Nunavut Brewing Co. promises jobs as Iqaluit approves development permit

An Iqaluit microbrewery is on track to open next year, brewing craft beer to sell directly to the Nunavut Liquor Commission and possibly export outside of Nunavut.

On Tuesday night, Iqaluit city council approved a development permit for the Nunavut Brewing Company.

The 600-square-metre brewery will be on Iqaluit Lane, just past the turnoff toSylvia Grinnell TerritorialPark, in the cul de sac behindWynberg Automotive. It's expected to employ six people.

The building will be visible from the park, and will be blue and green in order to blend in the with the landscape.

AmbroseLivingstone is the architect and one of five owners of the company.

At city council meeting, Councillor Megan Pizzo-Lyall wondered how the microbrewery might give back to the community.

Livingstone saidthousands of dollars leave Iqaluit each year to buy beer from multinational companies who give nothing back to the city.

"We can contribute to the ball teams and you name it, it's endless," he said.

"And a lot of those dollars that exit Iqaluit every year, just leave them here. It creates a number of jobs too."

The brewing company plans to use up to 10,000 litres of water a day from the Sylvia Grinnell river or Lake Geraldine, depending on the season, to brew the suds.

Councillors raised some concerns about that, but the plan has already gone through theNunavut Impact Review Board process, saidMayor Madeleine Redfern.

"We'd like to make enough beer to drain the river, if we could," Livingstone joked, in response to a question from Counc. Simon Nattaq in Inuktitut. "It's a very small amount of water we'd like to take. Probably more water goes over the falls in two minutes than we would take in two years."

The Nunavut Brewing Company already holds a permit from the Nunavut Liquor Licensing Boardfollowing public consultations.

Last fall, the company said would hold a contest on social media to name some of its first brews, prompting residents to get creative online.