Be Careful to Label Chocolate Beer Correctly

Brewers that use brown sugar, candy sugar, maple sugar/syrup or molasses/backstrap molasses in the fermentation of a malt beverage do not need to name the product or style to refer to these ingredients. Instead, the malt beverage may be labeled as a “beer,” an “ale” and so fourth.

 However, federal law prohibits brewers from making misleading references to the use of the chocolate malt by designating a product as, for example, “chocolate stout,” if it contains no added chocolate.