Maker's Mark recent foray into "diluting" reality by keeping prices flat while reducing the alcohol content [4]- a painful reminder that stealth inflation comes in the most unexpected of shapes - came and went, with the outcry limited to a select group of Bourbon lovers. However, when the realization hits that every other alcohol producer may have been engaging in the same less than ethical behavior, including America's precious Budweiser, we expect the response to be faster and furiouser. We also expect the answer to the question of how it is that food inflation is not far greater, will be made even clearer. It will, however, certainly bring new meaning to the phrase the beer glass is half full. Of course, since the lawsuit was filed by two men who "routinely purchased as many as four cases of Bud per month for the past four years" one can see why it may not be taken very seriously.
From Bloomberg:
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the world’s biggest brewer, was sued over claims it overstated the alcohol content in Budweiser beer.
AB InBev routinely adds extra water to its finished products to produce malt beverages with significantly less alcohol content than displayed on its labels, consumers Thomas and Gerald Greenberg said in a complaint filed yesterday in federal court in Philadelphia. The company’s overstatement of the alcohol content violates Pennsylvania’s consumer protection statutes, according to the complaint.
“Consumers receive watered down beer containing less alcohol than is stated,” the Greenbergs said in the filing.
The complaint accuses Leuven, Belgium-based AB InBev of mislabeling the alcohol content in Budweiser, Bud Ice, Bud Light Platinum, Michelob, King Cobra, Busch Ice, Black Crown, Bud Light Lime, Hurricane High Gravity Lager and Michelob Ultra.
No one was immediately available to comment on the lawsuit, according to someone who answered the company’s media relations line.
The Greenbergs are seeking to represent all consumers in the state of Pennsylvania in their bid for damages exceeding $5 million and a court order requiring the company to alter its advertising campaign.
The men said they routinely purchased as many as four cases of Budweiser per month during the past four years. The labels on the beer claim the alcohol content was 5 percent by volume, according to the lawsuit.
The full lawsuit: