SHIJIAZHUANG, China - Milk beer,
a new tonic beverage, has gone into production in China,
making it the third country after the United States and
Japan to have acquired the production technology.
Taking fresh milk as the raw material and
fermenting it twice, the frothy beverage produced by the
Tianjin Food Science Research Institute is something of
a cross between milk and beer.
Professor Chen
Shusheng with the institute said the beverage, compared
with traditional products, has the merits of both beer
and milk.
With low alcohol and proper carbon
dioxide, it is rather nutritious and easily absorbed by
the human body, he explained.
As drinking it
regularly can boost blood circulation, quench thirst and
help people relax, milk beer has already won the
reputation as "milk champagne" in developed countries.
After being put into trial production at the end
of last year in China, the beverage has gained broad
recognition in a dozen cities around China including
Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xi'an,
Jinan, Qingdao and Harbin.
In the southern city
of Guangzhou alone, the share of milk beer in its
beverage market has reached about 60 percent and
continues to rise.
Chen said the
product's batch production will be managed by the
Liulutong Dairy Development Corp Ltd in Xingtang county
of northern China's Hebei province.
