To help small breweries comply with new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) menu labeling requirements, which go into effect May 5, the Brewers Association has developed a beer nutrient database and made the information available free to members on its website. The database offers the average nutritional value of more than 40 craft beers styles, including calories, carbohydrates, total fat, calories from fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, dietary fiber, sugars, and protein.
In December 2016, in response to fears within the industry of prohibitively expensive analysis (each beer style a brewery produced would need to be tested), Brewers Association CEO Bob Pease negotiated with the FDA to make this information available online. Now, instead of paying for products to be tested individually, BA members can choose to provide retailers with an average nutrient analysis instead. Currently there are 41 styles of beer in the database, and expansion is ongoing.
