Mr James Grundy, co-founder of Small Beer, has just finished shipping several cases of his brand’s brew to The Savoy hotel in London, adding yet another high-end joint to its growing list of stockists, which already include The Ivy, Selfridges and The Wolseley. “It’s crazy,” says Mr Grundy. “They said they loved the quality and locality and the provenance.” Established in London, on Bermondsey’s Beer Mile, the two-year-old brewery is different from its neighbours because it’s reviving medieval low-strength small beer, a staple that used to be served as a clean, safe alternative to water. “You would be served small beer in the workplace, you would be served small beer in the home,” he says. “It was as common as bread. We are nodding very much to that historical beer, but we’re making it for those with busy lifestyles who don’t want to wake up with a cloudy head the next day.”

The beers in the Small Beer line-up range from 1 per cent to 2.8 per cent ABV. “At 2.8 per cent the water-alcohol content means the body hydrates quicker than it dehydrates,” says Mr Grundy. “Once you go past that, it becomes a diuretic and you start to dehydrate quicker than you hydrate.” Hence the hangover. The inspiration came from scanning the pump clips in bars and realising that there were few options outside the 5 to 8 per cent ABV bracket. “There was nothing in between,” says Mr Grundy. “You had some 0 per cent or non-alcoholic beers, but it always felt like you were missing out from the flavour perspective.”

When it comes to taste, Small Beer has a clear leg up on its booze-free competitors, which often tout themselves as low-calorie or wholesome alternatives. While the arena for tipple-free brews is rapidly expanding (the European market is projected to be worth $6 billion by 2024, according to a recent report by Global Industry Insights), Mr Grundy says these choices are not always the “healthier” substitute they might seem. “In a non-alcoholic beer, what typically happens is the alcohol is cooked off or stripped out and the beer gets pumped full of lactose, maltose and dextrose and sugars,” he says. “What we’re doing – there’s no funny business. It’s just great ingredients and it’s brewed to strength. At each stage of the process, it’s traditional brewing, just with a focus on flavour efficiencies rather than alcohol efficiencies.”

One phase, however, does depart from the norm: the lagering, or ageing, process. “The industry standard to lager beer is probably three to four days,” says Mr Grundy. “Ours gets up to 10 weeks. The result is a pronounced flavour profile, but at a sociable strength.” That “sociable strength” was the impetus behind the brand. “Alcohol is a social glue,” says Mr Grundy. “Such a big part of our history is going to the pub or a bar, socialising with a drink in hand.” He believes drinkers are seeking sensible moderation, not permanent temperance and compares it to the shift in our eating habits. “I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan,” he says. “But I do eat meat much less than I used to. And I think people are approaching alcohol in the same way.”

Less not none is also the mantra of the Clean Liquor Co, a new outfit fronted by hard-partier-turned-teetotaller Mr Spencer Matthews. It recently debuted its inaugural “gin” (the legal bar set for spirits labelled as gin states they must have a minimum 37.5 per cent ABV and taste chiefly of juniper). CleanGin is distilled at 1.2 per cent ABV and is aimed at those who want to reduce rather than cease their alcohol consumption, despite its founder’s sobriety. “I believe that the moderation market in this country is far larger than the abstinence market,” says Mr Matthews. “Just because alcohol has been around for thousands of years doesn’t make it the right choice. People are far more health-conscious nowadays and drinking full-strength spirits to excess no longer makes sense.”

On the flip side, Hayman’s Gin, a family-run gin distiller in London and the maker of innovative new spirit Small Gin, has created a low-alcohol drink by making it stronger. “It’s made in the same way as all our other gins,” says Ms Miranda Hayman, a fifth-generation member of the clan. “It’s just that the concentration of botanicals is far greater.” It clocks in at around 43 per cent ABV. “Rather than reducing the alcohol, we decided to dial up the flavour. It’s so full-flavoured that only a thimbleful [5ml] is needed,” she says. That tiny dram results in a drink with 80 per cent less alcohol, which equates to 0.2 units. Remarkably, it still tastes like the real deal. For Hayman’s, a brand that boasts 155 years of distilling experience, it didn’t make sense for them to explore non-alcoholic options.

Hailed as “the biggest innovation in gin for 100 years”, Small Gin – like CleanGin – comes at a time when festivities are in full swing. “I think the low category for me is about occasions,” says Ms Hayman. “December is such a busy time of year. People don’t want to drink every night, but they still want to catch up with people.” Low-alcoholic options also offer more, on both a tangible and intangible level, than just sipping lime and soda all night. “People are so much more mindful now of what they’re drinking and when they’re drinking,” she says. “But people still want to enjoy the ritual of making a drink.” Mr Grundy agrees. “The joy of it is you still get the ‘ahh’ effect.” Cheers to that.