Brewer responds to consumer demand with new Formosa Springs Light beer.

Responding to the consumer trend toward lighter beers, Algonquin Brewing Co. Ltd. has announced the introduction of Formosa Springs Light. The new brand is a line extension of the company's Formosa Springs Draft beer, which was the first bottled draft beer to be introduced in Ontario by an Ontario brewer last year, an Algonquin spokesperson said.

"Consumers today are demanding light beers," Drew Knox, vice president of marketing and sales, Algonquin. "Research indicates that one out of every five beers purchased in Ontario this summer will be a light beer and in the U.S. three of the top four U.S. brands is a light beer.

"Since the introduction of Formosa Springs Cold-Filtered Draft beer in November, 1990, sales figures have far exceeded our expectations and that product has helped us to become the second-largest regional brewery in the province," Know added. "We attribute this to the original recipe and to the strategy of offering a premium product at regular price. We are confident that Formosa Springs Light will sell just as well."

Knox added that Algonquin is in the midst of completing a $1-million brewery renovation project which will double the plant's capacity in the anticipation of increased consumer demand.