In recent years Anheuser-Busch, Miller and other breweries have introduced a line of contemporary malt beverage products, in an attempt to maintain a market share with young drinkers. Along with a name that evokes hip-hop slang, these products appeal to the changing tastes of the market segment, now referred to as the "cocktail culture crowd"- young drinkers who increasingly favor the wide variety of flavors and colors of mixed drinks. Consistent with the trend, these beers are marketed as energy drinks and are infused with caffeine, guarana and ginseng producing a beer hybrid offering a sweet, often tart taste.

Anheuser-Busch Product TILT 8% A/V TILT 6.6% A/V

Sparks Steel Brewing Company 6% A/V

Ricochet Ricochet Beverages Produced by Albertson’s 6% A/V

Quote from: “This “beer” is totally for the Red Bull market. It doesn’t taste like beer. It tastes like Red Bull. There’s like a moment when you first drink it where you can kind of taste a little bit of beer… for about 5 seconds… then it’s all sugary sweet.” B^E by Anheuser-Busch 6.6% A/V

B^E by Anheuser-Busch 6.6% A/V Quote from: “ It’s got that sneaky sweet thing going on where you can barely taste the alcohol. ”

Liquid Core/Liquid Charge Energy Drink Review Liquid Core and Liquid Charge Energy Drinks With Alcohol, containing Taurine, Guarana, Caffeine, & Ginseng 13.8 Proof (6.9% A/V) Charge Beverage Corporation Portland, OR

Hurricane High Gravity HG by Anheuser-Busch 8.1% A/V There are numerous HG brands, all touting more than 8% A/V

Peels by Anheuser-Busch 5% A/V

Wild Blue by Anheuser-Busch 8% A/V

SPYKES by Anheuser-Busch SPYKES SPYKES is a product designed to compete with hard liquor shots. SPYKES is a malt beverage with caffeine added with a sweet taste that finishes hot. SPYKES is offered in flavors called “Spicy Lime”, “Hot Chocolate”, “Spicy Mango”, and “Hot Melons” 12% A/V

180 Blue by Anheuser-Busch Does not contain Alcohol

The Boston Phoenix Catch the buzz Energy drinks fused with alcohol make for kicky cocktails BY CAMILLE DODERO “ON A RECENT NIGHT, I was ambling around Brooklyn with an open container of alcohol. Not very smart to be walking around with booze on the street, I know. But it was Sparks, a citrusy malt- beverage blend in an orange-and-silver can designed to look like a six-inch battery. The drink’s container is so innocuous, so childlike, I’d forgotten that I was, well, breaking the law. A cop pulled up beside me and spotted the can in my hand. "Miss," he called, "what’s that you’re drinking?“ Oops. I covered the can’s six-percent- alcohol inscription with my thumb. "Energy drink?“ He stared suspiciously. "Oh. Something new?“ "Yep. Something new."