THE JOURNAL
The enjoyment of beer is not an experience limited to the summer season, but crushing a cold, condensation-soaked can on a lazy Sunday is a simple pleasure only heightened if it happens to be a scorcher. And though we might be over the hump of the craft revolution, there’s more diversity than ever in the market thanks to a growing demographic of beer drinkers with a thirst for low-alcohol alternatives, unexpected flavour combinations and hybrid brews. So, to ring in International Beer Day (that’s today by the way), not to mention celebrate the dog days of summer, we’ve picked out five of our favourite trends to try now. Chin chin.
01. Low/no alcohol beer
Photograph courtesy of Big Drop Brewing Co.
Big Drop Poolside DDH IPA
The vogue for low- and no-alcohol substitutes is hardly a passing fad: our drinking habits are changing, drastically. Nevertheless, in places like Britain, where going to the pub is something of a national sport, the pressure on teetotallers to imbibe from tipsy friends or colleagues on a night out can still be intense. Enter Big Drop, which crafts 0.5 per cent ABV (or lower) beers with the same enthusiasm and care as the strong stuff. So much so, that you (or your fellow pub goers) will hardly tell the difference. Except, of course, when your head is ache-free the next day. The brand’s Summer Series has plenty of aestival options to choose from, but the Poolside IPA, a double dry hopped pale with a smash of pineapple, pine and mango, is making quite the splash.
02. CBD beer
Photograph courtesy if Green Times Brewing
Green Times Brewing Pale Ale
Practically every industry is “high” on CBD – or cannabidiol – right now. Everything from doughnuts to moisturisers has had a sprinkling of the stuff. Yes, it’s derived from the marijuana plant, but, crucially, it contains none of the psychoactive substance THC (so it can’t get you stoned). What it can do, especially at low doses, is a matter of scientific dispute, but proponents claim it can alleviate pain, anxiety and depression. London-based brewery Green Times doses its pale ale, a hoppy session made with amirillo, mosaic and waiti hops, with 10mg a can. Look out for the brand’s latest release, too, a juicy summertime offering that packs a tropical punch.
03. Botanical beer
Photograph courtesy of Lowlander
Lowlander IPA
The idea of using herbs to flavour beer is by no means a new one. The ancient Egyptians were doing it about 7,000 years ago and, before hops became a mandatory ingredient by order of Germany’s beer purity laws, a concoction of “gruit” (a potent blend of botanicals such as rosemary and bog myrtle) was the standardised way to make beer in the Middle Ages. By all accounts, it doesn’t sound like something that would appeal to the modern palette. Instead, Lowlander, a brewery out of of the Netherlands, specialises in beer spiked with herbs, spices and fruits to balance out the bitterness of the hops. Its take on a classic IPA is an Indonesian Pale Ale, brewed with coriander seeds and white tea for a spicy hit.
04. Rosé beer
Photograph courtesy if Rhinegeist
Rhinegeist Bubbles Rosé Ale
“How do we get more women to drink beer? I know, let’s make it pink!” It would be easy to conclude that rosé beer was the result of some besuited marketing execs hashing out ways to advertise their brews to the other 51 per cent. If it wasn’t so damn tasty, that is, offering all the lightness of a blush wine with about half the alcohol. Though its popularity has been growing for the past year or so, rosé beer is also not an official style of beer that’s governed by specific manufacturing methods, meaning there’s numerous ways to achieve the end product. Some are a hybrid of grapes and grain; others achieve their flavour through peculiarities of the brewing process and a few are simply laced with fruits such as hibiscus to imbue it with a magenta hue. The variety in manufacturing methods means that Rhinegeist’s cheerful Bubbles was originally designated a fruit wine, before a small tweak to the recipe to avoid prohibitive taxes, made it a fruited ale, brewed with apples, peach and cranberry for a crisp, tart and utterly moreish finish.
05. Back-to-basics beer
Photograph courtesy of Duclaw Brewing Co
Duclaw Regular Beer
The craft beer industry is endlessly experimental (BrewDog’s Tactical Nuclear Penguin, anyone?). The downside to dreaming up creative concoctions, though, is that an endless supply of niche beers can be daunting to the uninitiated. While there’s nothing wrong with immersing yourself in this weird and wonderful world, craving a simple cold lager on a hot day is nothing to be scoffed at. And the increasing market for staple beers is precisely why many breweries are choosing to go back to basics. DuClaw, one of the most inventive in the US, has led the charge with its aptly named Regular Beer, which is exactly what it says on the tin. Described by the brand as “a beer that tastes like beer”, its clean, crisp flavour (thanks to the chinook and hallertau hops) is nothing fancy, but still a cut above supermarket stalwarts.