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Supermarket beer will also be sold at exactly the same price as beer at the Beer Store — meaning beer sales will be more ubiquitous, but no more competitive — though the Beer Store has committed to spending $100 million to upgrade its warehouses. That means that the aesthetic will be more visually appealing, even if the process is similarly infuriating.

But wait: there’s more. As part of this provincial beer overhaul, Ontario will launch a pilot project to start selling 12-packs — yes, TWELVE PACKS — in LCBO stores. The snag is that the pilot project will be held in only 10 LCBO stores out of more than 850 retail and agency stores in the province. The success of the trial remains to be seen: will consumers like the convenience of buying 12-packs, or will they prefer to buy two separate six-packs of the same product (which could cost more)? Most of all, will Ontarians find themselves saddled with guilt for buying beer at the LCBO, instead of the Beer Store, as they’ve been trained? Surely the Beer Ombudsman will be there to answer those questions, and more.

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In announcing the changes, Wynne said the province’s liquor industry is getting the biggest shakeup it’s seen since Prohibition ended in 1927. That’s likely true. Though compared to provinces such as Alberta and Quebec, where, respectively, alcohol is sold through private retail systems and at corner stores and supermarkets, Ontario has barely scraped past the Great Depression.

The big winners in this deal will likely be the craft brewers, for which the Beer Store will now be required to devote 20 per cent of its shelf space, up from 7 per cent. The other big winner will surely be this enigmatic Beer Ombudsman, who will be tasked with hearing complaints but absolved from taking action — hands tied by the confines of provincial regulation. Sign me up.

National Post

Robyn Urback • rurback@nationalpost.com | robynurback