Change Brewing
MILWAUKEE — The billboards along freeways in Milwaukee are hard to miss.
They announce in red letters, more than two feet high, that Milwaukee’s Best Ice is now “6.9 percent ALC/VOL.”
In announcing the new alcohol content of one of its cheapest beers, MillerCoors says it is “committed to leading the industry in transparency so that our consumers can make fully informed choices.”
But some beer industry experts are surprised that MillerCoors is making alcohol content its primary pitch.
“I have to say I can’t recall ever seeing anybody advertising (the strength of a beer) and saying now that’s the feature of this brand that we’re featuring,” said Eric Shepard, executive editor of Beer Marketer’s Insights and a staff member at the widely read trade publication since 1977. “It’s not standard procedure.”
John Szymankiewicz, a North Carolina attorney who specializes in the craft beer industry, said he would never advise his clients to do such a thing.
Menus at restaurants and other spots serving craft brews often state the alcoholic content of each beer, but Szymankiewicz views that as essentially providing relevant information to customers, who presumably will understand that drinking a bottle of imperial stout at 8.8 percent alcohol differs from downing a 4.7 percent pilsner.
The MillerCoors billboards, he believes, have a different purpose.
“You’re showcasing the increase in alcohol content as a feature and a reason you should buy it,” he said.
That also concerned two academics who have studied alcohol-related issues.
“Clearly they are promoting this beverage based on its higher alcohol content,” said Traci Toomey, a professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota. “The higher the alcohol content, the more quickly people become impaired and the more likely a community/state will experience and pay for more alcohol-related problems.”
“I haven’t seen anything like this before,” said Frank Chaloupka, an economist at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “Seems like they’re aiming for drinkers who are looking to get more for their money. This seems likely to result in more alcohol consumption and its consequences, given the evidence on the impact of alcohol advertising on consumption.”
Also critical was the Rev. Michael Pfleger, an activist priest in Chicago who has campaigned against alcohol advertising in poor, inner-city neighborhoods.
Pfleger said MillerCoors has “made a conscious choice” to play on the stepped-up alcohol level of Milwaukee’s Best Ice.
The typical alcohol content for most popular domestic beers is between 4.1 percent and 5.0 percent. Ice beers are brewed differently from their mainstream domestic counterparts and typically have higher alcohol content. Natural Ice, brewed by Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Keystone Ice, another MillerCoors economy brand, both stand at the former level of Milwaukee’s Best Ice — 5.9 percent.
Milwaukee’s Best Ice is now 6.9 percent, a 17 percent increase.
Besides saying MillerCoors is committed to transparency, company spokesman Marty Maloney said by e-mail that “the company has exhibited a long-standing commitment to the fight against alcohol abuse, including guidelines on responsibly marketing our beers only to those 21 and older.”
He also noted that despite the increased alcohol content, Milwaukee’s Best Ice still “contains far less alcohol than most wine, liquors and even a number of other beers.”
Craft beers are typically pricey and sold for their singular taste. Milwaukee’s Best Ice is one of the most inexpensive beers available — about $12 for a case of 30, 12-ounce cans.
