Brandon’s two-year-old Black Wheat Brewing on 10th Street is up for sale for a listed price of $1.5-million.
Tim Hudek, an executive with the Manitoba Craft Brewers Association, told the Brandon Sun that the province’s brewing industry is facing significant cost pressures from inflation and the war in Ukraine – both of which have driven costs higher.
He said it’s harder for these operators to bring prices down because their products tend to be purer than those sold by national brands, with fewer additives, adjuncts or supplements – and the cost of living is also making it harder for people to afford going to their favourite pub or restaurant.
The Sun reports that when “Black Wheat Brewing opened its doors two years ago, the microbrewery marked a return to the city’s brewing tradition after almost a century-long absence.” The company “established its product line by introducing “Empire Ale,” a West Coast IPA, and “Reality Czech,” a Czech-style pale lager.”
“Before Black Wheat Brewing arrived on the scene, the city had a brewery known as the Empire Brewing Company, which ceased operations in the 1930s,” said the Sun.
(With files from The Brandon Sun and The Canadian Press)
