This is probably nitpicking, with all the N/A and session options available, but why don't we see more beers trending in the direction of a "table beer"? By that I mean something in the 2-3% range. Not completely devoid of alcohol, but also something even more session-able than regular session beers at 4-5%?
Just sayin'. And it honestly isn't terribly bad, for what it is. https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/81/22478/ Also, https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/431595/ Though I haven't tried it since the new owners took over. It used to be a really nice quaffer.
I told my wife I wanted to brew up some low ABV english beers....I'm down with that idea...not every beer needs to be 6% abv. I think from a consumer standpoint...at a restaurant for example, I'm sure that 2-3% beer would still be $8/pint.
Yeah, not many beer brands out there this low. I am fortunate that a number of craft breweries near me regularly brew Mild Ales (e.g., English Dark Mild Ale) but they are typically > 3% ABV (i.e., closer to 4% ABV). These beers are particularly appealing to me when served on cask. You should indeed homebrew an English Mild Ale. Yesterday I bottled a batch of Milk Stout which is 4.2% ABV. My next batch will be an English Bitter Ale but it will not be a very low ABV beer; I prefer Bitter Ales that are closer to being an ESB. Cheers to English style beers!!
I have asked the same question about the making and providing low abv beers that also pack flavor for repeat orders, and/or pitcher fills, and hopefully can provide an answer someday.
Jester King is there for you. Commercial Suicide (English Dark Mild) - 3.7% Le Petit Prince (Grisette) - 2.9%
I rarely see anything below the 3.8% range; I mean I’ve probably only seen, that I remember, five or so beers in that 2-3% range. Four out of five beers in my fridge right now mostly fit your criteria: - 3.8% Czech Pils - 3.7% Golden/Pale Bitter - 4.2% Light Lager - 3.9% Radler I list them just to highlight that beers in this range are about as low as I find regularly.
There isn't enough of an audience in America today for beers in the 1-3.9% range. Such beers don't fit into any major category here.
The US macro brewers tried it in the early-mid '80s. Hudepohl (Pace) and C. Schmidt & Sons (Break) released so-called "Low Alcohol" beers, followed by AB's L.A. (below), Stroh's Schaefer L.A., Miller with Sharp's and Heileman with L.A.'s branded Blatz, Black Label and Old Style. The Feds even legally defined "Low Alcohol": AB then started suing the other brewers using the L.A. branding. Apparently none of them sold well enough to continue and most were gone within a few years.
Side project has A La Table 2.5% and Hill Farmstead Charlie 2%. Charlie comes fruited as well. Great table beers
Blending could be the answer for low alcohol beer. And it's fun to discover the perfect match. Here are two blends of fresh Stella Artois (0.0%) and last year's SN Festbier (6.0%). The beer on the left is two-thirds Stella (now 2% abv), and the other is two-thirds SN (now 4% abv) with the leftover one-third of each mixed with the other. Both are beers that I like, and both resulting blends were tasty. And to no surprise, after I had drank about half of each, I blended what was left and it was a tasty beer too (a 50-50 blend @ 3% abv). So goal accomplished. To be pondered here, you have to drink both beers the same sitting/day unless you have a good storage mechanism for one of them after the blending. Also, in reality, you're drinking a 6% beer in the process. Defeats the purpose? But also consider that you're drinking a 0% beer in the process. You can play that mental game if you want, but I avoid that and just try to drink an NA beer every other beer that I consume.
I think price has a lot to do with it. I always wanted to try Jester King's Little Prince, but paying normal mixed ferm 750 price for a 2% beer was a bridge I wouldn't cross. I did like Anchor Small Beer when I came across it, though.
Just bought this from Saranac. 3% Abv. https://www.saranac.com/weekend-warrior/ Saranac claims it's "The first Mid-Strengh craft beer in the U.S.A." Taste is just ok. At $15 a 12pk, makes a good lawnmower beer. My favorite lower alcohol beer is, Bells Light Hearted, 3.7%. Pretty good, for a low alc. IPA
Lindemanns beers from Belgium have a respectable portfolio and gravitate around the 2-3% abv mark. They are pretty good, but you have to like fruity beers:
Sub 3% is hard to find, but the 3-4% range is where cask ale lives. This one is one of the best beers I've ever had at any ABV: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2150/5561/?ba=Premo88#review
