A proposal to ban alcoholic drinks that contain caffeine and other stimulants in California is being touted as a way to keep drinkers, especially young people, safe from a potentially dangerous combination.

But the bill by a South Bay legislator has at least one group worried: beer enthusiasts who enjoy sipping on stouts and porters infused with coffee, espresso and chocolate.

The legislation by Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, is aimed specifically at curbing the production of malt beverages that include stimulants, which have become increasingly popular with college students and other young drinkers.

In November, federal food and drug regulators announced they were looking into the safety and legality of such drinks. Some large alcohol producers have already agreed to discontinue production of similar beverages under an agreement with attorneys general from several states, including California, but new products have emerged.

And some beer lovers worry that an all-out ban on caffeinated malt beverages could interfere with production of artisan brews.

"This seems like it's an overreaction that could potentially harm consumers interested in legitimate products," said San Mateo resident and home brewer David Jensen, who has been advocating against the bill on his blog, beer47.com. "There's something that coffee really adds to beer that you can't reproduce."

Beall said he is working with beer lovers to make sure they can still enjoy brews such as the Cappuccino Stout from Lagunitas brewery in Petaluma.

The bill, he said, is really aimed at keeping young people safe. Beall noted that drinks such as Joose and Four Loko quickly filled the niche left by MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch when the companies pulled Sparks and Tilt from shelves after their 2008 agreement with the attorneys general.

"We decided we want to deal with this because a wide-awake drunk is not a good drunk - they're a bad drunk," said Beall, who has a long history of tackling alcohol and other substance abuse issues. "These are usually targeted toward young, underage drinkers ... and it is a deadly, toxic combination. They have a great deal of potency, so a drinker can be inebriated and unable to function but is wide awake."

Health advocates and others have increasingly worried in recent years about sweet malt beverages known as "alcopops," which often mask the flavor of alcohol and tend to be marketed to younger drinkers.

Michael Scippa, a spokesman with the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog group, said the drinks have only become more dangerous since companies began adding stimulants such as caffeine and guarana.

Scippa noted that many of these products come in 23-ounce cans that contain the equivalent of five to eight cups of coffee, are 12 percent alcohol and are sold for $1.99. A regular energy drink, by contrast, can cost $2.99, he said.

"The bottom line is they create a low price point entry drink for a lot of youth that brilliantly keeps them alert and wanting to keep drinking the product," he said, adding that up to 60 percent of the caffeinated malt beverages sold in California are consumed by underage drinkers. "It's a marketer's dream, but I don't know how they sleep at night."

Jensen, however, said the legislation starts California on a "slippery slope," noting that many popular cocktails, including rum and Coke, already contain caffeine.

"A better approach would be to regulate the marketing, and have more information available," he said. "The Food and Drug Administration is already investigating this, and are already regulating this area. Why is California wasting its time on this issue?"