Low and No on the Up and Up

Ruth Mitchell

Elusive Brewing Managing Director

versions of it's iconic Sussex Best and Old Ale while in Suffolk Adnams' Ghost Ship 0.5% is now their second biggest selling brand.

What is lowABV beer?

Therearethreecategorisationsthatapplyto low and no alcohol drinks produced in the UK:

Alcohol-free: no more than 0.05%ABV

Of allthe trendsto hit the UKbeerscene over the past few years, low and no (alcohol) has undoubtedly been the one to have made most impact. When I joined the beer industry in 2009, low ABV beer options were limited at best, the space mainly taken up with dusty bottles of Becks Blue with occasional welcome variety provided by a 0.5% imported wheat beer.

Fast forward to 2023 and the UK boasts several dedicated low alcohol breweries producing a diverse range of styles from fruit sours to Black IPAs. Inaddition, many independent craft breweries have a low or no alcohol beer as part of their range and with the vast majority of larger breweries producing low alcohol versions of their best sellers, whether it be Heineken 0.0 or a no alcohol version of Guinness. In early July 2023 Diageo, owners of Guinness, announced plans to triple production of their 0.0% beer, investing £21 milliontoincrease capacity at it's St James's Gate brewery in Dublin to meet growing demand, proof that from where the big players are sitting the market showsno signofslowing.

Even the most traditional UK breweries have jumped on the low and no train with Harvey'sBrewery in Lewes producing 0.5%

No alcohol: no morethan 0.5% ABV

Lowalcohol: no morethan 1.2% ABV

So, what's driving thisnewtrend?

While low and no alcohol beers currently only make up 0.7% of the UK market, increased consumer desire for a more balanced, healthy lifestyle is putting significant momentum behind this trend. According to Drink Aware 26% of people aged 16-24 in the UK arenowteetotal.

In their 2023 study, KAM Media revealed that 5.2m fewer UK adults are drinking weekly in 2023 vs 2021, although to be fair 2021 may have been a bit of an anomaly! What is more interesting is that 1 in 3 adult pubvisitsnow don'tinclude consumption of any alcohol, with 25% ofcustomersdefaulting to water if they are not drinking. With thatinminditisinthebestinterestsoflicensees to provide interesting and tasty no alcoholoptions, notonlytokeeptheircustomershappy butbecausetheprofittobemade on a £3 can of low alcohol beer is significantly betterthan on a pint of soda water.

Whilethe riseoflowandnoisclearly driven by consumer demand, advancesin brewing technology and technique mean that brewers are now more enthusiastic and confident when brewing this style, leading to a wider choice for consumers. Will Twomey, Head Brewer at Renegade Brewery in Yattendon comments “I was sceptical of low/no beer for a long time. How could beer with <0.5% alcohol taste any good? Fermentation is crucial for beer flavour and reduction of gravity, pH and volatiles all occur due to an active fermentation which are all nearly nonexistent in “brewed” low/no.” Will has found some new methods to get around these issues and to help brew a tasty beer at a lower strength. He continues “We use a couple of tricks to brew our own SOLO and Brewski AF. We reduce the fermentables by careful grist selection. Then we pitch a lazy yeast that leaves us with body and smoothness and then artificially scrub the gently fermented beer with co2. This mimics a regular fermentation and helps clean out the volatiles and graininess you sometimes find. A generous dose of dry hop helps to bring a bit more to the party, and we are also trialling some hop extracts and flavourings to build complexity into our AF beers we brew.”

Supermarkets have been quick to jump on the wider range of beers available in the low and no category which are being backed up by strong sales. Tesco reported a 25% increase in overall low and no sales in June 2023 vs January, a time when you would expect regular strength drinks to be taking the lead, and they are not alone in noticing this trend. Will concludes “We have just launched a new 0.5% peach pale into Marks and Spencer as part a range of 13 new low and no alcohol offerings which we are very proud to be part of.”

While the low and no trend shows no sign of slowing, the next year may also see an increase in beers of 3.4% and below as government duty changes which come into effect from August give a significant financial advantage to larger brewers to reduce the ABV of their beers – moving the ABV of a beer from 3.5% to 3.4% will offer a duty saving of more than 50%. This move will likely dramatically increase the number of beers available below 3.4%, whether classed as low alcohol or not.

If you’d like to explore the category for yourself, local breweries Renegade, Siren Craft Brew and Phantom Brewing Co all regularly produce low and no beers in a wide variety of styles. Alternatively you can check out Good Karma, Big Drop or Nirvana who all specialise in brewing tasty low and no beers. Whether you add a low or no beer to your regular beer mix or not, there is no doubt that this trend is here to stay and that the vibrant and growing mix of beer styles available mean even more people can find a beer they enjoy, whether they want to drink alcohol or not.

Ruth Mitchell is a qualified Beer Sommelier and Certified Cicerone. She is Managing Director of Elusive Brewing and has worked in the beer industry for over 13 years.