Canada

One of the oldest craft breweries in British Columbia is shutting down its main facility and outsourcing production and packaging duties to a nearby brewery, citing a large hike in rent at its Victoria location.

Vancouver Island Brewing, which was established in 1984, will be closing its main brewery plant on Government Street on Nov. 1, while its taproom will stop serving on Sept. 14.

General manager Thom Riley says the decision was driven by a 35 per cent hike in rent at the location.

"It creates a line in the sand for us in terms of our ability to go forward in our current location," he told CBC News.