PORTLAND, Maine - Beer. It's not just for couch potatoes anymore.
A Bavarian brewmeister is touting its no-alcohol beer as thelatest sport drink for athletes, handing it out at the finish lineof sporting events and touting its regenerative benefits.
Unlike Gatorade, Erdinger Alkoholfrei is served up with a frothyhead. And it comes in one color - a golden hue - unlike conventionalsport drinks.
Several top athletes from Europe quaffed the beverage from giantmugs on the podium of the World Cup biathlons held this month innorthern Maine.
The company touts the beverage as an isotonic, vitamin-rich, no-additive beverage with natural regenerative powers that helpathletes recover from a workout. In other words, it's carbohydrate-loaded refreshment without the alcoholic buzz of beer or the jitterscaused by some energy drinks.
'It's a very healthy product,' said Glenn McDonald, U.S. managerfor Erdinger. 'Overseas, it's very popular. It's the No. 1 non-alcohol beer in Germany.'
Even though it's called alcohol-free, Alkoholfrei still containsless than 0.5 percent alcohol. That makes it verboten for anyoneunder 21 in Maine. Other states, like California, allow minors tobuy alcohol-free beer.
Promoted as a 'sports and fitness drink,' Erdinger begantargeting athletes in 2001 in Europe with an advertising campaignfeaturing a pair of triathletes. Its popularity quickly grew inEurope, where it's often distributed for free in the finishing areaof sporting events.
Marketing beer as a sport drink for athletes is a new concept inthe U.S., though McDonald points out that Alkoholfrei can be enjoyedby anyone, not just athletes.
Whether Americans - couch potatoes and athletes alike - are readyto embrace another no-alcohol beer is unclear. Sales of no-alcoholbeer have been declining for more than a decade in United States, soany new entrant faces an uphill battle, said Benj Steinman, editorof Beer Marketers Insights.
Erdinger, which is already sold in 45 U.S. states, has identifiedAlkoholfrei as a priority brand as part of a larger push into NorthAmerica, McDonald said.
The 125-year-old company, which makes Alkoholfrei in the samebrewery outside Munich where it turns out conventional wheat beersfor suds-loving Germans, promotes itself at cycling and runningevents in the summer. In the winter, it's one of the main sponsorsof the World Cup biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing andrifle marksmanship.
At World Cup events, Erdinger banners are prominently placed inthe stadium and on the course for visibility. Erdinger is also onsome of the 'bibs' worn by athletes.
'It's not bad. It's not bad,' said Max Cobb, president and CEO ofthe U.S. Biathlon Association, based in Maine, who has sampledAlkoholfrei. 'It's an interesting thought to think of thecarbohydrates and everything. They're definitely something athletesneed at the end of an event.'
No-alcohol beer made a splash in the 1990s with the entry ofAnheuser-Busch's O'Douls and Miller's Sharp's, but the novelty of so-called near-beer wore off for some consumers. 'Part of the appeal ofbeer is the ethanol,' said Harry Schuhmacher, editor of BeerBusiness Daily.
Erdinger hopes to win over consumers with a great German beerflavor that others lack. It doesn't come cheap, however, at about$10 for a six-pack.
As for its health claims, a University of Maine nutritionist isskeptical.
Beer contains sodium, potassium, carbohydrates and B vitamins,all of which are good, but they're not found at the optimal levelsfor an athlete, said professor Mary Ellen Camire.
'It will help with rehydration. Whether it's the ideal drink tohave, I'm not sure,' she said. 'Surely if people are looking tocelebrate, it's better to celebrate with that than a regular beerafter a workout, because a regular beer has alcohol and that woulddehydrate you further.'
The Associated Press Andrea Henkel of Germany poses with a largeglass of Erdinger no-alcohol beer after winning the womens sprintrace at the biathlon World Cup, in Fort Kent, Maine.
