Market Insider

Sodastream stock sizzles on debut of beer machine

Shares of Sodastream International rose more than 6 percent Tuesday after it debuted a system for making homemade beer.

The Israel-based appliance maker said its new home beer system, the Beer Bar, uses sparkling water and a unique beer concentrate to create a beverage that is 4.5 percent alcohol by volume. The first concentrate on the market will be a light beer called Blondie, which will be released in Europe, the company said.

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Shares of Sodastream are up more than 27 percent so far this year as the firm refocuses away from sugary sodas and toward alternative incarnations of sparkling water. Earlier this month, Sodastream posted a 10.4 percent increase in quarterly sales, driven by strong gains in Europe.

Domestic demand for U.S. alcoholic beverages is forecast to grow at an annual compounded rate of 4 percent between 2016 and 2020, according to Hoover's/D&B subsidiary First Research.