The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition Wild Rose Brewery in Calgary is on the cusp of crossing the line from what the province deems a small brewery to a mid-sized brewery. The Post's Geoffrey Morgan writes Wild Rose will brew more than 20,000 hectolitres of beer for the first time in its 19-year history. When the company brews its 20,001st hectolitre, the new per-litre rate it must pay the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission will jump 22 per cent to 51 cents per litre from 40 cents. The difficulty for Wild Rose and others is that the mark-up is applied retroactively from its first to its 20,000th hectolitre, so the company's 20,001st hectolitre of beer will effectively cost $620,000. Big Rock Brewery chief executive officer Bob Sartor told The Calgary Herald he was "shocked" to find the company would soon "pay 27.5 per cent more tax under this budget." Big Rock, which brews 170,000 hectolitres of beer and cider in Calgary annually, posted $624,000 in net income last year. The company said changes to the beer markup under the budget would add $2.1-million to its annual tax burden, which would push the company's income statements into the red. Big Rock just opened a brewery in Vancouver.