Calgarian launches brewery boycott twitter campaign

Minhas Micro Brewery only started doing public tours of its northeast Calgarybrewery a few weeksago, but it's already getting some negative reviews on social media.

Calgary's Evan Polowick launched thetwitter hashtag campaign #boycottminhas.

He created it after reading an article published months ago in the Huffington Post thatsays Minhas brews in the United States, but enjoys a tax break under Alberta's small brewer progam.

Co-owner Ravinder Minhas says he does brew beer in Wisconsin, but it's made with malt from the Canadian Prairiesand sold here.

Polowick feelsit is unfair.

"Don't drink it unless he's going to act by the rules, unless he's going to abide by the rules," he said."He's the 14th largest brewery in the U.S. the U.S. not Canada and this is a tax subsidy he's getting from Alberta. So I want eyes to open up in the Alberta government."

Minhas said it's not a subsidy, but a tax break for an Alberta brewery to help them compete against powerhouses likeCoors and Labatt which own a large share of the international beer market.

Whenhe started the Calgary-based company with his sister Manjit Minhasin 2002,Ravinder said theycouldn't afford to build a brewery in Alberta,and couldn't findanyonein theprovinceto make beer for them.

"Our goal is to always brew in Alberta," he said. "But when Manjit and I started, we started at the age of 18 and 19 years old, so we couldn't buy a breweryI mean it was just unrealistic."

Theduocontracted a U.S. brewery in Wisconsinto do it and eventually boughtthat breweryin 2006.

Minhasstill produces beer there,but alsobegan brewing at itsnortheast Calgary location in June which offers toursthat includesbeer-themed food and tables made from kegs.

The facility hopes to produce 40,000hectolitres this year, which keeps the company under the 400,000 hectolitre cap of the small brewer tax program.

Michelle Hynes-Dawson of the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission says Minhas isn't breaking any rules. She said any small brewery that wants to sellits product in Alberta can apply, even if the company is owned and operated out of a different country.

She said the goal of the program is to bring in alargevariety of beerat a lower cost for Albertans to enjoy.