NSLC profits rise on sales of locally produced beer, wine, spirits

Sales of locally produced beer, wine and spirits have jumped significantly, the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation says.

During the last quarter of 2015, local wine sales rose by around 15 per centto $2.8 million, compared to the same three months in 2014.Nova Scotia craft beer sales grew by more than 25 per centto $2million.

The end of the year is typically a strong time for alcohol sales due to the holiday season, NSLC said in a third quarter report released Thursday.

Localproducts account for less than eightper cent ofNSLC'soverall sales.

See an infographic of liquor sales in Nova Scotia here.

NSLCboosts local brewery

Christiane Jost, general manager of Tatamagouche Brewing, saidNSLC started carrying herbeersin November, boosting the brewery's sales by 25 per cent.

"It's been great," Jostsaid."Before wewere limited by our own distribution,which was Halifax and our own local area of Tatamagouche, so now we are able to be provincewide."

• Jost goes fromwinemakerto beer with 'Pure Tatamagoodness'

Jostsaidshe thinks the taste for craft beers is part of a movement toward eating and drinking local products.

"The majority of craft breweries are in local areas, as is Tatamagouche Brewing," Jost said."People are able to support local provincewide."

Nova Scotia now has 23microbreweries,NSLCsaid in itsreport.

Local distilleries grow the most

The local distillery industry, while relatively small, saw the largest growth.

Sales of local spirits almost tripled from the previous yearto$580,000 in the last quarter of 2015, NSLC said.

The corporation attributedmuch of that success toFortress Amber Rum, distilled inthe Caribbean, blended in Guysboroughand aged atthe Fortress of Louisbourg.

'Wave of artisanal and craft producers'

Better business helps the province, saidGlynnWilliams, who owns the rum's maker,Authentic Seacoast Distilling company.

"The province is benefiting from this wave of artisanal and craft producers that are really having an impact on their communities," Williams said.

"In our location of Guysborough, we're one of the largest employers now in the community."

The company is building a new, larger distillery on an adjacent property to increase production, Williams said.

NSLC sold $157.8 million in alcohol overall in its third quarter,the final one of 2015. It profited$64.4 million, an increase of 3.9 per centfrom the same time a year prior.