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The Real Reason Your Beer Costs More Than It Should

thestar.com — Imagine a store where most of the products are kept in the back. You order from the cashier. The products can't be sold below a legislated minimum price. And the overwhelming majority are made by one of three large companies, which also own the store. Surprisingly, few consumers know this is the set-up.

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  • brstilson, on 07/05/2008, -8/+57What Canada needs is a thriving micro/homebrew movement like we have here in the U.S. I can go to the local chain supermarket and have at least half a dozen local beer brands to choose from. There is a hell of a lot of competition in the beer market here, which means the average price for a 6-pack of macrobrew here is $5-$6. Having all that competition also makes the large brewers look into creating more specialty/niche brews. Microbrewing is the reason the big brewers are now making Blue Moon, Killian's, Miller Chill (gross), and Bare Knuckle Stout. The big guys still dominate the market, but they are well aware of the small regional breweries as well, and they know that some people are starting to gravitate away from the pale lager swill they've been pushing for decades.

    As far as prices though, it's really shocking how Molson/Labatt/Sleeman's are allowed to jack up the prices on their competition's product like that. Over $30 for a case of Coors is unheard of over here. People would riot. Well, maybe not riot, but you'd see a definite rise in beer theft that's for sure. At any rate, that's what I'd pay for a case of good microbrew.
    • damian7, on 07/06/2008, -11/+7...and yet Canadian beer still kicks ass
      • cdahlkvist, on 07/07/2008, -1/+1Common fallacy. It's pretty well known that the only people that think Canadian beer is great are Canadians. Obvious exceptions are the many microbrews available (but at a hefty price).

        This holds the same for the mass-distribution beers in the States. You won't catch anyone with any beer knowledge or appreciation drinking Budweiser, Miller, Michelob and the likes unless they are underage, in college or in a trailer park. The same hold true in Canada for Labatt's, Molson, etc. It's mass-marketed, mass-produced piss water.

        The real problem in most of Canada is the failure to get the affordable microbrews into a market that is being monopolized by the big 3 and taxed like mad.
    • supermanred, on 07/06/2008, -8/+30Have you ever BEEN to Canada? In Ontario any beer store carries over 400 types of beer. Ive been to the US and in most grocery stores or other places where you can buy beer there are little more than 10 flavors available.

      Come up to Toronto and enter a Beer Store outlet, then comment on Digg.

      And as far as "people would riot" you are living in a dream world. The Patriot act passed without a riot, I doubt 30 dollar beer would cause the US to riot when removing all your rights and freedoms didnt. Give me a break, lemming.
      • iammzac, on 07/06/2008, -4/+14lol, flavors.
      • Strungout, on 07/06/2008, -3/+6Actually the main supermarket chains Safeway and QFC carry a ***** of different beer, and not just from the main beer conglomerates. Anyone with half a brain would've have noticed the increasing availibility of microbrews in stores in the U.S.

        Out of all the times I've been in Canada, I've yet been in a store that stocks "400" types of beer.
      • Ryan2845, on 07/06/2008, -1/+17You really expect a grocery store to have 400 brands of beer? They have to make room for, you know, like fruit and cereal and stuff...
        We have liquor stores too...and they have plenty of brands of beer...
      • Wisgary, on 07/06/2008, -0/+35You don't understand the priorities of the US. Alcohol is unfortunately something much, much more likely for people to rise up and go crazy about than, I dunno, getting ***** by the government.
      • PopcornDave, on 07/06/2008, -1/+7Really? If you screw with the life, liberty... okay the pursuit of alcohol. you'll have the populace up in arms.
      • bigspooon, on 07/06/2008, -2/+4@popcorndave-

        youre probably more right than you realize. its an unfortunate state of affairs when people care more about Jaime Lynn Spears' baby and political issues like gay marriage when there are much more serious issues that need to be dealt with. Like what? the deficit, social security, a war in iran, a president who is implicated in the outing of a CIA agent, just to name a few...
      • dattaway, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Its not just beer, its groceries too. Most stores buy multiple brands from one distributor and a handful of vendors for specialty items. The few distributors buy from the few remaining companies, which are often commonly owned by the same investors. Thank trade and globalization, the ineffecient small mom and pop stores have been replaced by a big corporate machine.
      • dragon76, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1You know, to a lot of people who don't have the civil right to marriage, gay marriage is a big ***** issue. That's like saying that in the 50's and 60's people should have ignored minority rights because the cold war was going on. And frankly, comparing the pursuit of equality for all US citizens to the subject of Jamie Lynne Spears (notice the correct spelling of her name) just shows how much you wouldn't deserve the resolution of any of the problems you named, anyway.

        ***** *****.
    • kinseyincanada, on 07/06/2008, -0/+5you think Ontario is bad? here in BC a 30-pack of Kokanee runs about 48.50. But at least wwe have Granville Island Beer a very nice micro-brewery.
    • Rikkochet, on 07/06/2008, -0/+12The microbreweries are thriving in Canada - a few years ago I thought it was the US that desperately needed it, but it seems it's all in the marketing.
      I suspect the US is the same as in Canada - "beer drinkers", the people who enjoy a good beer, will buy microbrews or the more "premium" major brands. "Beer swillers", aka the unwashed masses who buy beer to get drunk and because drinking beer is manly, gravitate towards the mainstream ass brands (Molson Canadian, Budweiser, etc). And those guys go through a hell of a lot more beer than the other camp. A hell of a lot more.
      Am I wrong? Next time you're in a liquor store, stand around a few minutes and look at who is buying what beer. The swillers pretty much stand out.
      • josephbloseph, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Oh, don't forget about homebrew beer, the drink of hobbyists, beer enthusiasts, and underage college students who realize that while they aren't legally allowed to buy beer, nobody IDs them if they're just buying barley, hops, and yeast.
    • RyomaNagare, on 07/06/2008, -3/+2Yes, of course, because bud and miller light, are faaaar superior to Unibroue's beers... /sarcasm

      Even the crappy and megacheap industrialized Moosehead, beats any of your laser-nano filtered, yeast-less 3,0% AV, Beer-Bong-ready lagger wannabes.

      Note to canadians, Here I'm right now in Chile exactly 8917.13Km south of where you are,
      And if it weren't 8:32am I'd be toasting with a nice foamy glass of "Trois Pistoles" or "Fin du Monde".

      Canada, ignore this article, and continue producing your strong belgian ales, they are up there with the best of the world.
      Also at 2 US$ Per Bottle, they are cheaper than Chilean's Micro brewed Beers . Heh
      • sodade, on 07/06/2008, -1/+2Unibroue makes some of the best beers in the world. The two you mention are phenomenal, but I think Maudite is their star brew.
      • RyomaNagare, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1I've actually tried Maudite, I just prefer some fruit and wood accents on my Beer, also trois pistoles, is dark as my soul. Definitely my favorite beer, I like it even more than "Terrible" "Gülden Draak" or "Chimay Blue"
      • sodade, on 07/07/2008, -0/+1If you like Trois Pistoles, try North Coast's Brother Thelonious - it is very similar. I personally like it better and would be curious to see if it could topple your favorite.
    • BoneStamp, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2It has nothing to do with competition, the government regulates the minimum price. I can buy Canadian beer far cheaper in the US than in Canada. To the guy who said the beer selection in the US sucks, my local grocery store has at least 200 choices. It's not "The Beer Store", but you ever try to get "Blue Moon" at The Beer Store? It's made in Toronto and they don't even sell it. 7-11 has it here though.
    • JettaMan, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4I'm Canadian, and I'll be the first to tell you that Canadians are behind the curve when it comes to understanding free markets. Hopefully we'll eventually surpass the US with deregulations and such, but we have a long way to go. We've had well over 40 years of this mentality that taxes, regulations and crown corporations are good for us.
  • Masternajee, on 07/05/2008, -16/+19Two words "Government taxation".
    • PeppermintPig, on 07/06/2008, -1/+13It's a sad day on digg when the facts get buried.

      I guess people really do get the government they deserve.
    • isunktheship, on 07/06/2008, -3/+2EH?

      haha get it?
      *sigh.
    • Rotzooi, on 07/06/2008, -10/+2O no! Obama and his socialist cronies are taxing my beer!

  • Red1Delta, on 07/06/2008, -11/+1Consumers always get fuc**ed with.....you either make it in the world or you don't. that's life.
  • supermanred, on 07/06/2008, -9/+16What makes beer expensive is government. ***** them, taxing the only thing that makes us forget what jackasses they are for a while.
    • austin27, on 07/06/2008, -5/+3if you follow that logic the government would do better subsidizing beer.
      • PeppermintPig, on 07/06/2008, -2/+9Government subsidizing of beer would still require the use of taxation, if you follow that logic, and people who know better would still resent the government for doing it.

        If you want to ruin something, let government subsidize it.
    • feliks2, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Vodka?
  • slvrbullet87, on 07/06/2008, -5/+3Sucks to be canadian... the local liquor store has probably 40 choices for beer for under 10 bucks a 12 pack.
  • bigbill780, on 07/06/2008, -6/+48...in Canada. Sin tax baby. That liver transplant the government paid for doesn't come for free.
    • jamend, on 07/06/2008, -3/+14The article is all about how a few large businesses operate the distribution of beer in Ontario, how they use their position to set high prices, and that the government has very little to do with it.
    • svvoietrussa, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1people can brew their own in their bathtub, why buy from a store?
    • FreeTalkLIve, on 07/06/2008, -3/+1Obama's health care will make my sins more expensive?
    • enri, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2One acronym "RTFA".
  • Halsfield, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2thats interesting to know about ontario, im interested in what goes on worldwide though. I assume its a similar situation in most countries, a few beer companies forming a monopoly and controlling minimum prices and sales to keep people paying higher prices than normal. The thing i dont understand is why this is allowed, they broke up microsoft for less.

    The nice thing is you can make your own if you dont want to pay high prices, its really not hard, its extremely cheap to do, and its rewarding. Plus if you make a good brew, you can charge other suckers to pay for your beer.
    • PAStheLoD, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3Monopoly is far easier to bust than cartels. Monopoly starts at 80% (or so) market share.
      Cartels are just natural for businesses from an economic point of view.

      There's Joe's brewery and you've got a brewery, and no one else. You've got half of the market (obviously the other half is Joe's), and you're both evil-greedy bastards (well, you might not be, but then you'll find yourself out of your own company really quickly, except if the company is 50%+1 share yours.. but that's more than unlikey, because of the banking system, etc.. ).

      There are multiple scenairos.

      So you sell beer for $1 and Joe sells, for $0.8. Well, people are thirsty and then pick, so they'll buy Joe's more (thus with time giving him more-and-more market share).. so you go to $0.8 too. Joe goes to $0.5 .. you follow.. until someone drops out of the bussiness because it's no longer worth to sell beer, because it costs more to produce than you can sell it for. Simple but very-very unlikely. Because as a market grows over a certain volume (say .. $1 bilion) there're always factors like brand-loyalty, marketing, public-reach, exclusivity, etc.. so you stay in bussiness, but Joe'll become monopoly. Effectively rendering you out of the big bussiness.

      Option number two. You go hunting, fishing, playing poker or canoeing or something else together with Joe. He isn't your enemy, you even like his beer, he likes your's, and you both know, that if monopoly kicks in, then goverment regulations too. Hence you decide to fake competition, and every year find a reason to raise the prices... it doesn't matter what, if you'll have to dump millions of cash into a landfill, it's still better than the option number one. Because in a few years, you'll be insanely rich. And Joe too.

      And who can say, that because you switched to better producing technology/process you shouldn't had to get rid of half of your processing plants and build new ones, thus making the product more expensive? What about introducing totally ***** brands (coke zero.. hello?) every few years? How hard is to keep up the look of innovation, competition? Really? That easy? Yes. Especially in sectors where there're just a few big players (remember the big DRAM module fiasco?) where the chance of a small company being a whistleblower is minuscule. Or if you've an international/multinational firm/corporation/company, then you have much greater freedom at playing with the numbers, reports, presenting your financial situation, market share and such..

    • jeffiek, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3"and controlling minimum prices "

      FTA - "below a LEGISLATED minimum price." (emphasis added)

      Those are your elected officials signatures on the legislation. They may be nothing more than corrupt tools of the beer companies, but they are NOT the beer companies.

      There are enough problems in the world, and you add nothing to their solution by confusing who does what.
      Governments write laws. Businesses sell stuff. Okay?
  • mrsammercer, on 07/06/2008, -1/+19In Ontario you're paying almost 37 dollars for a case of Coors Light?!?!?!?! Highway Robbery. That's not even right, I don't care what the tax laws are. It's like 16-20 bucks here and I'm less than 100 miles off the border from Ontario in the US.
    • twofiveone, on 07/06/2008, -5/+4Hmmm..... I wonder what that tax could be possibly used for....

      Some sort of social infrastructure?


      like, say, healthcare? I may pay almost 37 bucks for that case of coors light, but if i fall out of a tree after drinking that case I can get my stupid, drunk head stitched up at my local emergency room free of charge.

      Whee!!!
      • mrsammercer, on 07/06/2008, -2/+2Touche`, mon fre
      • bitterbug, on 07/06/2008, -0/+6@twofiveone
        Just make sure your Health Card doesn't fall out of your pocket while engaging in drunken stunts. Walk into a hospital without one, and you're pretty much out of luck unless you're dying.
        I had three fingers slashed to the bone, the tip of one practically severed, and they wouldn't touch me until my family arrived with my OHIP card in hand.
      • kinseyincanada, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4@bitterbug

        Are you serious? ive been to a hospital in Ontario with a broken arm and all the asked for was an address and name.
      • EvilFerret, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2That's strange.....Since health care is free in Canada, wouldn't it be a simple matter of proving you're a Canadian citizen (drivers license?). Why do you need health cards? No seriously, I'm curious.
      • jparkinson, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3It is kind of messed up that you require the card, but I've seen many people get treatment without having it beforehand... at some point you are expected to show it though.

        Also... is losing your healthcard seriously that big of a concern? Are you that retarded that you lose your wallet every time you get drunk?

        I've actually never lost my wallet in my life, its really not that hard...
      • bitterbug, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2@jparkinson
        I wasn't drunk at the time. I'm not much of a drinker. I just wasn't carrying a wallet at the time because I didn't have any need for it. At least so I thought until I was sprinting for the hospital trailing blood down the sidewalk.
        This was in Trenton, Ontario. Maybe they had had a lot of fraud from Americans with Canadian drivers licenses (main reason for Health Cards), because they were adamnant they weren't going to treat me without the card.
        Additionally, it turned out I'm fairly resistant to Lidocaine. So when they used it to numb my wounds in order to apply stitches, it had no affect. Six needles in each finger later and I still had feeling. So instead of trying something else, they just stitched my fingers up with full sensation. Brutal.
      • cdahlkvist, on 07/07/2008, -1/+1Interesting excuse for the high price of your beer.

        Here, in the U.S., each week my employer takes $14.84 out of my check. That covers my health-care (dental, vision, preventative, emergency, prescriptions). On the rare occasion I need to see a doctor it costs me $10 out of pocket.

        Meanwhile, case of Blue Moon, Fat Tire or Summit EPA or IPA runs me around $11.

        Canada is definitely a clue as to how well a National Health Plan would work...the prices for everything will triple and quadruple.

        No thanks.
    • CrimsonFlash, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Actually, you pay less than that for Coors Light.

      Nobody want's to drink Coors Light.
  • dysan, on 07/06/2008, -10/+2Don't forget the LCBO also sells beer. It does a good job at it. Alcohol is a luxury, not a right, and the stuff the LCBO does via legislation to control the distribution and selling of what is basically a socially acceptable psychoactive drug to the extent that does in Ontario is essential. Considering the higher alcohol content of Canadian beers even more so.

    Competition is nice for commerce but being socially responsible with selling it is more important.
    • Opiate, on 07/06/2008, -1/+8***** you?
    • mrsammercer, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Alcohol is a luxury, not a right? Your comment brings to the mind exactly what is wrong with drug laws in general. It's a substance that you are putting into your own damned body. How can the government come in and call that a luxury and still consider that society a free one? That's a whole 'nother nut to crack, though. If alcohol is deemed legal, it should not be taxed in such a way to punish regular people for consuming it. Just like cigarettes. I mean, smoking sucks. If all existing laws were re-written today, smoking would be illegal. But, if you're not going to illegalize it entirely, then ***** off. Pumping up taxes on something because it slowly kills people doesn't seem like the right way to deal with it. Either illegalize it or come it up with a plan for better education and rehabilitation.
  • HonkingAntelope, on 07/06/2008, -0/+8A 24 pack in Quebec usually can cost $25 or less.

    Also, we have tons of microbreweries here for anyone thinking otherwise.
  • dmackay14, on 07/06/2008, -0/+7Stop assuming that because its like that in Ontario it is like that in the rest of Canada. Stupid easterners.
    • HonkingAntelope, on 07/06/2008, -1/+3Note that Ontario is just special on its own. Especially with it having Toronto and the Maple Leafs, i.e. the most laughable franchise in sports.
  • onlyclave, on 07/06/2008, -12/+6Enjoy your free healthcare while you bitch about the price of beer and your iPhones, eh.
  • arcooke, on 07/06/2008, -4/+7I hate high prices on anything.. BUT..

    If beer were a lot cheaper than it is now, I guarantee I'd be an alcoholic by now. When I drink, I drink a lot.. If a 24-pack was $10, I'd be drunk every day. In some twisted, messed up way, I'm kind of glad beer is a little pricey.
    • WoollyMittens, on 07/06/2008, -0/+8/me stamps arcooke with "Poor impulse control" across his brow.
      • irinotecan, on 07/06/2008, -1/+2Dugg for Snow Crash reference, which I just finished for the first time last night, and wouldn't have gotten the reference as little as 3 days ago :)
    • icndvl, on 07/06/2008, -0/+0By the same logic you should be glad your only earning minimum wage (or you have poor financial control).
  • smurfsahoy, on 07/06/2008, -5/+11Something like 90% of Canadians live less than 50 miles from the border. Just drive over and buy a bunch of cases of beer.
    • bitterbug, on 07/06/2008, -2/+9So you end up with watery American beer, AND you get taxed to hell at the border.
    • BoneStamp, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2You can bring 1 case across without paying duty... I used to do it all the time, but it's not exactly convenient for most people. Who wants to drive 50 miles for beer? I'd rather drive 1 mile and pay double.
  • Asheis, on 07/06/2008, -2/+8yeah... they really should have added a subtitle: IN CANADA.

    Beer prices aren't bad here, and the beer we do have is excellent.
  • rdldr1, on 07/06/2008, -2/+9Good article, however this article is more for Canadians. There are no Beer Stores in the USA.
    • FurtThePirate, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1what state are you in?
    • korvan504521, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Kansas City has some great alcohol stores.
  • swabfalling, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Doesn't really explain why beer is the same price at the LCBO though... I think we have to look a little further than the Beer Store.
    • BoneStamp, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1It says "legislated minimum price"... laws apply to everywhere alcohol is sold, including restaurants and bars. That's why you never see ""free drink for ladies until 10pm, or "2 for 1 drinks"" or half price drinks at happy hour" in most of Canada. All that stuff is illegal.
  • mrsammercer, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4Wait...$37 is still too much for a case of Coors Light, especially considering that you're in Canada and it's not getting shipped overseas. I wouldn't think this particular tax could be attributed to Canada's universal health care system, though. It sounds like the brewers are just reaming people and local legislators don't have the will to stop them or are in their pockets.
    • PeppermintPig, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4But it doesn't make sense. If most Canadians live near the US border, then it's just a matter of grabbing the cheap beer.

      Beer makers would have an incentive to lower their prices, unless they figure they have loyal customers who will buy the same brand wherever it is. But even then there should be some market forces causing the prices to lower, especially considering the exchange rate in Canada.

      This strongly suggests government regulation and taxation is effecting the price.
    • BoneStamp, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1And the Coors in Canada is brewed in Canada, so it's not even being imported! The government regulates a minimum price to keep their tax income at a fixed amount and so people don't go crazy and ring up their government funded health care bills. It's part of the same reason tobacco companies can't advertise their product, it cuts down on health care spending.
  • Yukos, on 07/06/2008, -6/+3News Flash: IT'S CANADA! Everything must be gee-golly-great up north, must be why it is a international also-ran; regardless, thanks for Juno Beach.
    • canadaboy, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3Hey - with humour like that, you might not need to import all your comedians from Canada anymore.
  • androothebear, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1i dont get it....
  • kawaiirobo, on 07/06/2008, -8/+4Reading that this is going on in Canada makes me proud to be an American. Other than German/Belgian beer, our micro brews are the best! Though The English have a few good brews as well. Sorry Canada, Molson is good, but nearly as good as our micros.
    • BoneStamp, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Canada has some great micro brews as well. The smart Canadians don't drink Molson or Labatt's... it's the people still stuck in the 80's and the teenagers who haven't developed a taste for beer who drink those brands.
    • jparkinson, on 07/06/2008, -4/+2Plus, everyone knows that American beer sucks.
  • theadvinci, on 07/06/2008, -3/+1Why would government own a beer store?
    • BoneStamp, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Think revenue!
    • cowings, on 07/06/2008, -0/+0All liquor stores in North Carolina are owned and operated by the NC Govt. "North Carolina's state-run liquor stores are a throwback to the U.S. after Prohibition--and their architecture a throwback to the Soviet Union before its demise."
  • edebolt, on 07/06/2008, -1/+2imagine how many drunks there would be in Canada if beer were a lot cheaper. Boggles the mind.
  • TYEZ, on 07/06/2008, -1/+0Who cares, aslong as they don't raise the price of my Large Double Double at Tims then i'm ok with the price of beer.
    • netglitch, on 07/06/2008, -0/+0ditto
    • BoneStamp, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Even Tim Horton's is cheaper in the states... it's ***** up. Of course, Tim Horton's is an American company.
  • thegreat59, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3In Puerto Rico we have a saying of how to keep people happy we call it the three B's "Bebida, baraja, y baile. Which is drink, cards, and dance. I think when a government overly controls the alcohol market, especially beer, and makes it too expensive for its poorer citizens you are definitely asking for problems.
  • scoottie, on 07/06/2008, -2/+6Nothing costs more than it should. Everything costs whatever the company can make the consumer pay for their product. You don't like the price find it cheaper or don't buy the product.
  • frisk415, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1I can't relate to that. I've never bought beer in Canada.
  • 808ethan, on 07/06/2008, -3/+4P.S. Canada, sorry but we don't care. Take your beer and your $900 Iphone and go shoot some moose.
    • BoneStamp, on 07/06/2008, -3/+6Canadians sort through 100s of Obama, Hilary, McCain, Ron Paul...etc articles a day and you can't skip over a couple Canadian iPhone and beer articles? And you wonder why the world hates Americans... thanks for continuing to give Americans a bad name. To Canadians, I know you think most Americans are assholes, but that's only because there are a few and those are the ones that you remember... most Americans are nice, just like you!
    • cfpresley, on 07/06/2008, -1/+2@ bonestamp
      Don't like it? Go to digg.ca...
  • yagotmeseruchi, on 07/06/2008, -1/+2In Canada, once in a while you get a deal. They call it, "Buck a Beer".
    • BoneStamp, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1I can hear the ***** Lakeport commercial right now.
  • jparkinson, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2As I was reading the description I was thinking "God damn that sounds like Ontario"... turns out... it is :(
  • music4mic, on 07/06/2008, -2/+1the solution is simple, DON'T LIVE IN CANADA.
  • acidbathfan, on 07/06/2008, -4/+1$30 for a case of beer is nothing compared to the $300 a bag some people pay for some really good weed.
    • Magnut, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2I don't think people measure weed by "bags" try a real unit of measurement next time
    • jparkinson, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1I hope you're not talking about Canadian prices, because unless that 'bag' is multiple ounces you need to get a better dealer.
  • invinciblechunk, on 07/06/2008, -1/+3Well, I heard that if you find a mouse in a bottle of Elsinore, they have to give you a free case, eh.
  • TYEZ, on 07/06/2008, -1/+0Health Care > Beer cost
    Canada > USA

  • griz, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1What stores do the 3 largest beer manufacturers own?
    • Sakumi, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2"The Beer Store"

      It's a store that sells.. beer.
  • Musicmonkey34, on 07/06/2008, -1/+2well, the save on the cost of having to own a refrigerator to cool it.
  • donramses, on 07/06/2008, -1/+0Guys, beer is not expensive
  • pinchduck, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Yeah, the beer market sucks in Ontario. Whenever I visit from Michigan, it is a pain in the butt to go buy groceries, then go to the Beer Store to get beer. Right across the river we have world-class beers from a great selection of microbreweries and decent competition. $28 for a case of Bell's Oberon that is far, far superior than anything Molson puts out. And that is a premium price per case here, other fine micro brewed beers go for less. Back in the 80's, American beer sucked, but the market was still decent. That is what allowed the micro brews to grow. The Canadian government should revamp their laws to foster more competition.

    There was a nice brew pub in Stratford 20 years ago, the Queen's Inn or something like that. Is it still there?
  • Ribbys, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Beer Store sucks for any local or small brand selection. They clearly push the big Molson, Sleeman and Labbat brews which for the most part are crap. LCBO offers much better selection. I just go to the Beer Store to return the empties!
  • theapiarist, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Yeah.....Ontario is not Canada. Beer in Alberta can be bought for $1 a can for cheap crap like Mountain Crest. I think its even bottled by Molson. Didn't the LCBO not allow access to this or similar brands a few years ago in Ontario?
  • icndvl, on 07/06/2008, -0/+0Canadians just smoke weed, its cheaper.
  • doctechnical, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Simple question here, and I'm not trolling - but is homebrewing legal in Ontario? If so I would think that's the cure for your $30/case Coors (Coors?! Sweet Jeebus!)... you'll get a cheap good tasting beer without much effort. Hell, if I can do it, anybody can.
  • Haydeng, on 07/07/2008, -0/+1"A 24-pack of popular brands, such as Coors Light, is regularly priced at $36.95"

    Holy Shiatsu that is hefty. You could get it for half in Texas. Hell, if you have a Randall's card it is only 8 dollars and change for a 30 case of Keystone.
  • drummerjed, on 07/07/2008, -0/+1I wonder if we put a baby mouse in one of the bottles and complain if they would give us free beer. We should film it.
  • mrmts, on 07/08/2008, -0/+0Its even more expensive in British Columbia. This province has both private run and government run stores. The private run stores are yet again more expensive than the government stores; however, the private run stores do stay open till 11pm, while the government stores mostly close at 5pm.
    I don't believe microbrew would lower the price either, as there already is a huge selection of microbrew companies sold at nearly the same price in the stores.
  •  

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