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The Pint Glass is Half Full

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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/

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