I’m a Canadian from specifically Ontario, and presently living in the north of Sweden. As such I’ve gone from one government controlled alcohol system to another, and both are very similar, even down to the colours they picked for their branding (though different shades).
But while there are many issues with each, there’s one from each I’d like to highlight today.
First, with Systembolaget the company has recently changed their distribution model to require all microbreweries to ship their beers directly to the central warehouse if they want to get into the system. This new system is not a problem for the breweries in the south who are all near the warehouse, but in the north about 50 breweries have been excluded due to them not being able to justify financially sending the beer south. Here’s an article on the issue (in swedish, but google chrome does a good job at translating:
http://www.expressen.se/debatt/systemet-utplanar-sveriges-bryggerier/
The other is the the messed up monopoly in Ontario, basically the craft brewers there are also getting the short end of the stick, as the LCBO is very inefficient and has limited shelf space, causing high competition and a lot of challenges for getting in. The only alternative is the Beer Store which is privately owned and run by three non-Canadian multi-national companies who can pretty much do what they want. A documentary on the current state of Ontario’s alcohol situation was released yesterday and can be viewed here:
http://www.momandhops.ca/now-playing-straight-up-the-issue-of-alcohol-in-ontario/
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