The Best/Worst Kept Secret in NA Beer

Wotcha!

A couple of things before we get started this week.

Enjoy some great drinks this week.

Cheers,

Myles

In last week’s issue (MODSUB149), The Dusty Fields of Elysian, this link got the most attention.

In this week’s edition:

NAN
New NA Drink News

BEER
Beaglepuss
- Tohibohu
- Anniversary
- Bohemian Subterfuge

WINE
NA Wine Price Poll Results

Read time: 7 minutes 20 seconds

From our sponsor: The Zero Proof

Started by two best friends as a blog about the non-alc movement, they've quickly become the largest non-alc retailer in the US with over 400 products and have been helping bring in exciting new products from abroad like Oddbird, Sylva, Gnista and Ish.

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NORTH AMERICA

BEER: As if you needed another reason to love olive oil gods Graza any more than you probably already do, they’ve teamed up with Athletic Brewing for the limited-edition Cold Off The Press NA Pilsner. (Link)

WINE: Also a limited edition—just 220 cases—Oceano Zero has released its Gap’s Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir. (Link)

SPIRITS: You may remember Welsh gin makers Cygnet launched Infinity, their non-alcoholic gin, over in the UK earlier this year. Well, now you can buy it Stateside. (Link)

COCKTAILS: It’s time for a ’Tini over at Recess with their new Apple ’Tini and Espresso ’Tini. (Link)

WORLDWIDE

SPIRITS: More gin news from the UK, Martin Miller’s Gin is introducing Zerø to its line. (Link)

BEER

ModSub thoughts: If you have spent any time with NA beer nerds—I count myself among them before anyone thinks I’m being rude—then you will likely have heard at least one, if not all, of them wax lyrical about Beaglepuss Brewing Company. It could be said that the Providence brewery, started by Jared Rodgers, Patrick Ramey and Kevin Barnes, could do no wrong and you’d not be far off the mark, except perhaps for the disappearing act they did for nearly a year, which scared some folks half to death.

Started in late 2023, Beaglepuss was Rhode Island’s first dedicated non-alc brewery. Combining the beer sales history of Rodgers, Ramey’s creativity and the brewing skills of Barnes, who previously made beer for the now-deceased Two Roots Brewing Co., the trio set about creating a brand that would bypass associations with health and sobriety and focus solely on what craft beer drinkers really love—craft beer.

After coming out of the gates to wide acclaim, the brewery abruptly went AWOL, leading some to believe that all was not well behind the scenes. Instead, the team were just quietly looking for a new brewing partner. Unlike most other non-alc beer makers, who brew beer and then dealcoholize the results, Beaglepuss uses controlled fermentation, restricting the amount of alcohol up front to below 0.5%. According to the brewery, this method helps give their beers a full body and maintain the flavor.

Their return, with a new brewing partner in place, brought new recipes and an expanded line-up, boasting six beers and two ciders.

Here are three of them:

Tohibohu: This is a beast of a stout that pulls no punches. As black as dark can be, with a more-than-healthy body and a long, gorgeously bitter exit. It’s 16 fl. oz. of smoky burnt coffee and chocolate with a showstopping head and malts that coax you in with a smile while the rest of the drink picks all your pockets. There are a few very good non-alc stouts out there, but this is vying for top spot.

Anniversary: Created to celebrate the brewery’s first year in business, Anniversary is a Fruit Ale (or Fruited IPA) brewed with real pineapple, mango and citrus, giving it a fabulous fruity mid-palate that never gets close to being too sweet or over-juicy. There’s little bitterness and, truly, this is a beer whose broad appeal would pay off at a summer picnic as much as it would after a hard day of winter hiking.

Bohemian Subterfuge: Brewed in the style of Pilsner Urquell—an emulatory feat they have pulled off remarkably well—this NA Czech Pale is a banger. Honestly, I couldn’t describe this beer any better than Beaglepuss have done themselves, so let’s hear it from them: “A foundation of floor-malted Pilsner, with a touch of dark Bohemian and Crystal malts provide a smooth, bready backbone, while noble Saaz hops deliver that classic floral spice and gentle bitterness that defines the style.”

Someone asked me last month, if I could only choose one brewery to suggest to someone starting out on their NA beer journey, what would it be? I said, off the top of my head, I thought Deschutes or Fieldwork would probably top the list, though there are many individual beers from breweries that I love. But if I was asked right now, it would be Beaglepuss. Without a shadow of a doubt.t Deschutes or Fieldwork would probably top the list, though there are many individual beers from breweries that I love. But if I was asked right now, it would be Beaglepuss. Without a shadow of a doubt. 

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WINE SURVEY RESULTS

That non-alcoholic wine has had its struggles to win over consumers is well documented. Other categories in the non-alc space have had a far easier time of it, but despite the hurdles, non-alcoholic wine production seems to be in growth mode just as the popularity of regular wine has shown serious signs of decline.

There’s rarely a week that goes by when a new non-alc winemaker isn’t making their debut. Not to mention brands like Bolle, Oceano, St. Buena Vista, Noughty and French Bloom, amongst many others, that are continuing to create exceptional wines finding new homes in some of the best restaurants and hotels in the world. That’s before you even get to the handful of wine-alternative brands creating sophisticated drinks that take the place of wine, such as NON, Copenhagen Sparkling Tea, Norie and Proxies, to name but a few.

But all of these fabulous wines and wine alternatives come at a price. All for good reasons, I might add, and you won’t catch me arguing against them. But I did wonder the other week: how much do people see as too much for these wines? Because there are plenty of reasonably decent ‘cheap’ wines with alcohol but so very few without. Go below a certain threshold and most struggle to find quality, and that’s where the conversation quickly turns to grape juice.

I got 33 responses to the poll I added to the newsletter over the last fortnight. Not a tremendous amount, but enough to see some patterns. Now, I’ll be quick to point out that I am most certainly not a wine industry expert; I’m a consumer. I’m also not an expert at reading data, but a few things did seem to stick out. Here’s what I found:

One person commented, “I've spent more than $20 a few times and been disappointed.” Another said, “I have found that I don’t like most non-alcoholic wines - so I don’t want to spend a lot to be disappointed.” A <$30 respondent stated, “I don’t expect it to be cheap but at some point, given the varying quality, it is too big a risk of paying a lot for something that’s mediocre.”

So maybe it’s less about cost and more about having confidence in the quality of brands new to consumers. They will pay more if they know the wine is good but are reluctant to gamble on the uncertainty.

Which brings me to a comment from someone who HAS clearly taken the gamble but won’t go above $40: “I've been drinking and enjoying alcohol-removed wines for about 6 years now and become a pretty discerning connoisseur at this point. I understand and appreciate the expense of the extra steps that go into producing these wines. What I've found is that the best non alc wines sell for between 22 and 35 US dollars. I've tried some of the more pricey ‘exclusive’ wines but they are often too sweet or they are missing the balance needed to be drinkable and enjoyable even if they are using biodynamic grapes, etc.”

Building trust is what each brand needs to do to win over the consumer, something every business faces, of course. But perhaps the more challenging hurdle is building trust in the category itself. That’s no easy task and just goes to show what an uphill battle these non-alcoholic wine companies have.

As always, I welcome your thoughts on this. Please hit reply and let me know what you think.

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