Vancouver Island Brewing has a fair bit of history, having been founded all the way back in 1984. VI Brewing rose to pretty big heights for a period, being one of the earliest craft brewers on the island. Recently they’ve been dealt a major rent increase forcing them to close their downtown taproom. While rent increases are one factor (that almost all of us can relate to in some way or another), the other harsh reality is that competition is higher than ever before in the craft beer industry. Not to say that breweries are competing against each other, but they are all competing for a spot in the market. Vancouver Island Brewing hasn’t rung the bell yet, and perhaps they wont have to considering they can still put out beers at a step down in price from what many others can, which can be helpful for when your rent goes up too.