So, some of you on the wellbeing tip for the new year might be on the #dryjanuary hype...
And we’ve got news for you:
If you weren’t aware... Low & No Alcohol is now a thing and we’ve done the sampling on a bunch of beers sans alcohol to work out what is actually worth drinking for the taste alone.
Germany has got a bit of a reputation for making great alcohol-free beer, and we kinda know how - delicate evaporation - if not the why (brewery economics? Culture? Autobahns?). Wheat beers in particular stand up rather well to the removal of alcohol and Rothaus Hefeweizen Alkoholfrei is one of our favourite designated driver beers (their Pils is good too).
Then there’s Big Drop Brewing Co of international acclaim, headquartered in Ipswich, which have been making waves with their finely tuned, remove nothing approach to 0.5% brewing for half a decade now. Galactic Milk Stout rarely disappoints and the crispier pale ales like Pine Trail & Paradiso do a solid job of delivering a hop forward experience.
Drop Bear Beer Co have, like Big Drop, recently made the jump to the preferable format of cans with New World Lager & Tropical IPA surviving into 2022 in our cold room.
We’ve also got some Mash Gang tins rolling in at 0.5% and they’re quite sensible in terms of style too - Stoop American Pilsner and their core range Extra Pale Ale called Chug. Two more 440ml cans join the party from Bath's Lowtide Brewing Co showcasing both east & west coast.
BRULO however deals in everything hazy, scratching that itch that all you New England obsessed drinkers are searching for with Lust For Life, Sabro Galaxy DDH, & 7 Grain 7 Hop all a little better than competitors currently.
There’s also a limited range of more unusual bits for craft drinkers that are partial to the occasional or more frequent sour. Take Põhjala Prenzlauer Berg Raspberry Sour Wheat Beer as a prime example!
Check’em
Stigbergets Bryggeri tins arrived in some rather impressive numbers just before the run up to Christmas week, and we were too busy to shout about it. These Gothenburg cats (gulls?!) knew a thing about hazy IPAs before much of the UK craft scene had quite got its collective head around the most influential styles of hoppy beer about to grip the future world of craft.
Famed for beers like the Göteborg Beer Geek Beer Week 2016 IPA (now New & Improved didn’t you know?) and the confusingly hazy but nonetheless delicious West Coast IPA among other historically hyped entries, Stigbergets have been nothing but consistent. The brewer is also pretty forthcoming with the ingredients that have gone into making each beer, nearly all of which capitalise on the ‘067’ Stigbergets house yeast whilst varying both hop bill and experimenting with grain in the grist. Also, their merch pops with Scandi magic - just sayin’!
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We've also got fresh bits arrived/ coming in from: Newbarns / Cloudwater / DEYA / Howling Hops / Polly's Brew Co / Donzoko
We're guessing that some of you out there subscribed to this mailing list also received gift cards for Christmas - the question is: are any of you in the market for ridiculous Barrel Aged Imperial Stouts in 750ml bottles?
If so, look no further than the Pomona Island 'If Only I Had...' series of identical impy stout base beer aged in various barrels.
See also their Crimson & Clover / Liege & Lief / Coral & Tar barrel aged Barley Wine 750ml bottles too...
