Why is beer so expensive?

I like to drink a bottle of beer once in awhile, especially with a steak or, like today, with pork hocks and sauerkraut. Wine just doesn't seem to fit. I've been making my own wine for years now, because of the high cost when you buy it. A bottle of wine cost usually a little over $10.00. Two people can easily drink a bottle of wine with a meal. By making my own wine I bring the cost down to $2.00 a bottle. You can even make it cheaper, but the wine kits I buy from a local dealer cost normally $60.00. I wait until they go on sale and then I buy maybe 3 kits. I make red and white wine. Sure, it takes time and patience to make wine yourself, but it is worth it. In fact, the cheaper wines you buy at the liquor commission don't taste as good as the ones I make.
Coming back to the beer. I bought a case of 12 last week, in cans, and I paid $20.00 for the dozen. And this is the cheapest beer you can get. It goes under the name Brewhouse. Sometimes I buy Lucky. Pretty much the same price. Same beer, just a different brewery. I used to buy Lucky for about $13.00 only a few years back. The price has sure gone through the roof in just a few years. You see, the Canadian Government is controlling the sale of alcoholic beverages and they make the price. We actually pay tax on tax. The beer I buy is considered the cheap stuff, even though it is just as good as the beer that cost $25.00 a dozen.
I was in Germany in 2009 and I was sure surprised how cheap beer and wine is there. You can buy both, including brandy, rum, vodca etc. in grocery stores. Alcohol is also cheaper in the USA.
I guess I won't be buying much beer anymore. I used to make my own years ago but quit doing so, but now with this high price I will start up again. You can buy different kinds, as low as $10.00 a can to make 5 dozen. A couple of weeks ago I bought 2 boxes of must. Each box contains 23 litres of pure must. All I need to do is add yeast and then wait for it to ferment. Each kit will make 66 bottles of beer. I paid $33.00 for one kit, that will bring the price of a bottle of beer to 50 cents.  Now that's a price I'm comfortable with. Sure, it will take some work, but I don't mind. I've made this beer before and it tastes just like the bought stuff. Home-brewing has come a long way in the last twenty years or so.
I don't really know why our government has to be so greedy and make such profit on alcohol. Of course, all the people who work for the liquor commission have to be paid high wages, after all, those are government jobs with all the perks private employees don't get.