This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Fearing that underage drinkers were confusing Mike's Hard Lemonade, Smirnoff Ice and other flavored malt beverages with soda, Utah lawmakers in 2008 passed a law requiring that these alcoholic beverages be removed from grocery store shelves and be sold only in state liquor stores.
As part of the law, every so-called "alco-pop" bottle was required to carry a special label with "alcohol by volume" spelled out.
The additional labeling is redundant, according to members of the Utah Beer Wholesalers, since the percentage of alcohol by volume already is abbreviated on the cans. And, the group says, the label requirement also is labor intensive.
The group is asking lawmakers to repeal the labeling requirement during the 2015 session, which begins next week.
"When companies ship these products to the beer wholesalers, [employees] must undo all the pallets, then undo all the cases and take each individual bottle or can and put a special label on it," said Jim Olsen, president of the beer wholesalers group.
After labeling, the products are repackaged into cases, put on pallets and shipped to Utah liquor stores.
"It takes a huge amount of unnecessary labor," Olsen said, adding that Utah is the only state that requires the labels. "It's the only place you can't abbreviate the words."
Art Brown, the lobbyist for the Utah chapter of MADD — Mothers Against Drunk Driving — believes the labeling should stay.
"Just because someone bought it in the liquor store, doesn't mean it stays there," said Brown, noting that the flavored malt beverages are sweetened and mask the flavor of the beer. They often look like a sugary drink, he said, and when put in a cooler next to soda, an underage drinker may assume it is safe to drink.
"Not everyone that goes to an alcohol party drinks alcohol," he said. "These products need to be labeled."
And while "it is a bit more of a hassle, I don't know that it adds much to the cost of a drink," he said,
Utah sold more than 225,000 gallons of flavored malt beverages in fiscal year 2014, according to statistics from the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC). In total, 7.8 million gallons of wine, heavy beer and spirits were sold during that period.
The beer wholesalers have contacted Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, who sponsored the initial legislation, about amending the law. Bramble has opened a bill file — which as of Tuesday had no official wording — so the discussion can begin.
"I've been asked to address the challenges of labeling," Bramble said in a telephone interview. "So we are in the process of discussing it with the stakeholders. Whether or not we will find agreement, stay tuned."
The Beer Wholesalers had hoped to get the law changed in 2014. But the proposal stalled when the LDS Church — just days before the legislative session began — made a rare public statement saying that it opposed liberalizing Utah's liquor laws.
Brown says that the benefits of labeling outweigh the cost.
"It's more important not to start a kid down this road by mistake," he said. "There are just too many downsides to underage drinking."
According to product lists on the DABC website, there are more than three dozen flavored malt beverages available in state liquor stores, with names like Lime-a-Rita and Downhome Punch.
Olsen also noted that when these beer-based drinks were sold in the grocery stores, they were only 4 percent alcohol by volume (or 3.2 percent by weight). Now that they are available only in liquor stores, he said, most have higher alcohol levels.