HALIFAX, NS – CTV News reports that Nova Scotia’s Liberal government has introduced a bill that would fully legalize the making of beer and wine in “u-brew” and “u-vint” stores, a practice that currently falls into a grey area of the province’s alcohol legislation.
According to legislation implemented in 2011, businesses that sell wine and beer making kits are not allowed to produce alcoholic beverages, but some stores were skirting the law by having customers mix the ingredients and pitch the yeast themselves to start the fermentation process, and then storing the beer or wine for the customer during fermentation.
In early 2013, the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission (NSLC) attempted to shut down three businesses in the province that offered brew-on-premise services using this method, and while the NDP government sitting at the time forced the agency to drop the cases, the matter remained contentious and unclear.
The newly introduced legislation is intended to fully clarify the issue, and will allow beer and wine to be made on-site as long as the business has received appropriate licenses and meets all health and safety guidlines.