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  The Society for Consumer Advocates and Mavens

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MICROBEERS

These typically overpriced beers, with all their funny, cute, odd-sounding names, pitched to consumers as "boutique" beers and supposedly handcrafted and brewed in small batches, many of these micro-beers may actually be manufactured by the larger name brand brewers!

Critics suggest that very few of these micro-beers may actually be brewed in small, micro batches like their package labeling or advertisements seem to suggest.

America's largest brewers, like those we always see advertising on network TV sunday sportscasts, may have contracts to brew the beer of the small, micro-brewers. Looking at the micro-beer package labels it may be hard to tell exactly who brews your favorite micro-beer.

Furthermore, many micro-brewers may even get a hefty tax break or credit every year from U.S. taxpayers to help these so-called small brewers grow and expand, even though the majority of the brewing is contracted out to the larger nationally known brewers to manufacture, bottle and label the micro-beers.

Remember, make sure you are buying your favorite micro-beer, or any beer for that matter, for "taste" and not just because it costs more or has a cute name or gimmicky story to tell on its packaging or label.

SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: NBC-TV DATELINE 10/13/96

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