Interbrew: Green light for low carb beer

Interbrew's Labatt USA unit is preparing to launch Rock Green Light.

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Interbrew's Labatt USA unit is preparing to launch Rock Green Light.

August 28, 2003 4:15 PM GMT (Datamonitor) - The maker of Rolling Rock is preparing to launch its light beer offering, Rock Green Light. The product follows rising demands for low carbohydrate products by health conscious consumers. Restaurants are also increasingly trying to get a piece of the pie with innovative low carbohydrate offerings and the trend for such products looks set to make a big impact.

Interbrew's [INTB] Labatt USA unit will be the newest entrant into the lucrative light beer market this October with Rock Green Light, a sub brand of Rolling Rock. The beer will replace Rock Light, the current light version of Rolling Rock, and allow Rolling Rock to enter the low carbohydrate beer category. Rock Green Light will be joining the ranks of Anheuser Busch's [BUD] Michelob Ultra and Sleeman Group's Sleeman clear.

Rising health concerns, particularly those concerning obesity, are fueling interest in such alternatives. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the US and approximately 300,000 deaths a year are associated with being overweight or obese. It is estimated that 61% of American adults are overweight or obese.

Interest in these new low carbohydrate beers has also been generated by the popularity of diets such as the Atkins diet that push low carbohydrate foods. Like Michelob Ultra, Rock Green Light will be pushing its low carbohydrate content - the beer has just 2.6 grams of carbohydrates and 92 calories - in advertisements across 40 states.

This latest diet trend is seeing restaurants quickly follow suit. In Atlanta, Balance patrons are offered do-it-yourself menus allowing those on diets to assemble meals that fit their needs. Diners can get the 'six-pack stomach' special, featuring dishes that are low in fat and carbohydrates. Another chain, Don Pablo's is offering fajitas wrapped in lettuce instead of carbohydrate heavy tortillas and the chain is also trying to develop a margarita drink along similar lines.

These types of premium products can go a long way towards lining the wallets of their producers. For example, the 'six-pack lunch special' sells for a pricey $14 but appears to be popular despite its cost. Interbrew's Rock Green Light looks set for success given the current frenzied consumer demand for healthy, low carbohydrate products.

wOw great quote from the Bible, I'll add that one to my collection along with such gems as 'drink no longer water, but a little wine for thy health's sake".
The reason that beers traditionally contain carbohydrates is that when malted barley is steeped in hot water at just the right temperature (this process is called Mashing), the process ends up yielding two types of soluble carbos.

The first type is the various sugars that can be fermented by yeast to provide alcohol. The second type is substances called "dextrins", not to be confused with the sugar "dextrose"..

Dextrins are not fermentable and stay in the beer after fermentation. They give the brew a certain "nutty" body and fullness of flavour in much the same way that tannins and esters give character to various wines. However dextrins are carbos.

If the steeping of the malted barley is continued for an extended period, most of the yield is the fermentable sugars, hence a much lower amount of dextrins left in the resulting brew.

Here in Queensland our State Brewer, Castlemaine Perkins (makers of xxxx, pronounced Fourex,) have been making such a beer since the 70's, called DL Lager, short for Diet Lager, and is supposed to be ok for diabetics.

Years since i drank it myself but it's not a bad drop. Gets you legless anyway.

Cheers

Michael Gardner
Australia