(owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev) and Sleeman (owned by Japan's Sapporo). Some smaller brewers also own shares, making the company a consortium of 30 Ontario based brewers. In order to qualify, the brewer must operate at least one facility in Ontario, conduct the full brewing process and sell beer through the corporation. Valid Ontario and Canadian manufacturing licences are required and the brewer must not produce beer in any other jurisdiction, or else meet minimum annual capacity and production goals. The Beer Store is governed by the Liquor Control Act (LCA) and is therefore regulated by the LCBO. As of December 2016, the company operates over 450 retail stores which sell beer to the general public. This makes The Beer Store (TBS) the largest distributor of domestic beer in Ontario, selling to over 20,723 licensed customers. Although many imported beers are available at the Beer Store, the LCBO serves as the primary importer. Once imported, the product is then sold to the Beer Store for further distribution. As the primary retailer of Ontario, The Beer Store sells more than 720 brands of beer and over 1,000 home consumer beer selling units from 180 different brewers around the world. Larger Beer Store outlets typically stock around 600 beer selling units with the smallest Beer Stores stocking around 200 units. TBS has a policy of accepting any brewer in the world to sell its product, as long as the brewer meets the requirements set by the LCBO. Furthermore, unlike many other retailers, a brewer is given flexibility with regards to how many and which stores it would like to sell its product in. Because The Beer Store operates on a cost-recovery basis, listing fees for smaller breweries can be kept at a minimum. In 2016 TBS implemented a new lower tier rate for qualifying small brewers that is significantly less than the basic service rate paid by the larger brewing companies. Smaller breweries who produce under 1,000,000 hectolitres a year of beer qualify for this lower tier rate on their first 50,000 hectolitres of beer produced that year. Additionally, qualifying small brewers who produce under 10,000 hectolitres a year are now provided with 2 free guaranteed product listings at 7 of their most proximate Beer Stores. Currently, workers are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 12R24 union. History The company began in 1927, with the end of prohibition in