Drink-a-Pint

GlobeLife is reporting that InBev is giving Canadian drinkers an exclusive taste of Stella Artois Légère, a lower-calorie and, unfortunately, lower-alcohol version of the brew before a planned worldwide rollout.

“Consumers were ready in Canada,” said Martin Archambault, national marketing manager for international premium brands at Labatt Breweries, the Canadian unit of Belgium-based giant InBev, which makes Stella Artois and a host of other brands. He adds that Canada is perceived as a favourable testing ground for premium beers, particularly European brands such as Stella Artois. “[Canadians] are a little bit more educated in terms of what they drink, and the export segment in Canada is growing really fast.”

The light version of the beer weighs in at just 4% alcohol by volume, as compared to 5.2% for full-caloried Stella, but is actually selling well after its first two months on the market.

Also joining in on the premium light beer bandwagon are Grolsch Premium Light and Grolsch Premium Blond Lager. The Blond Lager has been available in Ontario since the Spring and is ecpected to be available throughout Canada and the United States in the coming weeks. The Blond Lager has a reported 4.2% abv.

Apparently, the trend towards more light beers will probably continue for the foreseeable future as six of the top 10 beers sold in the United States are “light” and accounting for nearly half of all beer sold. Meanwhile, I’ll gladly help keep that figure from reaching the tipping point by buying nothing but full-bodied, calorific craft beer.