Alcohol-free brewer Big Drop has developed a 0.5% ABV cask ale Paradiso Citra IPA, which is also vegan friendly and gluten free.
Johnny Clayton, head of production at Big Drop
Big Drop will present the beer to the world at the London Craft Beer Festival, on 12th and 13th August.
Johnny Clayton, head of production at Big Drop, said: “With any beer product a lot depends on the dispense method and how the beer is looked after. This is even more true with cask.
“We have done our best to ensure it arrives in top condition, and as with any cask — once it’s broached — get ready to finish it off quickly before it oxidises.”
Big Drop only brews up to 0.5% and the same goes for its cask. A secondary fermentation creates light carbonation so Johnny and his team had to closely monitor the recipe to ensure that the precious 0.5% ceiling wasn’t breached.
Beer writer Melissa Cole said: “Big Drop continues to challenge the idea of what alcohol-free beer can, or should, be, and this is a great step to making non-alcoholic beer more appealing to a wider audience.As a huge fan of what I consider our national drink, I can’t wait to try it.”
Neil Walker, head of communications at the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), said: “SIBA members Big Drop Brewing have been huge innovators in the alcohol-free beer market for a number of years, but their development of an alcohol-free cask0conditioned beer is perhaps their boldest and most exciting to date.
“I look forward to trying the beer when it launches at London Craft Beer Festival, and am sure that if anybody can make a delicious cask beer at just 0.5% then it’s Big Drop, who have won many awards against full-strength beers and proven that it’s possible to deliver superb flavour without the alcohol.”
Out of all the beers it could have chosen, Big Drop decided to launch its cask with Paradiso Citra IPA. Paradiso is the starchild of the Big Drop stables, winning world’s best awards at the World Beer Awards and beating full-strength competition domestically. Likewise, Paradiso is the only ever alcohol-free beer to be awarded a Which? Best Buy.
The beer will only be available at the London Craft Beer Festival.
