Ravinder Minhas is the owner of Minhas Distillery, a local Regina distillery that has been sparking controversy in the Regina brewing industry since 2010.

Minhas’ 5.6 Million Tax Subsidy

There is an on-going concern about Minhas Distillery and brewery in Canada, as Huffington Post report “Why are We Subsidizing Fake Canadian Beer?”. Everyone loves an underdog. In the case of Ravinder Minhas’ small brewery, Minhas Craft Brewery, he received a tax subsidy from the province of Alberta’s small brewer tax program amounting to 5.6 million dollars. “How did this happen?” you may ask. Alberta’s small brewer tax program was created to help local craft breweries succeed to promote Canadian businesses and help create jobs within those businesses. Back in 2012, it had been uncovered that Minhas also ran a company called Global Distillers SRL which is based in Barbados. Furthermore, it has been discovered that all the Minhas brewing jobs are actually located in Monroe, Wisconsin. What it means basically is that the Alberta government was subsidizing some U.S. brewing jobs with Canadian taxpayers' money. Minhas distillery is a multi-national multi-billion-dollar company which is not a craft brewery.

The Alcohol Content

Another problem faced by Minhas Craft Brewery is the alcohol content in their bottles. The retailer had to recall some bottles because the alcohol content in the bottles and the one that was advertised on the bottle differed from 0.2 to 4.1 percent. It means that you might think you are drinking a 16 percent alcohol bottle but it is really a 20 percent bottle. For the safety of the consumers, they had to recall all their inventory because they failed to meet national acceptable labelling guidelines.

The Rebellion Incident

Minhas Craft Beer owner Mr Moni Minhas was also accused of selling beer that was not his own. Rebellion owner Mark Heise has told CBC News that he had received tips anonymously that Minhas Craft Brewery was selling one of his IPA in his taproom. The IPA keg was bought from a bar which is illegal under the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority regulations for licensees to resell beer to each other. Minhas is also under investigation right now for selling beer from 3 other local breweries, and potentially a 4th. Mr Minhas also told reporters from Global News that he understood that practice to be completely legal, even if it’s prohibited under the regulation of SLGA. 

Before Minhas Craft Brewery answered to those allegations on Social Media, the Saskatchewan Craft Brewers Association issued a statement criticizing the situation as a huge misrepresentation of the hard work they are doing in Saskatchewan.

“We are very concerned and look forward to the outcome of the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority investigation. Hopefully it can be concluded quickly and the issues resolved to the satisfaction of our membership,” said SCBA President, Kari Stenson.

For now, the AGLC is working on a conclusion to decide whether Minhas should be allowed to keep his doors open or be shut down for good. Though with Minhas’ new reputation, who knows if he’ll be able to maintain his business with or without the AGLC’s decision.