Brewers Association Creates Beer Nutrient Database

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In an effort to help small breweries comply with new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) menu labeling requirements and avoid costly nutritional testing, the Brewers Association has developed a beer nutrient database that reflects the average nutritional value of more than 40 popular craft styles.

The database, available to members on the trade organization’s website, allows brewers to determine calories and carbohydrates using accurate gravity measurements and a digital calculator developed by the BA and the Scandinavian School of Brewing.

The new database also “reflects average nutritional value of nine lesser nutrients,” according to a BA statement. Those “lesser nutrients” include total fat, calories from fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, dietary fiber, sugars, and protein.

The launch of the database stems from new FDA rules that go into effect on May 5 and will require all restaurants and foodservice establishments with more than 20 locations to disclose the caloric value and supplementary health criteria of beer, as well as other food and drinks, that are sold on-premise.

As a result of the new regulations, which were first announced in 2014, many small breweries feared they would be expected to pay for costly nutritional analyses of each product they made if they wanted to stay on tap at popular retail outlets such as Buffalo Wild Wings or Yard House.

When the FDA issued guidance on the new menu labeling requirements, in September 2015, White Labs Inc., a San Diego-based fermentation sciences lab, told Brewbound that it offered a nutritional analysis package — including caloric, fat, protein and carbohydrate information, among other facts — for $635.

Last December, however, Brewers Association CEO Bob Pease struck a deal with FDA officials allowing the organization to offer its members a database, broken down by beer style, which included average analyses of nutrients other than carbohydrates and calories.

So instead of paying for their products to be tested individually, BA members may choose to provide retailers with an average nutrient analysis for popular beers such as American-style IPA and German-style Pilsner, among others.

And, in some instances, retailers will also be allowed to present consumers with nutritional information in ranges, according to the FDA website.

The BA currently has nutritional information available for 41 styles of beer, as defined by its own “Beer Style Guidelines.” The organization also said it would continue to expand the database as “more analytical testing is conducted.”