State liquor regulators voted Friday to begin the process of pulling flavored malt beverages off grocery and convenience store shelves.

The unanimous decision is in response to a request from Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who has argued the drinks appeal to minors because they are made to look and taste like soda pop or other flavored drinks.

Malt-based beverages are currently treated like beer in Utah, meaning they can be sold in grocery and convenience stores provided they contain less than 3.2 percent alcohol by volume. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission moved to begin the process to reclassify the beverages as liquor, therefore requiring that they be sold only in state-operated liquor stores.

Shurtleff originally proposed the move come through a statutory change, which would have required legislative approval, but the commission decided Friday it could make the change on its own.

"In substance I want to do what the attorney general proposed, I just don't think it's necessary to go to the Legislature for it," said commissioner Kathryn Balmforth, suggesting that in the legislative process, lawmakers could change the intent of the commission or Shurtleff.

"You never know what you're going to get when you throw it into the meat grinder," she said.

Upon the commission's directive, the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will now draft a rule that will be subject to a public comment period before it is ultimately adopted or denied.

The change has been opposed by the industry as well as retailers that sell the products.

Allen Whittle, vice president of the Utah Hospitality Association, said the proposed change would have a huge impact on taverns that are licensed to sell only beer, but who sell malted beverages as well.

Furthermore, he said, requiring customers to visit a liquor store to buy the drinks will only add to the negative view that many people have of the state's liquor laws.

"It's going to make Utah's perception problem even worse," Whittle said.

The attorney general praised the commission's decision, reiterating his concern that the drinks are being consumed by children and the alcohol industry is manufacturing and marketing the beverages to underage drinkers.

"I'm grateful that the DABC recognizes the concern of youth access to 'alcopops,"' Shurtleff said in a statement. "These drinks are not beer and should not be sold like beer."

Also on Friday, commissioners spent a great deal of time discussing the proper labeling of malted beverages and beer sold in grocery and convenience stores, as well as signage to make clear that the beverages are alcoholic.