USA: The latest print and radio advertising campaign from Molson USA informs beer drinkers that the barley used in its beer is not an aphrodisiac, despite supposed rumors to the contrary, Reuters reported March 2.

Molson uses barley grown by Saskatchewan farmers in Canada, and when the beer maker's ad agency looked into the ingredients of Molson brands, they discovered that the barley is high in zinc, just like oysters.

"That's when they kind of got on to, 'Hey, there are some other kind of humorous qualities about Saskatchewan barley that may be of interest to a guy age 21 to 29,'" said Steve Breen, vice-president of marketing for Molson USA.

But Rob McCaig, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Center, said not much of the zinc ends up in the beer because it is used up by the yeast in the malting process.

"Here at Molson, we're constantly asked if our Saskatchewan barley is an aphrodisiac," one ad states. "Those rumors are unfounded."

05 March, 2004