Crafting quality spirits from the best of BC
The Craft Distiller’s Guild of BC represents the micro-distilleries in British Columbia that are recognized by the Provincial Government as being “Craft”. You will find information on who we are, what the Guild does and about news & events that relate to craft spirits around BC.
ABOUT BC CRAFT DISTILLERIES
Formed originally as a vehicle to open dialogue with the BC Provincial Government about the changes necessary to make micro-distilling in BC a viable industry. Today the Craft Distillers Guild of BC has several missions. These include continued dialogue with both the BC Provincial Government and the Federal Government, ensuring quality standards are met among our members, and public education efforts.
In 2013, the BC Provincial Government established 2 categories of distilleries in BC: “Commercial” and “Craft”. Commercial distilleries can be distilleries of any size and they can use anything to distill from including Neutral Grain Spirit (NGS) – this is alcohol that is distilled by large scale distilleries primarily from corn and sold to other users and it is a finished product itself. To achieve the Craft designation from the Provincial Government a BC distillery must produce no more than 50,000 litres of spirit per year (while this seems like a lot, a large distillery can produce 2 to 3 times this per day), the distillery must use 100% BC agricultural products to produce the alcohol from fermentation and fermentation must be completed onsite at the Distillery. This move by the BC Government set the definition of a “Craft” distillery in BC at the highest level of any jurisdiction in North America and likely even the world. While this will force Distillers that want to take advantage of the “Craft” designation to be creative and innovative in their search for raw materials around BC, it will also ensure that Craft has a strong meaning among BC Craft distilleries and it will help support BC’s diverse agriculture industry.
Moving forward our Guild will continue its advocacy for craft distilleries in BC however it will have a growing focus on ensuring Guild members conduct themselves in a professional manner and that the high standard for craft that the Province has set are being met by our members.
We encourage you to visit our Member Distilleries to learn more about what being a true craft distillery means in BC, you can find all of our members websites here: Our Distillers
If you are a licensed BC Craft Distillery then think about joining us and helping to grow our industry: Join the Guild