It’s brews you can use.

Loblaws, Walmart, Sobeys, Metro, and a slew of independent grocers will be the first supermarkets allowed to sell beer in Ontario.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa announced Wednesday that up to 60 grocery store locations could be authorized to sell beer by the end of next month.

“We are moving quickly to ensure that beer will be sold in grocery stores in a socially responsible manner,” said Sousa.

“Using the existing low-cost distribution system keeps Ontario’s beer prices below the Canadian average while offering greater ability to fund key government services and programs that people rely on,” he said.

Winning bidders in the licence auction also include: Farm Boy, Galleria Supermarket, Hanahreuem Mart, La Mantia’s Country Market, Longo’s, Michael-Angelos Market Place, Pino’s Get Fresh, and Starsky Fine Foods.

A visibly pleased Sousa said it was “very surprising (that) we had many small independents that bid.”

“It’s broadly held and it’s across the province,” he said of the reforms, which followed a series of Star stories on the monopolistic nature of beer retailing in the province.

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown said his party backs the liberalization of beer sales in Ontario.

“I support greater market access. I’m supporting the government on this at this point,” said Brown.

But NDP Leader Andrea Horwath expressed concerned that unionized workers at the 650 government-owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario outlets at 448 Beer Stores could be affected.

“We want to make sure that we don’t simply bring more precarious work into Ontario so Walmart jobs are not a good replacement for well-paying decent jobs in that sector right now,” said Horwath.

The retailers still have some bureaucratic hurdles before they can begin selling six-packs on shelves — they have to make applications to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) for licences.

None of the firms are allowed to discuss the auction process until the end of the year “to ensure fairness,” the government said in a statement.

By May 2017, there will be 150 Ontario supermarkets selling beer, eventually rising to a maximum 450 of the province’s 1,500 grocery stores.

In the first wave of 60 stores, 48 licences were auctioned off to large grocers while a dozen reserved for small independent markets.

Of those 60, 25 are in the Greater Toronto Area, 16 in southwestern Ontario, 13 in eastern Ontario, and six in the north.

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Precise locations will not be known until the AGCO licensing process is completed in the next few weeks.

The changes are a huge victory for Ontario’s craft brewers, who will gain more access to shelves in all stores that sell ales and lagers, including the Beer Store, which is owned by the foreign parent companies of Labatt, Molson, and Sleeman and has enjoyed a virtual monopoly since Prohibition ended in 1927.

Ed Clark, the premier’s privatization czar who ushered in the reforms to allow supermarket beer sales, is currently working on also getting wine on supermarket shelves.

But that is even more complicated because the existing privately owned kiosks now operating inside many supermarkets have grandfathered licences exempt from the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

Those 268 licensees – the Wine Rack and Wine Shop -- are permitted to sell quality VQA wine made here as well as foreign-blended bulk plonk bottled in Ontario.

However, the valuable licences, which benefit some domestic wine producers, could be at risk if more open sales are uncorked.

As Ontario finally ushers in supermarket beer sales, here’s what consumers in other jurisdictions enjoy:

Quebec: Beer is sold in supermarkets and small convenience stores, which are known as depanneurs. Wine sold by these retailers is restricted to bulk plonk bottled in Quebec.

British Columbia: As of April 1, the new store-within-a-store model – with separate cashiers -- allows the sale of beer, wine and spirits in grocery stores.

Manitoba: There are a handful of Liquor Mart Express outlets located within supermarkets to complement other government liquor stores.

Saskatchewan: The provincial government announced Wednesday it will sell 40 of its 75 liquor stores to make them private retailers.

New York: Beer and wine is available in licensed supermarkets, convenience stores, and drug stores throughout the state.

United Kingdom, France, Germany: Wine and beer is available in grocery stores, big-box outlets as well as in specialty shops.