Jumping on the growing trend of more health-conscious drinking, Guinness has introduced its first non-alcoholic craft lager in Ireland, with its new full-flavoured Pure Brew lager hitting 250 pubs in Dublin this January, before rolling out nationwide from March.
Non-alcoholic beers usually start as full-strength beers with the alcohol eventually being removed through evaporation. However, this technique often has an effect on the flavour, so Pure Brew has developed a special yeast strain to maintain a fully fermented beer. The result, a hoppy lager with fruity aromas and a hint of citrus flavour.
"Consumers shouldn't have to compromise on flavour just because they want to moderate," lead brewer John Casey told The Irish Times. "With Pure Brew we wanted to give people a taste experience comparable to regular beer."
We've seen the trend of reduced alcohol consumption, one most relevant in millennials, continue to gain traction over the past years, and statistics show that this has fallen by 25 per cent since 2005 in Ireland, according to figures compiled by the Alcohol Beverage Foundation of Ireland.
Companies such as The Small Beer Brewing Company are driving the trend - with the south London based brewery focusing on low-alcohol brews, launching two new offerings, a 2.1% lager, and a 1% dark lager. We regularly cover the changing scene of the alcohol industry in our drinkswatching reports on our trendhub - you can find reports here.
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