Non-alcoholic beers used to be celebrated only by under-agers whom, upon finding a trove of “near beer” and had not yet wised up, would chug can after can in hopes of catching some glimmer of a buzz. To the rest of (legal) beer drinkers, NA big was largely a big NO.
But then, as a byproduct of the craft beer boom, actually delicious non-alcoholic beers started to emerge from craft (and eventually) big-time breweries.
These new-school NA beers deliver on flavour, but are free of the weighty ABV of beer with booze. (Worth noting: Not all “non-alcoholic” beers are actually free of alcohol. Some contain up to 0.5 percent ABV, the legal limit to label a beverage non-alcoholic.)
And the other great thing is that where once non-alcoholic beers were limited to largely one style—a nod to light lager—now there are a wide variety of styles to choose from. Those styles include oatmeal stouts, ambers, and even hazy IPAs. It seems like overnight, the market was flooded with “hey-I’d-drink-that” options.
One brewery that took its time in perfecting their approach to the NA category was non other than Australia’s-own Capital Brewing Co, a Canberra-based craft brewery that has been making award-winning Good Natured Brews from their Fyshwick brewery and taproom since mid 2017.
Only recently launching their non-alcoholic beer in July this year, the new addition to their x-beer lineup has already become number two on their best sellers list – and yep, only one alcoholic beer sits before it.
Speaking to Capital Brewing Co. Founder and Managing Director, Tom Hertel, creating the perfect NA beer that actually tasted good was one of the hardest things they’ve done yet, taking a whole two years of development and a few obstacles along the way. Beyond trying to replicate the flavour of a full-strength beer through experimenting with hops, malts and temperatures, they had other challenges including having the tanks freeze due to there being no alcohol present in the liquid.
“We put a lot of time into developing ALC-LESS, over two years in fact. Over this time we really worked on refining the hop character, balancing, bitterness and mouthfeel to get as much flavour and enjoyment as possible out of the drinking experience. Alot of non-alc beers are lacking in flavour and we were keen to brew something that really delivered a flavourful and fun drinking experience so our customers didn’t need to compromise when choosing a Non-Alcoholic beer. We think we did a pretty good job and this is what really makes us stand out in the market,” he explains.
“We were super keen to provide a non-alc option to our customers, so people can enjoy a really tasty beer or two but still get stuff done the next day – we can also see the legends of GenZ are much more conscious about alcohol consumption than us millennials are, so we wanted to make sure we can connect with them on their terms and feel Alc Less really does this.”
Full of flavour, Capital Brewing Co.’s Alc-Less is a tropical Pacific Ale is everything showcases everything an alcoholic brew has with less of the tomfoolery. Delightfully refreshing, Alc-Less is fresh, crisp and clean with a smooth, satisfying finish. Trust us – we’ve tried it.
So, yes, right now is great time to drink NA beer—whether because you’re sober curious, cutting back on calories, trying to sleep better, or just interested in what these things taste like.
Check out Capital Brewing Co’s range here.
