In a surprise turnaround, Anheuser-Busch announced that it will cease production and marketing of "Spykes," a malt liquor beverage that critics charged was appealing to underage drinkers, the Associated Press and other media reported on May 17. 

Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch announced the decision to a stunned audience at the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association annual conference. "We heard concerns from parents...in no means was the [product] intended for anyone under 21," Mr. Busch said, as quoted in Beer Business Daily. "We're going to take the product out of the marketplace."

The malt beverage came under fire from critics who alleged that Spykes was designed to attract underage drinkers. The company steadfastly rejected this criticism, but acknowledged that its decision to remove the product was partly due to the outcry.

Anheuser-Busch introduced Spykes in test markets two years ago, and nationwide in January, but the product has not sold to expectations. "Due to its limited volume potential and unfounded criticism, we have ceased production of Spykes," said Michael J. Owens, Anheuser-Busch's marketing vice president. 

Owens maintained that the product did not appeal to underage drinkers, saying younger drinkers prefer beverages with a higher alcohol content. "Nonetheless, it was unduly attacked by perennial anti-alcohol groups, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and the Marin Institute,'' he said.

"It's fine to point fingers, but it wasn't just us screaming bloody murder against this product," responded Michele Simon, the Marin Institute's research and policy director.

Several national and statewide coalitions, including CSPI, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America and the Oregon Partnership, mobilized their membership to complain about Sypkes to Anheuser-Busch and local distributors and retailers.

Concerns about Spykes were also strongly raised by a group of 29 state attorneys general. "This move by Anheuser-Busch, ceasing sales of Spykes after attorneys general raised significant concerns, is a significant victory in the fight against underage drinking," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

Blumenthal said that Spykes appealed to underage drinkers because of its taste and how it was packaged and marketed. Spykes is a two-ounce beverage designed to be mixed with beer and other drinks, or taken as a shot. It contains 12 percent alcohol by volume, and comes in four flavors – lime, mango, melon, and hot chocolate. Spykes also contains caffeine, ginseng, and guarana, ingredients of energy drinks that have been popular with young people.

The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)  also weighed in, ruling in early May that Spykes' labeling violated federal law because it was too difficult to read. Anheuser-Busch halted production of Spykes for a week to bring the labeling into compliance. The TTB acted after a complaint from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

George Hacker, director of CSPI's Alcohol Policies Project, said "Anheuser-Busch did the responsible thing, if begrudgingly, by pouring its caffeinated, child-friendly alcoholic drink known as Spykes down the drain. But the real question is how this ill-considered product slithered from the drawing board to the assembly line in the first place."

"Spykes were 12% alcohol depth-charges meant to be mixed with beer," said Bruce Livingston, Executive Director of Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog. "They were clearly designed to appeal to teenage girls. We can only hope that August Busch will think twice in the future before pushing more alcopops at kids."