know the city is looking at semi-permanent sidewalk extensions to allow for patios on narrow downtown walkways?

Great idea — something that urban activists do, guerrilla-style, in other cities — and we're doing it from the bureaucracy. That's, frankly, amazing. But, it requires some changes to the law if you want to serve beer or wine on them, and that's where the public consultation comes in.

After Braden, there was another scheduled presentation, and I'm glad I stuck around, because it was after that that the panelists asked if there was anyone in the audience who wanted to make an unscheduled presentation.

I'd jotted some notes downtown my iPhone for just such an opportunity, so I raised my hand and went to the podium.

For a brewpub in the fire hall to be a success, I told the province, a few changes in the law would help.

First up, the fire hall is unique among downtown buildings in that it's set back a significant amount from the sidewalk. Brewtinerie won't need special sidewalk extensions for a large patio — that patio space already exists.

But, patios don't count towards your occupancy. So, if Brewtinerie had a 100 seats on the patio, and they were filled with people, we would have to reserve 100 empty seats inside the restaurant.

Secondly, after doing research for the nuts and bolts of starting the brewpub, the MLCC wants your brewmaster to put his or her name on the liquor licence application. But in our organization, the brewmaster will be an employee — if the co-op ever has to fire the brewmaster, or he or she quits, would we lose our liquor license, too? Do we have to re-apply with a new name when we hire  new one?

The MLCC has thought of that — so anyone with more than 10 per cent ownership of the company is also eligible to apply for the liquor license. But as a co-op, that's impossible: No one owns more than 10 per cent of the company.

Thirdly, from talking with owners and brewmasters of several other brewpubs across Canada, it's clear that off-sales of their beers is a significant source of income. But most brewpubs don't have the space or the money to invest in a full bottling or canning line.

Instead, at most brewpubs in Canada, they sell what's called growlers — glass half-gallon jugs that customers buy and bring in to get filled at the brewpub. They are filled from draught taps and sealed; then you can take them home and serve them into pint glasses at your leisure. They stay fresh for a week or so.

Although recent changes to the law now allow people to buy a bottle of wine, have it re-corked, and take it home from a restaurant, that only applies to wine. I'm not sure why a similar philosophy can't apply to beer.

And finally, a new federal government policy opens the door to cross-border shopping for some beverages. If you want to order a bottle of wine directly from a B.C. vineyard, it would be illegal for them to ship it to you.

After a social media campaign called "free my grapes" the feds opened up their part of the law, but it's still restricted by provincial rules and regulations in each province. I said it was time for Manitoba to get on board with this — but I added that maybe it was time to "free my hops" as well.

Craft beer is a booming business in Canada (and the United States, too). I can imagine plenty of craft beer fans across the country deciding that they wanted to order a mixed six-pack from this brewery, then that brewery, and have it shipped directly to their home, rather than waiting for their provincial liquor agency to decide to list several pallets of the beer.

I didn't speak for very long, but the panel seemed very receptive to my ideas. In fact, as I described them, I said they felt like oversights, rather than deliberate exclusions. 

I left the public consultation feeling pretty good about the process (which is a good outcome for the province) and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens as the changes go forward.

(I was a little surprised to be so extensively quoted, however — a taste of journalism from the other side of the fence, ha ha!)

In the meantime, I still haven't heard back from the city, but I wasn't expecting to this early anyway.

Of course, next week I'm flying to Switzerland. To tour around the Mediterranean for three months. Luckily, I've had some casual conversations with municipal staff who say it should be possible for me to Skype in to city council when they are ready to debate our proposal.

I'll be writing some travel pieces while I'm away, so stay tuned!