'mutant' Beer From Smirnoff

[quantocks]

does anyone know just what the hell this stuff is ?

Looking and tasting like a vodka mixer, the new Smirnoff Platinum is colourless, has a citrus taste and contains six per cent alcohol, but is a brewed, beer-based product, therefore avoiding the tax.

it looks like Vodka, tastes (apparently like Smirnoff Citrus/black) and is a beer drink. But it's clear as water? it's also 6% per bottle.

 

[Tyred]

Purely a method to avoid paying the alcopop tax. I'm unsure how they get it clear as water - maybe some chemical treatment or maybe some sort of heavy filtering method. the worrying thing is that it hasn't taken them that long to work a way around the tax.

Sounds like a 'clear' megaswill with citrus flavouring - I doubt if hops would be used to get the taste.

 

[barfridge]

does anyone know just what the hell this stuff is ?



it looks like Vodka, tastes (apparently like Smirnoff Citrus/black) and is a beer drink. But it's clear as water? it's also 6% per bottle.

It's complete genius from the manufacturer, that's what it is.

Talk about seeing an opportunity and going for it.

 

[pmolou]

yer is quite smart and was always gonna happen, no one likes to lose money (especially huge companies)
wonder what the government gonna do now?

 

[quantocks]

I'm just very interested in how they did it, malt alternative?? can we brew with such a thing? and if the government now cracks down on this, will it affect beer nation-wide?

 

[kram]

What colour do you get with (no boil) 3kgs of sugar and water (plus whatever else they have to stick in it)?

 

[JonnyAnchovy]

and if the government now cracks down on this, will it affect beer nation-wide?

Doubt they'll extend the tax to beer - just think of the political fallout!

Heard a story about this today on the radio - apparenty the legeslation is being changed to close this loophole - they'll have to get very specific with the definition of an alci-pop!


I remember a clear-phase in the early 90's - clear beer, clear cola etc. No idea how it was achieved.

 

[danbeer]

IIRC most, if not all RTD's in the US are 'malt based beverages'.

Done to minimise exise on the product, much as in ths case.

I'm surprised there haven't been more product like this put out already....

 

[sponge]

Would it just be a sugar and water based 'wort' and then stop fermentation after they reach the 6% limit and kill the yeast to add more sugar or what? I'm very intrigued. I hate the concept and everything that goes with it (keeps my alco-pop drinking mates on this and they will probably claim they are drinking beer ) , just very curious as to how they make it

 

[kook]

IIRC most, if not all RTD's in the US are 'malt based beverages'.

Done to minimise exise on the product, much as in ths case.

I'm surprised there haven't been more product like this put out already....

Yep - nothing new, they've been the norm in the US for a long time.

IIRC there have been malt based RTDs in Aus too before - weren't "West Coast Coolers" actually malt based?

Would it just be a sugar and water based 'wort' and then stop fermentation after they reach the 6% limit and kill the yeast to add more sugar or what? I'm very intrigued. I hate the concept and everything that goes with it (keeps my alco-pop drinking mates on this and they will probably claim they are drinking beer ) , just very curious as to how they make it

Filtration.

 

[King Brown]

Quite possibly brewed from grain much as vodka would be, then instead of being distilled like it normally would be, might just be filtered and bottled, leaving it a weaker strength?

 

[big d]

Clear beer? As in water clear.Just not beer in my book.

Cheers
Big D

 

[Black Dog Brewery]

Simple - Hand craft a beer with the finest malts, hops and yeast, ferment out and then run the wash---oops I meant the beer through a "Water purifier", add a little bottle or two of that vodka flavoured stuff and Bingo you have a beer based RTD Vodka
:icon_cheers:

BDB

 

[Kai]

Yep - nothing new, they've been the norm in the US for a long time.

IIRC there have been malt based RTDs in Aus too before - weren't "West Coast Coolers" actually malt based?



Filtration.

I thought West Coast Coolers were wine based? I admit I was a little too young at the time to be drinking them regularly

Wasn't Two Dogs malt-based? Though I do recall it had to go through a reformulation at some point... I think...

 

[lagers44]

Wasn't Two Dogs malt-based? Though I do recall it had to go through a reformulation at some point... I think...

don't forget that E and others or it's time were all malt based , so it's nothing new except that the media is beefing up a story & making something from nothing.

Lagers

 

[tourist]

Do those chicks look about 16, or am I just getting old? Heard some pollie on the radio discussing this (or a related) product and by the sounds of things the tax laws will be amended pretty shortly to include these types of products that are quite blatantly aimed at the younger gen. Get 'em while they're hot, ladies!

 

[Swinging Beef]

I dont know why they dont just sell fruit lambics like Kreik or Framboise... they dont taste or look anything like beer, either.

 

[MHB]

There have been clear beers tried in the market from Miller and if memory serves, Coopers tried one back in the 80s they all appear to have gone belly up.

The Clear Beer was made from beer, run through a Reverse Osmosis filter which removed all the interesting things like flavour and colour.


View attachment 24085

Brewed RTDs arent new (as mentioned above); they just take advantage of the lower tax rate on beer and wine, as apposed to spirits.
You can make your own RTD's

The base (beer (without hops), wine or other fermentable concoction) is fermented to dryness (use a highly attenuative yeast like EC1118, sugar will stuff up the carbon faster) filtered, then treated with activated carbon (selected for flavour removal) and decolourising carbon (usually very fine carbon dust made from wood), filtered again to get any traces of carbon out.

Add sugar and desired sticky sweet flavouring carbonate.

Pack in over decorated highly coloured bottles and your very own jail bait lure is ready for deployment, on such thinking fortunes are made, just have to love marketing dont you?

MHB

 

[Swinging Beef]

Anyone remember the 1980s bottled product called:

:Legsopener:

??

 

[raven19]

What colour do you get with (no boil) 3kgs of sugar and water (plus whatever else they have to stick in it)?

A sugar wash as above will be clear, but have no real flavour or body. Just alcohol and water and some interesting aftertastes no doubt being just sugar...