MillerCoors Puts Caffeine-Booze Drink on Hold

(MoneyWatch)  American brewers already have enough troubles stemming from their marketing of beer to young people. Even before the introduction of Spuds MacKenzie, it's been fairly obvious that, for many of their best-known brands, their most coveted customers are young men in ballcaps. And the difference between them and teenagers is negligible, and a purely legal one.

So it's probably a good thing that MillerCoors, under pressure from 25 states and various public-interest groups, decided to postpone its plans to introduce Sparks Red, an "energy drink" that is an unholy brew of alcohol and caffeine. It's a new, higher-alcohol version of Sparks, which is already on the market, but shouldn't be.

The federal government had earlier OK'd Sparks Red for sale.

Attorneys general from 25 states earlier this week pleaded with MillerCoors not to release the product. In a statement, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said the brewer was "demonstrating an utter disregard for the safety of young consumers."

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Sparks Red is a "recipe for disaster" because the caffeine reduces drinkers' awareness of how drunk they are.

Anheuser-Busch dropped its own similar product earlier this year, claiming that it didn't catch on.

MillerCoors should do the same ?€" just drop Sparks Red entirely and concentrate on marketing beer. To grownups.