Beer manufacturers are scrambling to shore up their market. WaPo ran a feature piece on their situation. Link. Excerpt:
You'll see products with flavors and colors that add individuality to bottled drinks and flexibility to draft beer in bar settings. Feel like a spicy mango beer? It's being tested right now.
"They're beertails or beertinis -- fun drinks that are meant to excite," Lachky said. On its Web site, Anheuser-Busch also offers recipes for mixed drinks that use beer as a base.
Next spring the company is introducing Bistro8, a malt-based beverage that Lachky says "acts" like a wine, with a complex flavor, a little carbonation and a light finish. "It's perfect for food," he said. It has done well in testing in Florida and South Carolina, especially among women.
Yes, among women. I plan on sticking with regular beer, albeit with a bottle of wine occasionally.
