TTB is not likely to allow anything labeled as “energy beer” anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean there is any shortage of beer tinged with caffeine. Notwithstanding the demise of Sparks and Tilt, there is a big upsurge in beers with added caffeine, guarana, tea, yerba mate — and coffee. Today, coffee.
Pipeline Porter is made with 100% Hawaiian Kona Coffee according to the label.
Joe is brewed with coffee, by Philadelphia Brewing Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Yeti is stout aged on oak chips with coffee added. The front label pretty much suggests serving it with breakfast.
None of these labels mention energy, stimulants, caffeine, or the amount of caffeine, so the consumer is left to guess. My grandpa Joe never dreamed of beer mixed with coffee or any other alcohol beverage that would perk him up.
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Michael Taylor’s Comment for Diageo; Top 5 Things to Know
It is likely that all beer, wine and spirits labels will change dramatically in the near future. TTB Administrator John Manfreda confirmed this in a recent speech. TTB has been working on new rules since CSPI and other groups submitted a petition in 2003. The new rules would require a “Serving Facts” panel on every container. This panel would include a lot more information, such as the typical serving size, number of servings per container, calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat. Because this is a big, controversial change, TTB has received more than 18,000 public comments during the past few years. There are far too many comments for most people to review, and so we will highlight and summarize the most noteworthy comments here. The most recent proposal and comments are here. This is comment 21 in a series; to see others, click on the “serving facts” tag below.
Michael Taylor (on behalf of Diageo) submitted a 4 page comment. It said:
- Diageo hired Mr. Taylor in 2005 and he’s currently a research professor at George Washington University. From 1991-1994 he was FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Policy and was actively involved in setting the comparable rules for foods more generally.
- I am disappointed that TTB will not require reference to a “standard drink.”
- The Dietary Guidelines are an important tool and among other things they point out that moderate consumption of alcohol may convey health benefits.
- It is wrong to argue that there is no “standard drink.” The concept can and should be used to avoid the need for consumers to make complex calculations at the point of purchase. It is similar to the % daily value concept successfully deployed by FDA.
- “Any new alcohol label will have to be explained to consumers, and TTB should recognize that no new information tool on a consumer label achieves its full utility overnight or automatically.” TTB must preserve the “serving facts” concept and make it workable.
Bastards Aplenty
The industry submits a large number of “bastard” labels. From 2000-2009, TTB approved 124 labels featuring this word in the brand or fanciful name. This is about six times the number of such labels approved from 1980 to 2000. This is another example of how TTB has tended to ease up in certain areas, and will allow terms a bit more racy than many expect.
Cheap Bastard Red Wine is bottled by Pedrizzetti Winery of Morgan Hill, California. Backwoods Bastard is Ale Aged in Bourbon Barrels, bottled by Canal Street Brewing, of Grand Rapids, Michigan. We probably wouldn’t bother to comment on the preponderance of “bastard” labels. But the numbers are growing, and some of them have more issues going for them, apart from the naughty word. Arrogant Bastard Ale has some better than usual writing on the back label:
This is an aggressive ale. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory — maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it’s made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beer will give you more sex appeal.
Off in the lower left corner, the back label also has a small Proposition 65 warning, not often seen on TTB-approved labels. It says:
Some materials used in the colored decorations on this container contain cadmium a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.
The Arrogant Bastard, it turns out, is concerned about your well-being after all.
Vodka with Vintage, Varietal, Apellation
TTB does not usually allow vintage-, varietal- or appellation-type claims on distilled spirits labels. The rationale is that these concepts tend to be more appropriate for wine. But here are a couple of notable exceptions. Roth Vodka displays “California” in much the manner of an appellation. This vodka also happens to be distilled from grapes, and has something close to a vintage date on the front label. The latter apparently went too far, and TTB directed Roth to remove the date.
In some ways, the Primo Vodka label goes a bit further. It mentions a specific grape type, along with the source of those grapes. One side tends to argue that these claims are truthful and verifiable. TTB tends to argue that characteristics such as vintage, varietal and appellation are subtle to begin with; distillation (let alone distillation to the point of neutrality) tends to obliterate such characteristics; and it’s misleading to suggest otherwise. Do consumers need this protection?
Red Bull Vodka and Beer
It’s a wonder that Red Bull (of Austria) has not yet come out with with an alcohol beverage. It would be likely to be a smash, in that the product is so very popular as a mixer.
Perhaps things are going so well with the energy drink that there is no need to mess with it. But more likely, these two products beat the Austrians to the punch. Miller Brewing Company has approvals for Red Bull Malt Liquor going back at least as far as the early 1980s. Likewise, Majestic Distilling has approvals for Red Bull Vodka going back to 1990 or so.
This Dog Style Vodka is one of the few TTB products to make explicit reference to the famous energy drink.
Highly Flammable Spirits
Bacardi revamped its 151 proof rum labels in May. At almost 76% alcohol, this rum is of course flammable as well as potent. The labeling includes not less than eight warnings to this effect. The bottle also includes a flame arrester.
One of the main warnings says, “Do not use this product for flaming dishes or drinks.” It’s a little bit like a Maserati with a warning that you should not exceed 55 mph.
We kind of thought flaming drinks were one of the main purposes for this product. If not, we went in search of the more conservative uses for this product. We found very little, with no trace of this product on Bacardi’s US website. This group seems to have no idea what to do with it either.
At an even higher concentration of alcohol is Golden Grain Grain Alcohol. It is 95% alcohol and is also plastered with warnings throughout the front, back and neck labels. This is a rare example of TTB allowing warnings other than the specific health warning mandated by Congress (see this for an example of a warning not allowed). It’s hard to say the extra warnings are not warranted here.