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Not all efforts to lure light-minded consumers have succeeded. One notable flop has been low-alcohol beer, or LA, which contains about half the alcohol of regular brews. Introduced in 1983 by a small Cincinnati brewery, Hudepohl, and later rolled out by the major brands, LA sales slumped 7% last year to 500,000 bbl., or only .1% of the total beer market. One possible reason is that drinkers who are worried about their weight already have low-calorie choices like Miller Lite, while consumers who want kickless beer can turn to nonalcoholic ones, including Moussy and Kingsbury.
The trend toward lighter beverages seems on its face like healthy progress, in contrast to the heavy martini consumption of the 1950s and '60s. But some critics of the new, syrupy drinks believe that the beverages cloyingly mask their alcoholic content and thus their danger. Says Michael Vitucci, public relations counsel for the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union: "In a sense, it is a wolf in sheep's clothing. People will feel it's like drinking lemonade." Seagram's Bronfman, of course, disagrees, "We make it crystal clear that these are alcoholic beverages and must be handled as such. It's not fair to say that we encourage abuse by introducing new products." Innovation is a strategy that beverage makers will stoutly defend, since the market today belongs to the lightest, the sweetest and the newest.