GRAND FORKS — After years of industry-wide contracting, the owner of one Grand Forks liquor business sees little relief on the horizon for struggling breweries, wineries and distilleries.

Red Pine Distillery, which sells spirits made from Red River Valley sugar beets and potatoes, is the latest craft alcohol company in the region to announce its plans to shut its doors.

In an Aug. 26 Facebook post, owner Tyler Seim said the decision was not made lightly. He characterized his reason for closing as a “broken record”: since the COVID-19 pandemic, he says the cost of materials has become unsustainable.

“The (cost of) barrels we use to age whiskey have doubled since 2019,” he said. “Glass bottles, all that stuff just becomes more and more expensive.”

To pass those costs onto the consumer

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