The gang of those sober-curious is growing every day. Consumers are looking for healthy and convenient drinks that help them unwind from their stressful lives. And low-alcohol beer suits perfect for that purpose as it contains fewer alcohol and calories while maintaining the delightful taste and flavor. Hence, the beer producers shift in making small beers and 0% ABV beer, trying to cater to our tastes and preferences. Wanna learn more about this category of spirits and see what is waiting for the low-alcohol beer market in recent years? Then keep on reading and you will find the answers in this blog post.
The Controversial History Of Small Beer
The history of low-alcohol beer, also known as small beer, dates back for centuries. In medieval times, small beer was a cheap beverage, made from the third runnings of the mash from brewing ales with the strong and common ales first, then the small beer last. Back then, small beer was about 2,5% ABV by volume. When sanitation was bad, and water dangerous to drink, servants, field workers, the poor, and even children consumed small beer instead of water.
But some people say that this is a myth, and people didn’t drink small beer to stay healthy — they drank small beer to give them energy. Poor people couldn’t afford to purchase a good ale, but they still needed energy and calories to do hard work in the fields, so they drank small beer. As it happens, small beer was quite effective at delivering both calories and fluids, that's why people prefered to drink a pint of small rater than a glass of water.
So, what was the role of small beer back then: a substitute for the polluted water, or simply, the Red Bull of the time? We don’t know that for sure, but what we do know is that more and more of modern people enjoy drinking small beer and this tendency is not going to fall down.
Why Is The Market Of Non- And Low-Alcoholic Beer Growing Worldwide?
People are aware of health risks associated with alcohol and start looking for something that will keep them functional and inspired without unpleasant consequences. Furthermore, low-alcoholic beer is slowly changing the alcohol consumption habits of consumers. As a result, the global non-alcoholic beer industry is growing and gets on a treat. Increasing online retail, social media marketing and media campaigns for non and low-alcoholic beer will amplify the sales of zero ABV beer. Low and no-alcohol beer is the fastest growing segment in the UK, and IWSR analysts say that it will keep on growing by 6% per year by 2023.
Companies are happy to cater to consumers changing tastes. The market has witnessed the entry of several new players as the trend continues to gain momentum. This shows rising consumer shift towards non-alcoholic beverages, and will positively affect the global non-alcoholic beer market in a few years. There is Small Beer Co that specializes in brewing beer below 2.8% ABV. They created “small” versions of classical Lager, Dark Lager, Session Pale, and Steam. Folks from Small Beer Co say that their mission is to make a beer that tastes fantastic. And we think that they are doing a great job. Their small beer is rich and flavorful, but it won’t get you drunk.
The producers are doing their best to create brand-new methods of production. Take Freestar Beer, for example. Freestar non-alcoholic beer is made using special technology, they blend the ingredients, instead of brewing them. This method of production is beneficial both for the taste of the beer and for our planet. The production process emits 90% less CO2, uses 80% less energy, 80% less water, and ends up with 70% less waste. Amazing, right? And we are convinced that the best is yet to come, and very soon we will try new delicious and light beers!
A few more words to sum up our thoughts. Non and the low-alcohol market has tended to grow rapidly in recent years. That happens because of the growing consumer awareness and health benefits, associated with drinking low ABV drinks. In the near future, we will see new brands coming up, they will be discovering new ways of beer production, and there will be more amazing low ABV beer and no ABV beer brands at Lassou. So, stay tuned!