Drinkable beer inadmissible?

Alcoholic beer must not be advertised with the term "drinkable". The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now also confirmed that this constitutes a health-related claim.

The Allgäuer Härle brewery has been advertising since the 1930s with the slogan "Wohl bekomms!". It advertised beer varieties with an alcohol content of 2.9% to 5.1% on its website as "drinkable".

A consumer protection association saw in this a health-related claim. In the first two instances, this view was confirmed. A health-related aspect is to be affirmed even where an indication implies that negative or harmful effects on health normally associated with consumption of the product are absent or less pronounced in the advertised product (see here).

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now also confirmed this.

Decision of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) – "drinkable" in beer advertising inadmissible

By judgment of 17 May 2018 – I ZR 252/16 (cf. Press release 93/19) the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) dismissed the brewery's appeal and decided that the use of the term "drinkable" in beer advertising is inadmissible.

For alcoholic beverages with more than 1.2% by volume, health-related claims are prohibited not only in the labelling of the products but also in advertising for these beverages. A "health-related claim" is present where the indication promises an improvement in the state of health thanks to consumption of a foodstuff. However, an indication is also health-related where it expresses that consumption of the foodstuff has no harmful effects on health that in other cases may be associated with consumption of such a foodstuff.

The term "drinkable" is understood by the relevant circles as "healthy", "beneficial" and "easily digestible". When used for foodstuffs, it expresses that the foodstuff is well absorbed in the digestive system and – even with prolonged consumption – well tolerated. This term is understood in this way also in the context of the advertising in question. The advertising does not indicate that the term "drinkable" is intended to describe only the taste of the beer.

Conclusion

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now definitively confirmed that the term "drinkable" in the context of beer advertising constitutes an inadmissible health-related claim. Since the brewery did not expressly point out here that the advertising statement referred to the taste of the beer, it ultimately could not persuade the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) with this argument either.