Not just a shit beer: not any better for you than a good beer!The misleading of consumers when it comes to branding of beer as 'low carb' is something that's bothered me ever since I found out that due to the fact that alcoholic beverage manufacturers are never required to disclose nutritional information, and thus how much carbohydrate a beer contains, there is no way to compare 'low carb' with regular beers. Indeed there is no definition of 'low carb', unlike the requirements for food and non-alcoholic drink products, which have strict definitions of what constitutes 'low carb' or 'low fat'. Alcoholic beverage manufacturers basically have free rein in misleading consumers, while food product manufacturers are subject to all sorts of regulation regarding the claims they can make under the Food Standards Code.
Finally the media seems to have picked up on this rort, with the SMH publishing the following:
A traditional beer such as Tooheys Old contains 156 kilojoules per 100 millilitres - only 30 kilojoules more than Hahn Super Dry at 126 kilojoules per 100 millilitres. Tooheys Old also has a lower alcohol content, which nutritionists say is far more important than the carb content.
Dietitians Association of Australia spokesman Alan Barclay said: "It's pretty misleading because all beers are low-carb anyway. What really matters is the kilojoule and alcohol content and there really isn't much difference between ordinary beer and these so-called low-carb beers."
The association may refer some advertising of low-carb beers to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
I wouldn't be holding my breath for the ACCC to take action against the big alcoholic beverage manufacterers, but it would be nice to see them smacked down, and ideally subjected to the same sorts of restrictions that face manufacturers of ordinary food and drink products.
8 comments:
I didn't even know Hahn Super Dry was "low carb" until I asked for it at a bar in Brisbane and they said the only low carb beer they had was Pure Blonde.
I drink the Super Dry because it is the tastiest beer I have ever consumed.
Pure Blonde on the other hand is REVOLTING.
For a nation of beer drinkers, the Australian beer market is pretty piss poor. The major breweries produce a range of very similar beers, and the micro brews are frozen out of the pub market by the big players.
Pub tap beer is all about minimising overheads and streamlining logistics.
Most Aussies gladly swill very similar, and very unsophisticated, lagers or bitters, and few have access to pilseners, wheat beer, or stouts in pubs.
The USA has killer microbreweries in most mid sized towns and cities. Makes a great change from rank budweiser and coors.
The fact that australians are willing to pay $8 for a bud shows how fucking stupid some of our piss drinkers are.
there's no need to go american, with their dodgy brew ingredients. over here there's coopers, cascade, boags, little creatures, blue tongue etc. etc. (even the vb original) you probably won't find them at your local but even the first choice liquor store down the road has an incredible selection of aussie and imported german and japanese beers for not very much money. the problem is that your average drinker is only interested in buying as much beer as possible, quality being way down the list of concerns. this means that when faced with a shitty beer and a nice kraut beer that costs a couple of bucks more they'll take the crappy swill. at least that means more good beer for me.
Ahh Gam.
See what you don't get is stubby vs pouring culture.
A truly refined beer drinker drinks good quality beer with friends, slowly out of a glass. USA microbrew pubs are perhaps the finest place in the world for a tap man or women.
Stubby folks buy as much beer as possible for a limited amount of funds. These vile drinkers drink beer to get drunk. Then they go off and start fights.
Australian pubs cater for Stubby folk. Mountain Goat and Grand Ridge are two of a very limited number of unique pubs in Victoria that cater for refined drinkers.
the only other option for pourers is home brew.
Lesson: Enjoy good beer with friends.
check out the brewhouse if you're ever in brisbane.
We have an excellent microbrewry here in Canberra called The Wig and Pen. It's a cool place to go, they have live bands as well as good beer, a rare combination in our nations capital. Husband brews his own. Cheaper, tastier and amazing variety. Beer is not as simple as most people think!! Having said that, we subscribe to the if you like it, drink it theory.Every one has different tastes, I hate the way people deride others because they don't like whatever beer or insert product here happens to be trendy that week. Life's too short for all that crap.
i don't think anyone's deriding anyone. people who drink to get drunk buy the cheapest grog. the cheapest grog is rubbish for aesthetic reasons as well as reasons that can be proven chemically. if you don't believe me, open up a bottle of coopers and a bottle of toohey's, let them warm to room temperature and take a sip of each.
it's not a question of trendiness either. coopers (the last family owned brewers in australia) are in perpetual danger of going under or being bought out and blandified.
it's fair enough if someone wants to drink a crappy beer because they really like it, but i can still think they're crazy :p
I used to watch metro jokers drinking Corona 330ml at $8+ and shake my head in dismay.
Then I came to a conclusion that I can't fault them. They are happy they are portraying their cool image and I get a laugh out of it - so really - everyone wins! Let it go. Today it is the same with low-carb drinkers.
The loser really is the good brewers that never make it to the 'big time' ... but as we know with music, popularity can taint the motives of a dedicated artist.
I'm happy paying more and hunting harder for those rare finds that speak to me on another level. The artists are genuine and passionate and provide something you can't get in any other environment.
I support local micros, I home-brew in collaboration with many of them, and I will never look twice at anything that has been mass-commercialised.
We'll always support "our own" and the industry we want to support will always exist and churn out superb product.
Don't wish more from it, just be grateful for what it provides now and every day in the future. It is a unique beast - support it with all you have.
To stay on topic, I'm yet to taste a low carb beer that doesn't taste like soda water on the 3rd sip. It's chemically impossible to achieve without producing the remarkably offensive after-taste that bud light is so revered for.
R
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