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The recent announcement from the Calgary Stampede that Alberta craft brewers had finally breached the event’s Budweiser monopoly is great news for our province’s burgeoning industry.

It’s a small foot in the door, but during this year’s Stampede visitors to the Big Four Station will have the opportunity to partake in nearly two dozen different offerings from a variety of Alberta small brewers. It’s an ideal showcase for some of the amazing products these brewers are creating.

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Unfortunately, what visitors to our city and province might also notice is the high prices for beers of all kinds. But it’s not just the Alberta government that is to blame for that — the federal government is piling on, too.

While the Alberta government has certainly emphasized the steps it has taken to assist Alberta’s craft beer industry, recent legal challenges over the government’s policy have shed some light on a different kind of motivation.