FDA announced that it had sent warning letters to four companies that make malt versions of these beverages, advising them that the caffeine included as a separate ingredient is an “unsafe food additive."
These warning letters were not directed at alcoholic beverages that only contain caffeine as a natural constituent of one or more of their ingredients, such as a coffee flavoring.
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A Troubling Mix
According to data and expert opinion, caffeine can mask sensory cues that people may rely on to determine how intoxicated they are. This means that individuals drinking these beverages may consume more alcohol—and become more intoxicated—than they realize. At the same time, caffeine does not change blood alcohol content levels, and thus does not reduce the risk of harms associated with drinking alcohol.
Studies suggest that drinking caffeine and alcohol together may lead to hazardous and life-threatening behaviors. For example, serious concerns are raised about whether the combination of alcohol and caffeine is associated with an increased risk of alcohol-related consequences, including alcohol poisoning, sexual assault, and riding with a driver who is under the influence of alcohol.
Malt versions of premixed alcoholic beverages come in containers holding between 12 and 32 liquid ounces. Some may also contain stimulant ingredients in addition to caffeine. Their advertised alcohol-by-volume value is as high as 12 percent, compared to standard beer's usual value of 4 to 5 percent.
These alcoholic beverages are available in many states in convenience stores and other outlets. They often come in large, boldly colored cans comparable in size to "tall" cans of beer—or in containers resembling regular beer bottles.
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FDA Warns Four Firms
FDA issued its November 2010 warning letters to four companies that make caffeinated alcoholic beverages: Charge Beverages Corp., New Century Brewing Co. LLC, Phusion Projects LLC (which does business as the Drink Four Brewing Co.), and United Brands.
The caffeinated malt beverages referenced in these warning letters are
The manufacturers of these products have failed to show that the direct addition of caffeine to their malt beverages is “generally recognized as safe” by qualified experts. Rather, there is evidence that the combinations of caffeine and alcohol in these products pose a public health concern.
“Consumers should avoid these caffeinated alcoholic beverages, which do not meet the FDA’s standards for safety,” says Joshua M. Sharfstein, M.D., FDA’s principal deputy commissioner.
The agency has given the firms 15 days to respond to the warning letters and then may proceed to court to stop their sale. In addition, other alcoholic beverages containing added caffeine may be subject to agency action in the future if scientific data indicate that the use of caffeine in those products does not meet safety standards.
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Beverages and More is an alcoholic beverage retailer that operates 104 superstores, 48 in Northern California, and 46 in Southern California and 10 in Arizona. Store locations target the major metropolitan “foodie” markets of San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego.
The stores sell over three thousand types of wine, twelve hundred types of beer and fifteen hundred types of distilled beverages as well as an assortment of non-alcoholic beverages, gourmet foods, cigars and drinking accessories (wine goblets, shot glasses etc.) Stores are designed to be easily navigated even by customers who are relatively new to enjoying gourmet wines, beers and spirits, and customers are given frequent opportunities to sample both alcoholic and non-alcoholic wares. You must be over 21 to enter a Beverages and More location.
The company is privately held and in 2009 reported profits of well over $500 million.
An early CEO Bannus Hudson once described Beverages and More’s business model as a candy store for adults, and indeed with what may seem to many companies as every intoxicating beverage under the sun crowding its shelves, the description is not too far off.
In 1996 Beverages and More was the recipient of Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s award as Retailer of the Year, and in 2008, the company was singled out by the Tasting Panel magazine for a Lifetime Achievement award.
History of Beverages and More
The company was founded in Concord, California in 1994 by an investment group headed by Steve Boone who had previously developed the Liquor Barn, a very successful discount alcoholic beverage outlet that was purchased by supermarket giant Safeway in the 1970s. The first Beverages and More opened in Walnut Creek and followed many aspects of the Liquor Barn model including rapid expansion and a huge amount of floor space, generally in excess of 10,000 square feet. However, Beverages and More targeted a more upscale clientele than its predecessor by selling specialty foods and establishing an in-house rating system that scores the wines it sells on a scale between one and one hundred.
Beverages and More’s initial expansion proved to be unsuccessful. In 1998, after nearly going broke, the companies closed stores in Florida and Nevada, and decreased the square footage of their average retail outlet to 7,000 square feet. By 2000 the company had become the second largest alcohol retailer in the nation and was in the black again, earning more than $130 million that year. Since its inception, customers had nicknamed the company “BevMo!,” which became the domain name of the company’s popular website and online store that same year. The nickname is also frequently used to brand the company.
In 2006 the company was acquired by a private equity firm based in New York and London called TowerBrook Capital Partners, L.P. The company’s future plans include continued expansion both throughout California and Arizona and into other states.
Beverages and More’s Rating System
Beverages and More’s cellar master Wilfred Wong is in charge of rating the wines the stores sell, sometimes tasting as many as 40 wines blind in a single day. Wong tastes approximately 4,000 wines per year. He selects all the wines the stores sell as well which has given rise in some circles to accusations of conflict of interest: if the company has an aggressive marketing plan for a particular brand of wine, how can customers tell whether high marks from Wong represent disinterested appreciation or an attempt to push the product? Wong denies these allegations.
On the BevMo! website the company also features wine ratings from the Beverage Tasting Institute, Robert Parker, Jr., the Wine Enthusiast and the Wine Spectator
Beverages and More’s Private Wine Label Vineyard Partners
Beverages and More distributes its own line of custom blended and packaged wines under the private label Vineyard Partners. While the company had not disclosed Vineyard Partners’ sales figures, the CEO has noted publicly that sales of Vineyard Partners wines constitute a significant fraction of the company’s overall revenues.