Alberta Bans Strong Beer

This is total crap.

It makes no sense.  As one of the comments on the article above says, banning strong beer to combat binge drinking is like banning swiss army knives to stop gang violence.  Highschoolers aren't buying richly complex imported Belgian Tripels or five-year-old oak-aged barleywine to get hammered on, they're buying cases of Lucky and cheap vodka.

The ban is actually only on beers over 11.9% ABV, and of course it's on the sale, so I can brew whatever I want (and I'm of a mind to put on a real monster as soon as the fermenter is free again, just because), but it's the principle of the thing.  A cheap bottle of wine in the same alcohol range can be had for about the same price as on of these beers, in the same store, and as far as price-per-milliliter of alcohol goes some hard liquors, again on the same shelves, beat both of them, but you're allowed to appreciate a fine scotch whiskey or a French wine.  Beer is still viewed as a cheap, lower-class drink for idiots to get hammered on.

It's always the thing I like...