subject: Breakfast Beer from Moa Gets Health Experts in a Huff [print this page] Breakfast Beer from Moa Gets Health Experts in a Huff
Most people tend to look askance at cracking open an ice cold beer first thing in the morning. However, Moa Brewing in New Zealand is looking to change all that with the debut of their "breakfast beer," Moa Breakfast. The brew is a cherry flavored wheat beer specifically designed to take the place of champagne in a champagne breakfast (or a champagne brunch).
Moa began marketing the beer toward women as an option for breakfast and brunch, but it's not getting a lot of support from health experts. While the health benefits of drinking beer have become better established, the problem for health experts here is more the time of day when the beer is consumed than any physical benefits or problems that might come from the beverage itself. There's quite a hot debate going at the moment. Some detractors are claiming that it is irresponsible of the company to encourage early morning drinking or "pathological behavior" to quote one expert.
The real story here is that morning beer drinking is nothing new, particularly outside of Westernized nations. There is a long tradition of consuming beer in the morning or at brunch, though watchdog groups certainly show no reverence for the idea. Of course, if you crack open a beer for breakfast so that you can then drive inebriated, you should not be drinking beer (or any alcoholic beverage) at all.
It seems that the folks over at Moa brewing certainly have come up with an excellent marketing idea even if the beer never really sees much early-morning use. There are few more pervasive marketing methods than by courting controversy and while this beer is certainly capable of standing on its own merits (regardless of the time of day you drink it), the contentious debate has gone a long way toward making people aware of it that might have missed it otherwise.
If the ploy is successful and Moa Breakfast really takes off, you might expect to see quite a few other brews marketed in the same way. While such might not happen here in the States for years to come, you can bet that there will be more in New Zealand and Australia.
Of course, downing a beer with your morning waffles might be a little more than your stomach can handle. Would you be willing to start your day off with a cherry wheat lager? I know that I'm willing to give it a shot.
