Do gentlemen prefer blondes?

Call it sheer blonde ambition: brewers have lined up other blondes, for example Bondi Blonde, Classic Blonde, Haagen Blonde, Natural Blonde, Platinum Blonde, Virgin Blonde.

Sydney-based brewing company Brothers Ink has introduced yet another: Skinny Blonde, a lager in bottles with labels that feature Daisy, a 1950s pin-up girl. As this beer is consumed and the bottle warms up, Daisy’s red bikini fades to reveal all. The use of modern ink technology – a world first – is gaining the attention of marketing executives.

In the meantime critics have been mounting an attack on low-carbohydrate beers, which are popular with health-conscious drinkers. The Dieticians Association of Australia said that low-carb beers have no health benefits at all and are merely a clever marketing ploy. Spokesman Trent Watson said beer had very few carbohydrates anyway and the difference between standard and low-carb beer was about half a jellybean worth of carbohydrates. Dr Watson said further that it was the kilojoule count that people needed to watch if they wanted to be healthier. Mid-strength or low-alcohol beers were a better choice than low-carb beers in terms of health benefits.

A Foster’s spokesman replied that low-carb beers had never been marketed as diet lagers, saying “I don’t think any brewer would hold beer out as a health drink and we don’t intend to do so.”