Local brewery vows to give a ‘buckabeer’ to refugee programs

An Ottawa brewery says it will not be participating in Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s “Buck-A-Beer challenge.”

At least, not in the way Ford is running it.

The premier announced Tuesday he was lowering the minimum price for a can or bottle of beer under 5.6% alcohol volume to $1.00 on August 27. He issued a challenge to breweries to sell beer for a dollar by the same time, offering the possibility of promotional considerations at the LCBO.

But Dominion City Brewing says it’s taking a different approach.

“As an independently-owned brewery, we can tell you unequivocally that it is impossible to sell a beer for a dollar without compromising quality,” the brewery says in a press release.

Instead, the company will be launching a special “Buck A Beer Blonde Ale” by August 30 – which will cost more than $1.00 – but $1.00 from every can sold will be donated to “support refugee integration efforts in Ottawa,” Dominion Brewing says.

“We’ve decided to respond to Ontario’s buck-a-beer challenge in our own way - by inviting our customers to help refugees build a new life in Ottawa.”