I voted "Seriously?" on this one (which I think means "no"), but not because I'm against the idea of these beverages having nutritional content labels. What I am against, however, is making them mandatory *or* prohibited.

Let companies that want to publish this information do so, and let consumers make an informed choice based on that. We don't need YAGB (Yet Another Government Bureaucrat) policing yet another labelling law.

Companies that want to flaunt their product's "benefits" are free to do so, and we're free to think poorly of companies that don't dare do it.

Calori count & alcohol content is a must, the rest aren't needed.

I can't think of a negative, especially since more people now glimpse at nutrition labels. Also, I have the feeling that a lot of inexperienced drinkers don't know how very very many calories are in their drinks, because younger drinkers think wine coolers are some magical substance of promise and inconsequence.

I think it's a pretty good idea. I've personally always been curious about caloric content, etc. in wine and liquor.

And as for this: "...some advocacy organizations are concerned that the nutrition labels might imply that alcoholic beverages have some nutritional value."-- I don't think that any reasonable person would think that having a "nutrition facts" label on their hooch actually means it's good for you-I mean, they put the same labels on tubs of lard, but nobody in their right mind would think that it has nutritional value. I say go for it.

Bottled water has it ....

but all the ads say "guiness for your health". now they can prove it :)

@kingKonqueror:

Just say "nanny state" and get it over with and go back to your compound in Idaho.

@baa: I nominate that Guinness be renamed "Vitamin G."

@Chicago7: I'll stay here in Canada, thank you very much! ;-)

I'd actually love to see a nutrition label on alcohol. While I know that no alcohol is really "good for you," it'd help to pick one drink over another.

The next thing they need to do is require bars and restaurants to post the prices of their alcoholic beverages.

Mostly I want to know the calorie count. I've pretty much accepted the fact that alcohol has very little in it.

@morganlh85: Wouldn't that be nice! I feel like such a tightwad asking the price of my rum and coke. :(

It HAS calories, so they should tell me how many calories are in it.

There's no nutritional value in chewing gum, but they put a label on that anyways.

I personally would be more likely to select beers with lower alcohol content. Proper labeling would help me out.

There is already a labeling of alcohol content. But labeling calories (and fat in the case of cream based drinks) would be great.

Liquor has nutritional value just the way that soft drinks do. Not "good value" , but an objective value in calories. Plus, it'll make it easier to figure the serving size and calories on mixed drinks, which I think bars and restaurants should carry.

I would also like to see ingredients labeling. Perhaps I'm allergic to something or just to a certain food color?

@riggs: Yes!

this is important info to have.
as an example i point to a time about 17 years ago.
Me and some buddies were drinking natty light.
I notice on the can that it said there was .9 grams of protein per serving.
we figured that it would take 6 beers an hour for 24 hours to get our recommended daily allowance of protein.

we lasted about 3 hours.

How many calories does alcohol have? A lot more than you think.

"...Some advocacy organizations are concerned that the nutrition labels might imply that alcoholic beverages have some nutritional value." That makes no sense at all.

...seriously?! That is probably the worst conceivable argument for not putting nutritional info on alcohol. Jesus, I don't even know where to start.

Nutritional labelling on Alcohol will probably stop those on a weight-loss program. But holy geez, people who still drink to get drunk probably wouldn't give a damn either way.

Damn, looks like wine has some of the lesser calories compared to other alcoholic drinks based on that site.

Not only does alcohol need nutritional info, but it needs a list of ingredients. The brewing industry can get away with putting alot of gross stuff in your wine and beer, and consumers don't have the option of choosing what goes into their body when they drink alcohol.

However, generally, light beer has the most additives out of all alcoholic beverages cuz they have to put alot of stuff in it to make watered down beer taste not watered down.

I think if you are consuming enough alcohol that the calories in it affect your body, you have more serious problems than gaining a few pounds.

i just like to read what im putting into my body, regardless if it's good or bad

maybe theres a ton of fiber and we just don't know about it!

I think the most important part of labelling would be to include ingredients. I can understand not having full nutritional info, but the ingredients are pretty fundamental in general, but particularly for people with allergies or other dietary restrictions.

A slight complication with listing calories in alcohol is that although alcohol has a precisely known value for physical calories, we are still unsure as to how the body metabolizes it. I remember reading several articles (sorry, no link) suggesting the body treats them very differently than food-based calories.

This wiki article is a nice summary of some of the alcohol/health issues: [en.wikipedia.org]

Usually people don't drink alcohol because it's good for you, and I don't think this will make any change in that.

I think that if they have calories, sodium, etc, it should be labeled, period. You buy it with the purpose of putting it into your body, so you should be able to see exactly what it contains.

This is a little off-topic, but I think they should add caffeine content to nutrition labels, some people are more sensitive to it than others and it is an important piece of information.

@uricmu: Actually, currently, alcohol content is only required to be labeled if the content is over 5%. There's a big difference between a beer with 2.9% ABV and 4.9%.

Why would we not put a nutritional label on it? It's food. It goes in our mouth, down to our tummy, and get's absorbed into our body. If someone wants to get their daily dose of niacin from a bottle of beer that's their prerogative. The person drinking a bottle of beer, or glass of wine with their chicken dinner should also be given the tools to inform themselves about the health effects of what they are consuming.

Yeah, like the fact that twinkies have nutritional labels sure make me think they're "healthy"...

Anyone stupid enough to think that just because something has a nutritional label on it, it must be healthy is probably already well full up on booze...

It wouldn't 'make people think beer has nutritional value'.

If it has nutrients in it, then it really does have some nutritional value. No-one said nutritional values have to be high.

It can't hurt, but I'm not picturing somebody sitting in a dark bar and who is already half in the bag stopping to read the nutrition label.

    I voted "seriously?" Hell, I was born during the Ike era, and we knew growing up that the stuff wasn't good for you! WTF?

Anyone else but me surprised that the alcoholic beverage industry is FOR this new regulation? It's not very often you see an industry excited about a new government regulation...

I agree with this new proposal. As mentioned prior, it's idiotic to think that someone would go "oh look, it's got a label, must be good for me" - and people who honestly think like that are probably not the creme de la creme we want breeding...

I would like to know, though, how many calories are in a can of beer. I think this would be especially useful for people who are on counting diets (whether calories, protein, etc).

For thousands of years, the only liquid that you could consume that wouldn't lead to your immediate death you was beer, wine, or spirits.

But anyway, there has been considerable research that has suggested that Stouts not only really aren't bad for you, but can prevent blood clots and heart attacks. Guinness has more antioxidants than almost any "synthetic" drink (soda, etc)... and there's really no reason that a pint a day is any worse for you than a can of soda.

As for the calorie question, if you're on a diet, you shouldn't be drinking beer to begin with. Low calorie beer, like say Mick Ultra, has so little alcohol content in it -- comparitively -- that you may as well just have a SpriteZero and say it's Gin and Tonic.

here's some nutritional information for beer

[beer.about.com]

Here's some for potato chips

[www.dietfacts.com]

Revealing, but no one is coming to the conclusion that this stuff is good for you.

If alcoholic beverages had to have ingredient lists -- like every other beverage we consume -- I bet we'd find that mass-produced beers and flavored liquors are loaded with artificial flavorings, artificial colors, sweeteners, preservatives and a bunch of other chemicals. It doesn't mean people wouldn't still drink them if they knew, but it would be nice to have the choice.

If virtually all over the other beverages I can buy in a store have to have nutrition facts, why would alcoholic beverages be any different?

It would be a good idea especially(like TEDSEZ said) for those flavored malt beverages. I've reluctantly drank a few Captain Morgan Parrot Bays and the like at parties because I hate beer. But it would be nice to know if the red coloring is from carmine or not.

@jaredharley:
Many states prohibit companies from listing the alcohol content of beerages like beer. Their stated concern is a "race to the top" as beer makers try to max out the legally-allowed ABV per serving. Since this is a federal regulation, it would override state requirements to the contrary.

I'll tell you why a drinks nutrition label is being welcomed by the drinks industry: marketing "diet" beers to sad alcoholics who think a 160 calorie drink will make their Friday night binge less guilty.

I've been wishing they had nutrition labels for a while now.

And please - alcohol has been legal in this country for a very long time now. We can't trust them to voluntarily label - not a single company has done it yet.

The free market isn't really free, nor should it necessarily be. As long as profit is king in this country, comapnies are predatorial and we should have laws that help protect and inform consumers.

Yes, definitely! It would be great not to have to go online to see how much alcohol is in a particular beer.

As for regular nutritional labeling, there should at the very least be a caloric content & ingredients listing. Mmm, imagine some of the weird stuff that's probably in Bud Light and its ilk.

@MichaelBrazell:
That is because we Europeans didn't figure out for a thousand years that you can boil water to make it safe. I always thank my stars that Germanic people didn't figure out how to boil water and that is why they developed the massive beer production industry.;)

On the other hand, if you want to add a label, you would have to declare beer and the like a 'foodstuff' That is why you don't have nutritional labels on Antifreeze and honey based legwax. It send the wrong message that you can get nutrition from alcohol. You get a little nutrition from beer, but the effect is reversed after you drink more.
Comapnies already advertise low cal info like on Guinness and can continue to do so, but listing it like on a carton of milk is probably not the best idea.

(And I know, the same argument could be used for Ho-Hos and Twinkies.. ;) Calling them 'foodstuff' is probably a misnomer.

What are you all?
A bunch of women?

Diet Coke wouldn't be a "foodstuff" either and they are all sorts of labels and warning labels on Diet Coke.

Yes, I'd like to have this information. And since they're prone to making nutritional claims--related to carb or calorie content--I have no problem with their being compelled to do it. Let's face it, this is probably the least egregious of the nanny state intrusions, and it gives people tools for responsible consumption.

Having beer labels with the ingredients listed can only help consumers make informed decisions. Right now, it's exceptionally difficult to locate information about what's in various beers, let alone try to compare beers.

And I think most people will be very surprised at all the ingredients that are in most mass produced beers.