Skip to main content

The Pint Glass is Half Full

Image
By


By: Varick Grasley

 Second-Year Brewmaster Student
With the installation of Dry January and Sober February, there seems to be a trend in the desire for people to lower their intake of alcohol. According to Chris Furnari from Forbes.com (2020), 21% of Americans took part in sober January in 2020. Many people have limited or eliminated alcohol from their diet for health-related reasons, whether to decrease alcoholism, or for religious or financial purposes. Instead of switching to sugar filled sodas or carbonated water, people have started to explore the world of non-alcoholic or low alcoholic beers. In the United States, non-alcoholic beer sales increased by 39% in January 2020. This seems to indicate that people still want to enjoy a good tasting beer, just without the alcohol content. This trend can be seen in Europe as well. Edith Hancock from Thedrinksbusiness.com (2019) noted that sales of non-alcoholic beers have increased 60% in Ireland between 2017 and 2018 and up to an 80% increase in sales in Poland in 2018.

Molson Coors is a large beer producing company that has noticed this trend toward non-alcohol beer, and has begun to profit from it. Molson produces a non-alcohol beer called Coors Edge that they are advertising as a beverage that can be consumed anywhere and by anyone. Coors advertises that you can drink these beverages whether you are playing sports in a public park, while pregnant, or even as a judge in the middle of a court case. You can enjoy a non-alcoholic beverage anytime. Molson is even trying to expand their distribution network by selling Coors Edge through Amazon, a technique that could not be used with a product that contains alcohol (Lombardo, 2019).

Closer to home, the Alberta beer scene has seen an increase in non-alcoholic beer as well. The number of different non-alcoholic beers available through the Alberta Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis  (AGLC) has increased from 12 different products in 2012 to 44 different choices in 2019 (McLean, 2019). Calgary, AB is also home to Canada’s only non-alcoholic craft brewing company, Partake Brewing. Currently, Partake brewing has four different types of beers in the market, including a stout, blonde, IPA and a pale ale.

While some breweries have agonized over the downtrend in beer sales over the last ten years, others are seeing the pint glass as half full, and are expanding into the growing non-alcoholic beer market. The demand for non-alcoholic beverages is there, and some breweries are transitioning their business to provide products to this new demographic. Village Brewery currently has a non-alcoholic pale ale and a stout. These two products are under the Village Local brand, signifying that they are produced locally, as well as being a play on words because they are lo-cal (low calorie), therefore a healthier option. Beer is known to have essential micro and macro nutrients, including proteins, antioxidants, B-vitamins, minerals, carbs, and fiber (Hegde, 2019). Breweries are promoting the idea of low calorie, low alcohol, but nutrient rich beers for a healthier lifestyle and people are drinking it up.




References

Furnari, C. (2020, February 1). Dry January Driving Increased Sales Of Non-Alcoholic Beer.
Retrieved March 9, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisfurnari/2020/01/31/dry-
january-driving-increased-sales-of-non-alcoholic-beer/#6416e028f4ce
Hancock, E. (2019, July 30). Low and no-alcohol beer sales are soaring in Europe. Retrieved
March 9, 2020, from https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2019/07/low-and-no-alcohol-beer-
sales-are-soaring-in-europe/
Hegde, A. (Ed.). (2019, September 13). Non-Alcoholic Beer Market 2019 Trends, Growth
Projections, Industry Analysis by 2025. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from
https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/non-alcoholic-beer-market-2019-trends-growth-
projections-industry-analysis-by-2025-2019-09-13
Lombardo, C. (2019, April 16). Brewers tap the potential of non-alcoholic offerings. Retrieved
March 9, 2020, from https://strategyonline.ca/2019/04/16/brewers-tap-the-potential-of-non-
alcoholic-offerings/
McLean, T. (2019, July 1). Non-alcoholic beer selection nearly quadruples at AGLC since 2012 |
CBC News. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-
non-alcoholic-beer-selection-1.5194841
Siegel, N. [2015] Best balance transfer credit cards [Blog post] Retrieved from: https://www.greedyrates.ca/blog/best-0-balance-transfer-credit-card-offers-canada/

Popular posts from this blog

Beer Review: Okami Kasu Japanese Ale

By
By: Anthony Page Second-year Brewmaster Student I found myself in the nearest specialty liquor supplier, scavenging for the newest, most hop intense, bittersweet and fruity thing I could possibly find when I saw it sitting there.  This was not the style I usually go for, but something about it drew me in.  As I usually go about on my Saturday afternoons in Calgary, I like to grab some beer prior to my once a week family dinner.  My brother in law will be there, and my father will crack a brew with us.  It’s always been a bit of a mission to broaden their horizons with new and interesting ales and lagers.  Of course, I have embarked on studying the art of brewing beer, so I should at least justify my path in schooling by wowing them with something remarkable.  There on the shelf were two six packs of beer I had heard about but had never strongly considered purchasing.  The brewery was fairly new in town, the previous style I had tried from them...
Read more

Beer Review: Sasquatch Stout

By
By: Kyle Mueller Second-year Brewmaster Student While most hipster craft beer advocates out there seem to jump on board any new beer trend that comes around lately, its always reassuring to go back to a classic beer style that screams “simpler times”. Old Yale Brewing, a legend in the Chilliwack, BC craft beer scene, has just that very beer. Since the start of Old Yale’s existence, they have tried to stay close to their Fraser Valley roots. Using Canada’s best drinking water and all-natural ingredients, they aim to achieve the same balance as the environment around them. Sasquatch, being one of their best sellers and winner of “Best Beer in Canada” 2014, is no different. Brewed with Pale malt as their base malt, supported by Oat, crystal, roasted and Chocolate malts and hopped with Magnum, this beer comes out swinging. Best served in a Guinness-style pint glass, aromatics of chocolate, coffee, vanilla and just a hint of caramel should be detectable. With a creamy full-bodie...
Read more

A Summer in Germany

By
By: Ben Christian Former Olds College Brewmaster Student Berlin: the capital city of Germany. A city with a distinct history and a unique culture; there really is nowhere else like it on earth. Of the forty-one countries and countless cities I have visited, Berlin stands alone as my favourite city on the planet. It was a no-brainer to commit to spending my summer there. The E3 Berlin program offers three opportunities and allows students to pick and choose what they would like to do. The first option is a German language course, the second is an internship, and the third and final option is an academic course.  Being bilingual, the chance to begin learning another language, was alluring. In fact, the German language course was the main reason I participated in the E3 program. The course was incredible! Our teacher, Helga, was an energetic, engaging, frizzy-haired marvel! Perhaps the best teacher that I have ever had. The days learning German were long ...
Read more