I seem to remember reading years ago that beers brewed for export were made stronger so that they would travel better. Is that right?

Red herring in terms of price and selection.

LOL

Toronto will have a greater selection of alcohol than London... does that work for you? Despite London having a lot more retailers. Go and ravage London for 5 different tequilas or 60 different beers, it will take you longer than going to a large LCBO in TO. LCBO is the largest wine and spirits importer in the world... if you people hate the LCBO so much and it has such huge effect on your life maybe you should consider moving somewhere where booze is cheaper?

If by "does that work for you" you mean "is that a credible claim" then no, not evenly remotely credible.

I’d check who you’re talking to before you make such big assumptions

I had the same issues with the money spent on decor and marketing but after visiting some dingie shops in the US and UK that made you feel dirty just by remembering where you got the beer. I'm glad that LCBO maintains such a clean and professional atmosphere... I've make trips to the US before to stock up on wine and liquor and it saved me about $100 on a $400 purchase but it only works if you live close to the border... You can get cheap Vodka in the states for like $10 for 1.75 liter bottle and even after duty it's a lot cheaper than in LCBO.

I just don't see LCBO as being something that's big enough to flaw Canada. Ontario, to a point yes. I'm surprised to see Abbey beer sold in UK for more than it is sold for in Canada despite the transport costs and taxes. In fact I see EU labeled beer without UK drinking guideline labels being sold in foreign speaking off-silences for cheap. The short of it is that Canadian prices are cheaper for what I buy and I feel ripped off every time I buy Leffe and I end up paying the same price or more than I did in Canada despite Belgium being a lot closer.

Maybe its the beer goggles giving the impression of a wide selection.

Export beers were generally higher in alcohol but also they were generally higher in hops, the increase in both is for their preservative qualities.
Now it’s sometimes used to signify just a higher alcohol, as the hop levels are often dropped down to make it more palatable to a wider audience

Thanks for the clarification. It goes some way to explaining the massive hangover I got in Dubai some years back. On Fosters.

I've had the same at a InterBrau trade festival with an export strength Guinness from Africa running at 7%, amazing beer but I paid dearly for it the next day

you will when you understand their trading practices, unless you like government monopolies
Bulk purchasing can be powerful, but suspect it’s more an isolated incident
which means it’s probably an illegal import
This probably has more to do with the InBev tie-up with Labatt and aggressive trading as a group to grow the limited market than the normal priced supply deals in the UK available through InBev/Whitbread in stable market, although it could be a UK taxation increase due to abv

I'd imagine that the next person into the bog did too.

I understand more than you realize. It's not isolated and yes those were illegal sales. They saw that there was a demand for Leffe at a cheaper price and they got a EU source. Obviously they were also a fan and got fed up with the crazy prices with meager profits. There were also people constantly buying some Spanish beer by the case but I wasn't interested. I also know people that have basement distilleries as well as brew their own beer in Canada because they are fed up with paying much. You clearly know more about beer politics... all I know is that I payed less in Canada to get drunk and that's all that matters to the average consumer, value

How much is Thunderbird in the UK?