‘There’s only so much we can do’: Tariff tensions put pressure on local craft breweries

How are tariffs impacting local breweries? CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell looks into it.

The co-owner of a major Windsor brewery is hopeful for a quick resolve of recent U.S. and Canadian tariffs imposed on aluminum, worried that increased manufacturing costs could force the price of a can of beer to go up in the coming months.

U.S. President Donald Trump put a 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum products last week, with the federal government responding in kind by placing a matching 25 per cent tariff on nearly $30 billion in U.S. products, including approximately $3 billion worth of aluminum products.

Speaking with CTV News Windsor one week later, Walkerville Brewery co-owner Ian Gourlay said that tariffs will likely push the price of beer up by upwards of $0.10 once their stockpiled aluminum cans are sold.

“It hasn’t actually impacted us straight away because we have quite a bit of inventory in the brewery,” Gourlay explained. “So, it will take a bit of time before it winds its way through, but undoubtedly it will.”

Gourlay said their 473-millilitre “tall boy” cans are manufactured in the United States using Canadian aluminum, resulting in the material being taxed twice—first when exported to the U.S. and again when the finished cans are imported back into Canada. This double tariff could lead to a 5 to 10 cent increase per can, according to Gourlay.

“The last thing we want to do is transfer that increased costs onto the price of a can of beer to the consumer,” Gourlay said. “They are already stretched and the last thing we want to do is see a price rise because the tariffs.”

Gourlay noted that the lack of domestic production for these specific cans exacerbates the issue, leaving breweries with limited alternatives.

“Cans are pivotal to us,” he stated. “Ultimately, if this were a, God forbid, long term problem, you would hope that people would start manufacturing the tall boy can in quantity in Ontario.”

He continued, “We’ve ordered additional cans pre tariff, but you know, there’s only so much we can do once our suppliers are dealing with the tariffed cans. We are going to get those prices transferred to us and that’s going to be another squeeze on basically a difficult market anyway.”

Gourlay told CTV News that there is about a three-month supply of empty can inventory, hopeful that the government can find a resolve to the situation before the cost to manufacture a can trickles down to consumers.

“It’s a shocking increase in terms of manufacturing costs of a can,” he said.

Earlier this week, officials with the Craft Brewers Association of Ontario noted the province is already the highest taxed beer market in Canada, looking to work with the provincial government on tax reform to soften the blow.

“I think tax reform is definitely needed here in the province itself,” Gourlay said. “Now, we’ve had a lot of support in various ways from the provincial government, but what we what we’re seeking right now is a fair shake compared to every other province in Canada.”

Gourlay added, “We’re doing our best to modify that and make sure we don’t pass those prices on. But I mean, ultimately, it’s going to be a cost to someone.”