Alta. lifts strong-beer ban as mark-up rises

Alberta won't ban high-alcohol beers after all.

The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission told beer and liquor stores on Nov. 26 that they would be prohibited from ordering beers with alcohol content of more than 11.9 per cent.

The AGLC instituted the restriction, pending the completion of a report examining whether high-alcohol beers contribute to binge drinking, the agency said at the time. Presentation of that report to the AGLC board was expected in the spring.

Concerns were also raised by the agency that the beers could be less expensive and targeted at younger drinkers.

But on Thursday, the AGLC said in a release its board had "approved a new policy to cover high-alcohol content beer to bring them in line with other high-alcohol products."

Importation and sale of the beers can go ahead, now that the province has adopted new mark-up rates.

Higher prices

Beers with alcohol content of 11.9 per cent to 16 per cent will see a $4.05-per-litre mark-up. Beers up to 22 per cent alcohol will see a $9.90-per-litre mark-up and beers up to 60 per cent alcohol will see a $13.30-per-litre mark-up.

The rates apply to new stock coming into Alberta, but they don't apply retroactively to products already on store shelves.

The federal government has classed beers with an alcohol content higher than 11.9 per cent as an "imitation spirit," so the AGLC said it set the same threshold.

High-alcohol beer accounts for about only a dozen of the 1,400 beer products available in Alberta, the AGLC said.

The supply of high-alcohol beers in Alberta didn't run out in the interval, the agency said.