Two Kelowna pubs rack up $14K in fines for selling booze to teens

A Kelowna brew pub that sold a single can of stout to a 17-year-old has been fined $7,000, while a West Kelowna craft brewery got dinged the same amount for selling a four-pack to a teen. Both the Kelowna Beer Institute and the Lakesider Brewing Co. were caught in sting operations whereby the liquor board sent in teens to make sure the businesses were asking for identification. The details are laid out in two recent separate B.C. Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch decisions, with both businesses admitting their mistake but arguing a defence that they had done their due diligence. However, the liquor board wasn't convinced. The Kelowna Beer Institute, which had sold the single can of stout, argued its employee was distracted at the time of the sale as he was having problems with the till and trying to fix it. The Beer Institute argued it had been in business for 10 years and this was its first-ever infraction. It argued it was "purely a slip of focus" and an error and that its training on correct serving procedures was robust. The licence also pointed out that the pub had been involved in a sting operation before where it had asked for ID. However, it wasn't good enough for the liquor board. READ MORE: BC bar fined $4,000 after customers go bowling https://infotel.ca/newsitem/bc-bar-fined-4000-after-customers-go-bowling/it105511 The Lakesider Brewing Co.'s defence was much the same pointing to an extensive training manual for its staff. Just a week before the bust, management had sent all staff a text that read, "ID EVERYONE." The bar also argued the staff member was new and was focused on how to use the till as it was new to him. READ MORE: BC pub shuttered after customers caught playing pool https://infotel.ca/newsitem/bc-pub-shuttered-after-customers-caught-playing-pool/it105097 However, again it wasn't good enough for the liquor inspector. The liquor board said the pub's training showed several "weaknesses" and that its training period was insufficient, staff weren't given enough quizzes to test their knowledge, and there was a "lack of information on how to assess age." "I find more needs to be done to train employees in assessing whether to request identification and how to authenticate it to ensure they are adequately doing that," the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch said in the decision. Ultimately, both brew pubs were fined $7,000 - the minimum fine for such an infraction. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca  or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .