Big Drop is expanding its range of 0.5% ABV beers available in keg format, following a trial in January that contributed to a record sales month for the alcohol-free brewer.
Reef Point Craft Lager and Pine Trail Pale Ale will now join Paradiso Citra IPA in its year-round offering of 30-litre key kegs. The beers are brewed under licence at Fourpure, in Bermondsey, following a deal last year with its parent business, In Good Company.
UK venue operators stocking Big Drop currently include Mitchells & Butlers, Fuller’s, Greene King, Oakman Inns, The Chestnut Group, Livelyhood Group, and Elite Pubs.
Perhaps the most unusual addition to its draught portfolio in January was Soho’s Arts Theatre, which is playing host to the immersive hit musical Choir of Man, set around a fully working on-stage pub.
“Why restrict choice just because, for whatever reason, someone’s not drinking?” said Big Drop’s founder, Rob Fink. “Any decent-sized venue these days can allocate a line to AF and rotate it year-round so it’s not always all about the lager.
“Through our partnership with In Good Company Brewing, we can now provide not only our IPA on draught, but also our pale ale and lager.”
Established in 2016, Big Drop has pioneered a process called reduced amylase brewing that allows for a fully-fermented brewing cycle without ever rising above 0.5% ABV. This means that nothing is extracted from the beer, allowing it to retain the flavour and characteristics of its full-strength equivalents.
Big Drop, which brews in the US as well as the UK, has won more than 100 international beer awards including seven ‘world’s best’ titles at the World Beer Awards, a record among UK brewers.
