Ingredient labeling on a beer!?

[Robin Garr]

I ordered a Greek beer, a Mythos Red, at It's All Greek To Me tonight (it tastes a little like a slighlty skunked Newkie Broon, by the way), and when the bottle came out, I was surprised to see a standard food-type ingredient label on the back.

I know the wine industry fights tooth and nail to resist any legislation requiring ingredient listing on wine, and I'm not aware of any new regs requiring it on beer. Actually, the information can be slightly disturbing; for instance, I wasn't really excited to know that my dinner beer had a dash of Glucose Syrup in it to go along with the water, malt, hops and yeast.

Have any of you ever seen anything like this?

sm_beer_ingredients.jpg

I would have thought beer was it's own ingredient. I know it's on the periodic table of elements. I learned that in college.

Glucose syrup = sugar water - I assume that's required to assist in fermentation.

Glucose syrup = sugar water - I assume that's required to assist in fermentation.

...or to add sweetness post-fermentation.

To refer back to the thread's question, I have seen a fair share of beers with ingredients listed, though it is by no means the standard. Typically, it's a simple "water, barley, hops, yeast" rundown.

It may be regulated as a food product in Greece. Swedish snus, which is smokeless tobacco, has a full ingredient list and that was quite a surprise to me!

If this were to ever become law in the U.S. some of these "craft" brewers are going to need a bigger label for all their foo-foo ingredients.

If this were to ever become law in the U.S. some of these "craft" brewers are going to need a bigger label for all their foo-foo ingredients.

haha, Fillet of a Fenny Snake,
In the Cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of Newt, and Toe of Frogge,
Wool of Bat, and Tongue of Dogge,
Adder's Fork, and Blind-worm's Sting,
Lizard's leg, and Howlet's wing,
For a Charm of powerful trouble
Like a Hell-broth boil and bubble.

There's no current US legislation requiring ingredient labeling. Perhaps it's a Greek or EU requirement? The glucose syrup is there because it's cheaper than barley and provides fermentable sugars to boost the ABV while keeping the body of the beer lighter.

While it doesn't sound all that appealing, its a pretty common practice for brewers (except those reinheitsgebot loving Germans) to add some other source of fermentables to the beer. Depending on your tastes, this can be good or bad. It's the same practice that makes Belgian Triples so dangerous and US macros so refreshing.

The skunky flavor this beer had probably has more to do with its age and storage conditions than any of its ingredients. It's a long hot trip in a container from Greece to Louisville.

[Robin Garr]

Like a Hell-broth boil and bubble.

By the pricking of my thumbs,
something wicked this way comes ...

Sam Adams Summer makes a big deal on the bottle labeling out of being brewed from "grains of paradise." I guess an official ingredient list would kill that mystical luster if they had to list "Aframomum melegueta." Just doesn't have the same marketing ring.

[Robin Garr]

Sam Adams Summer makes a big deal on the bottle labeling out of being brewed from "grains of paradise." I guess an official ingredient list would kill that mystical luster if they had to list "Aframomum melegueta." Just doesn't have the same marketing ring.

Well, I'm no great fan of Jim Koch's marketing, including his failed effort to copyright the name "Boston," but in all fairness, "grains of paradise" is the traditional name for that spice. Seems to me you're saying something like "tiptoe through the Tulipae gesnerianae."

Never heard of Mythos Red, but the regular Mythos in a green bottle is what I drank in Crete. They were a family brewing company who owed millions of drachmas to the Government in taxes. They closed it down and then years later a descendent paid all the back taxes and re-opened the company. It wasn't available when I lived there 89-98 I drank Amstel, but when I went back for a visit it was and it is what I drank every time I went there. Good stuff.

Its not required but is allowed.

However, if "non-standard" ingredients such as spices, fruit, honey, etc are used, the label has to mention it sorta. Such as "pale ale with spices" or "wheat beer with honey" or "stout with natural flavors".