How is the More Health-Conscious Category of Low-Carb Beer Faring Today?

    Many people may wonder if the low-carb craze is finished. There just aren’t as many ads for the Atkins diet as there were a year or two ago, when you could find anything in a low-carb format, even pasta and chocolate.    The biggest breakthrough, for the bar and restaurant business anyhow, was the advent of the low-carb beer. Several suppliers hurriedly and excitedly came out with low-carb offerings, trying to catch some of the market share. But how are these beers doing today, now that the low-carb craze has subsided somewhat? Well, it depends on where you’re drinking.

Carbohydrates Learning Curve
    Jason Balto, assistant general manager at Moose McGillycuddy’s in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, says his bar still is enjoying a healthy low-carb beer selection. “They’re doing really well,” he says. “San Diego is a very health-conscious city.”
    Balto says a lot of companies test their low-carb beers in San Diego before trying to sell them in other parts of the country. The city has become quite a test market, kind of a litmus test for low-carb offerings. Throughout the years, it also has seen a number of light beers come and go.
    At Moose McGillycuddy’s, the staff there sells more Budweiser Select than any other low-carb beer, but they also sell Michelob Ultra. Ultra has a paltry 3.2 carbohydrates per 12-ounce bottle. However, Budweiser came back with its Select, which has 3.1 carbohydrates per 12-ounce bottle. It seems companies are battling to see who can win the “how low can you go” war on carbohydrates. No matter who has the lowest amount of carbohydrates, though, the winner will be the beer consumer. And as long as the buyer is happy, that will mean continued profits for those bar owners and operators who have low-carb selections.
    Moose McGillycuddy’s operators say they don’t have any beer specials to promote their low-carb offerings. “We don’t really need to. They usually sell really well here due to health-conscious people,” Balto says.
    Balto is quick to point out that many light beers aren’t much higher in carbohydrates than those labeled as low-carb. Accordingly, he says the bar sells a lot of Miller Lite and Amstel Light to people who are looking to watch their weight.
    Moose McGillycuddy’s operators offer half-off beers during Happy Hours, which helps to move the low-carb and light beers, but it doesn’t take much to push these light beers to the Southern California market.
    “Generally, they sell themselves, and you don’t have to put them on special,” Balto says.

Lighten Up 
    Across the country at the Tobacco Road bar in Miami, Michelob Ultra is the most popular low-carb beer. “It sells pretty well,” General Manager Lou Callahan says.
    In the sunny South Florida market, there also is Budweiser Select and Rolling Rock Green Light. Although low-carb beers were very popular in years past, they have leveled off in this part of the world, Callahan says. “I think their sales have decreased in the last year or six months.”
    Similar to Balto, Callahan sees many people reach for a light beer instead of a low-carb beer.
    “Miller Lite, Amstel Light, Corona and Bud Light are good sellers,” Callahan says. “We have a few people that ask for a low-carb beer, but mostly people just ask for a light beer.”
    At the Tobacco Road, the staff also moves some of their beers with a traditional Happy Hour, during which products usually are discounted 50 cents.
    Back West, at Eddie V’s Edgewater Grille in Scottsdale, Ariz., people still are drinking low-carb beers.
    Manager Joe Geppi lists Michelob Ultra as their best-selling low-carb beer. However, he also included Bud Light and Miller Lite as something that low-carb beer drinkers reach for. “Definitely they are our top sellers,” Geppi says. “People in North Scottsdale are health conscious, and those beers fit their lifestyle.”

Life Imitates Art 
    Many low-carb beer commercials have featured people doing athletic things, from playing volleyball to swimming. It appears then, with the low-carb market at least, that life is imitating art.
    “We sell a lot of fish, which appeals to those who are health conscious, but even when they’re drinking our beer, they’re looking for something healthy,” Geppi says.
    Although Bud and Miller products are solid sellers at Eddie V’s Edgewater Grille, one beer has risen to the top there.
    “They definitely ask for Michelob Ultra by name,” Geppi says of his patrons. “We get quite a few requests for it.
    ”Low-carb beers go well with a lot of their low-carb food as well. If someone orders sautéed lemon sole with lumped crabmeat on it, what would be a good beer to go with it, while still being a healthy choice? According to Geppi, Michelob Ultra has worked well in this capacity.
    “Our belief is that Michelob Ultra has a better taste than, say, a Bud Light or a Miller Lite,” he says. “It’s kind of like a regular Budweiser, in that it has more body and flavor than other light beers.”
    At Eddie V’s Edgewater Grille, the staff occasionally will go out on a limb. “We’ll try some different beers to see if the crowds gravitate to it,” Geppi says.
    Although much of the TV advertising and newspaper coverage on low-carb diets has faded, there still is a future for the healthy beer.
    “I think they’re becoming more popular in our region,” Geppi says. “People are watching their weight and fitness and when they drink, they don’t want all the carbs that come with it.” NCB