Alcoholic lemonade volume on the rise.

Associated Press--This isn't the lemonade that kids grow up selling in the front yard.

Lemon-flavored drinks spiked with about as much alcohol as beer are growing in sales after major alcoholic beverage powers like Anheuser-Busch, Miller Brewing and Seagram took notice of their market appeal.

But critics say the beverages mask the taste of alcohol and appeal to the sweet tooth of underage drinkers and others who may not otherwise like that taste of alcohol. Similar drinks marketed in Britain in the mid-90s were called "alcopops" by critics who said they appealed those below the legal drinking age.

"This is a drink that is going to be popular with kids, and a responsible marketer of alcohol should not be marketing it," said James Mosher, senior policy adviser at the Mann Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems, based in San Rafael, Calif.

The beverages, with about 5 percent alcohol, sport folksy names like Mike's Hard Lemonade, Rick's Spiked Lemonade, Doc Otis' Hard Lemon Flavored Malt Beverage and Hooper's Hooch Lemon Brew.

Their makers note they list the alcohol content on the labels. They say they're not aiming at youngsters but rather at adults who seek variety in beverages and may even spike their own lemonade at home.

Sales of hard lemonade rose fourfold last year to 4.1 million cases worth about $90 million at retail, according to the trade publication Impact. The beverages are generally priced at $5.50 to $7 for a six-pack--on par with specialty beers.

Miller Brewing Co., whose Henry Weinhard division introduced Henry's Hard Lemonade in five Pacific Northwest states last month, expects the market could reach $350 million nationally by the end of this year, spokeswomen Kary McGrath said.

That's about what's spilled on the bar in the $60 billion-plus beer market, but analysts say the sector is worth watching given the number of people reaching the legal drinking age each year and their taste for what's new.

Kim McGreevey, 21, a senior at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, said she is not a big fan of beer and finds hard lemonade an appealing alternative especially for "a younger crowd that doesn't have the money to go to a bar for a mixed drink." She likes the familiarity of the taste of lemonade and says it is more reliable than buying a wine cooler with an exotic description and a disappointing taste.

Mike's Hard Lemonade was the spiked lemonade sales leader for the year through mid-August at supermarkets, according to figures from Information Resources Inc.

Mark Anthony Brands Ltd., a privately-held firm based in Vancouver, British Columbia, launched the brand in Canada in 1996 and started shipping it into New England early last year, said Russell Barnett, the top U.S. marketer of the Mike's brand.

He said sales quickly beat expectations despite no advertising for what it calls "lemonade with kick." It is sold in clear bottles with a black label and a message etched in white handwriting.

"Ask Mike what he puts into his hard lemonade and all you'll get is, 'I'm not saying but I can tell you this: 10 lemons go into a room; only three come out.' He's a little mysterious like that," the message says.

There is no real Mike behind the brand but Barnett said, "There is some Mike in all of us. He's a fun, cool guy people want to hang around with."

There's also no real Doc Otis behind the line launched in May by Anheuser-Busch. But the name plays a key role in its marketing--a half-dozen stories about the fictional character alternately appear on Doc Otis bottles, and consumers can win prizes for penning their own tales. Radio spots invite consumers to "Unlock the Doc" mystery, and TV ads are coming.

The sales push has Doc Otis gaining on Mike's, according to the IRI. Supermarket data pegged Mike's sales at about 530,000 cases through Aug. 20, while Doc Otis was at about 337,000 cases.

Another top seller is Rick's Spiked Lemonade, introduced in March by Canada's Seagram Beverage Co. It had sold about 164,000 cases, about 35,000 cases behind Hooper's Hooch in the IRI data.

Rick's is backed with a Web site (www.ricksspiked.com) and radio and print advertising in some markets, Seagram marketing executive Jamie Mattikow said. "One part innocent. One part wild" is the theme.

Don't bother to go looking for Rick--like Mike and the Doc, he doesn't exist. "It's a fun, approachable name that had broad appeal to men and women," Mattikow said.

The marketers say hard lemonade is a drink for all seasons, though Gary Hemphill of the beverage research and consulting firm Beverage Marketing Corp. in New York suspects it will sell best when lemonade does. "It's a light summer drink, another alternative, but I think it will be a very seasonal product," he said.

George Hacker, who oversees alcohol policies for the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., finds spiked lemonade an unappealing concept any time.

"The whole point is to package alcohol in a familiar and appealing taste in an effort to bring new consumers to the alcoholic beverage market," he said. "It's unfortunate we are so cavalier about every new means of incorporating alcohol into Americans' lifestyles."