Nestle Patents Coffee Beer

Dotnaught writes "New Scientist reports that Nestec, a Nestle subsidiary, has applied for a patent on a fermented coffee beverage. In other words, coffee beer -- it foams like beer and packs the caffeine of coffee, with "fruity and/or floral notes due to the fermentation of the coffee aroma."

Clarification

[Ctrl+Alt+De1337]

If it looks like beer, foams like beer, but smells and tases like coffee, then it's this stuff. It has caffiene, but no alcohol. I'm wondering if this is just a novelty, or if there really is some place for it in the market since I think this probably would be more expensive than regular coffee. I would think if people want coffee they'd get coffee, and if they want beer they'd get beer. It just strikes me as a solution without a problem. A very clever solution, but still one without a problem.

YRO?

[kihjin]

You'd think they'd at least come up with a better name for this 'drink,' instead of concatenating the two ingredients. Anyone who wants to see the patent application, the it's here [wipo.int] [pdf]. I think I'll pass on the taste-test.

Give me Java Porter any day...

[GileadGreene]

Eh. This stuff has no alcohol content. No thanks! I'll take one of the Mountain Sun Brewery's [mountainsunpub.com] Java Porters over this crap any day.

Molson Kick Is Already Here

[Anonymous Coward]

It tastes like crap, but http://www.molsonkick.ca/product.php?LANG=en [molsonkick.ca] Molson Kick is caffenated beer. "*Contains 3 g of guarana / 55 mg of caffeine per 341 ml bottle **Contains 3.1 g of guarana / 57 mg of caffeine per 355 ml bottle/can"

a couple of contentions

[Kargan]

There are actually a ton of coffee beers, although not in the same sense as the article suggests:

http://www.ratebeer.com/ [ratebeer.com] and search for 'coffee', 'mocha' or 'java'.

However, these are simply Porters, Stouts, etc. that are brewed as they would normally be but with the addition of coffee, being a complimentary and intuitive adjunct since roasted malts frequently contribute a coffeeish, roasty sort of malt bitterness and flavor to many dark beers.

In fact, this Nestle product wouldn't even seem to be eligible to be called beer since it doesn't appear to contain malt, a prime ingredient of beer along with water, hops and yeast.

Re:Buzz Beer

[QuantumG]

Call me crazy, but wouldn't the patent actually cover their particular implementation of a coffee-beer like substance? i.e., wouldn't their patent actually have a formular in there somewhere which describes what they are patenting? Looking at the Abstract for the patent they are pretty specific what it is the patent covers. I don't think Drew Carey specified in his show a technique for making the beer or the specific ratios of methylbutanol to methylbutanol and thioacetates to thiols. Not the mention the fact that Drew Carey made an alcoholic beer, and this patent only covers a process to make a non-alcoholic coffee smelling beer.

But hey, this is Slashdot, don't let any of this stop you from declaring that patents are evil and that nothing deserves patent protection.

Re:Nestle owns all European chocolate

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know if you're referring to all European chocolate available in the US or all European chocolate in general. In the latter case it's not really true. Here in The Netherlands there are some major independent chocolate manufacturers that are either independent or owned by a non-Nestle multinational. Examples: Verkade, Droste, De Ruyter.

Re:Nestle owns all European chocolate

[10Ghz]

There are plenty of chocolate-makers in Europe, besides Nestle. Being in Finland, the two dominant companies here are Cloetta/Fazer and Kraft Foods (which owns such brands as Marabou and O'boy, as far as chocolate is concerned). There ARE products by Nestle available here (Kitkat for example), but they are not the dominant player. Nestle might be the biggest one overall, but they do not dominate the field, IMO.

Re:Nestle owns all European chocolate

[jonwil]

What about Cadbury and Mars (who make mars, m&m, snickers and other things I think). Both are (at least in australia) quite large.

Re:Nestle owns all European chocolate

[Marcuzio]

Nestle basically bought all of the chocolate manufacturing in Europe..

What about Lindt [lindtchocolate.com]? I don't think is Nestle owned and there are many "little" chocolate prodoucers in Europe that make some delicious product. Here in italy we have NOVI, that's quite good but if you are searching something particular and you are in tuscany try the one from slitti [slitti.it]

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Re:Nestle owns all European chocolate

[Hadlock]

Look in to the history of chocolate. It was Mr. Nestle himself that invented powdered milk. That's where the name - Nestle - came from. Of fucking course it's made with powdered milk. The whole point of using powdered milk is that it allows you to control the moisture content more closely - creating a more even product. Using fresh milk - and calling it quality as a result - is a pure marketing gimmick.

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Re:Not a bad patent...

[steeviant]

You are a shrill for Nestle

I think you mean shill. :D

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Just home brew your own

[hubie]

Here [byo.com] is a nice article on how to home brew your own coffee ale and how to best brew with coffee and/or coffee beans. For those who haven't tried, home brewing is really rather easy (if you can make homemade soup, you can make homemade beer). The only downside (in my opinion) is all the sanitation and cleaning up, i.e., "doin' the dishes." I presently have a Christmas Ale in the fermenter that is about as black as coffee (I hope it mellows a bit between now and Christmas).

Here is one recipe from that link (I just might have to try it):

Coffee Imperial Stout
(5 gal/19L, all-grain)
OG: 1.067 FG: 1.016
IBU: 70 SRM: 35
by Doug McNair, Redhook Breweries

Ingredients
8.0 lbs. (3.9 kg) 2-row pale malt
2.25 lbs. (1 kg) crystal (60ö80¡ L)
1.5 lbs. (0.7 kg) wheat malt
1.25 lbs. (0.6 kg) chocolate malt
0.5 lb. (0.2 kg) roasted barley
0.5 lb. (0.2 kg) black patent malt
18.75 AAU Northern Brewer hops (bittering)
(2.5 oz./71 g of 7.5% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (42 g) finishing hops
(Northern Brewer or Cascade)
15 oz. (445 mL) of espresso
Ale yeast (your choice)

Step by Step
Mash in all grains at 149¡ F (65¡ C). Hold until converted, about 1 hour. Mash off at 170¼ F (77¡ C) and begin lautering. Sparge to achieve eight gallons (30 L) of wort. Bring to a boil and add 2.5 oz. (71 g) boiling hops. Total boil is 70 minutes. After the boil, turn off the heat and add 1.5 oz. (43 g) finish hops for five minutes. Cool to 70¼ F (21¡ C) and ferment with ale yeast. Original gravity goal is 17.5¡ Plato (1.069 SG). Terminal gravity will be pretty high, approximately 1.016. Add espresso at end of primary fermentation, bottle and enjoy!

Nestle owns all European chocolate

[Reack]

Nestle is the worlds largest food & beverage manufacturer, but they do not own all of the Chocolate. There are plenty of other brands: Masterfood (Mars, M&M', etc) Ferrero (Rocher, Rafaelo, Nutella, tic-tac, etc) Cadbury Lindt Plus Nestle gives your the 5 worlds largest manufacturers. Nestle is just so big as it owns things you wouldn't even know about. Such as a large share in L'Oreal cosmetics. They certainly spread their wings.