Malt beverages: Beer or hard liquor?

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told state liquor regulators Thursday that the law needs to be changed so flavored malt beverages can no longer be sold alongside beer in grocery and convenience stores.

But no position was taken by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission on the attorney general's proposal or other potential legislation the commission is considering for the 2008 Legislature.

Commission Chairman Sam Granato said commissioners will continue discussing the proposals at upcoming meetings before making any decisions about what recommendations to make to lawmakers.

The hearing Thursday wasn't the first time the commission has heard from Shurtleff about the need for stronger control over the sale of what he describes as "alco-pops," beverages made to look and taste like soda pop.

"What we're talking about here is fraud," the attorney general said of the malt-based beverages, created by taking much of the alcohol out of beer and substituting alcohol-based flavorings.

Currently, beverages such as Mike's Hard Lemonade are treated like beer by the state. That means as long as the brewed beverages contain less than 3.2 percent alcohol, they can be sold outside state liquor stores and are taxed at a lower rate.

The change proposed by the attorney general would eliminate the sale of the beverages at beer taverns and restaurants with licenses limiting them to the sale of wine and beer.

Representatives of the industry as well as both grocery and convenience stores spoke out against reclassifying the beverages as hard liquor, arguing instead for more community-wide efforts aimed at curbing underage drinking.

Greg Altschuh, a Connecticut attorney representing the five companies that produce some two-thirds of the flavored malt beverages sold in the United States, compared the flavorings used to vanilla extract used in cooking, which also contains alcohol.

The products were created "for people who for whatever reason don't want to taste beer," Altschuh said, but want a low-alcohol beverage that's "flavorful, ready to drink and refreshing." They are marketed to adults, he said.

George Van Komen, a doctor and the chairman of the Alcohol Policy Coalition, told the commission that underage drinking would decrease if the beverages weren't so readily available. "'Alco-pops' are nothing more than alcohol on training wheels," Van Komen said.