Europe ponders beer labels

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted May 2nd 2006 @ 4:05PM

Brewers in Europe may soon have to provide complete lists off ingredients on their beer bottles, according to a recent BBC News story. The European Commission hopes to have reworked many labeling standards, including those for alcoholic beverages, by the end of the year. While this might not be a big deal to breweries in Germany, where beer can legally only contain water, hops (right), yeast and malted barley or wheat, plenty of other breweries use chemicals that, while safe, may sound less than appealing to consumers. Propylene glycol alginate, for example, is a chemical derived from algae, used to maintain a thicker head on a beer. Personally, I'd be glad to know a little more about what else is in my beer. I'm sure others would too.

Filed Under: Business, Newspapers, Drink Recipes
Tags: additives, beer, bottles, breweries, brewing, europe, label, labeling, purity, standards