Big Drop Brewing Co., the UK’s first brewing company dedicated exclusively to making the only the finest <0.5% ABV beer, has announced that its inaugural release will be a Chocolate Milk Stout. Created in Bermondsey, London by brewer Johnny Clayton, Big Drop Chocolate Milk Stout is full flavoured, with classic coffee and chocolate notes and a hint of vanilla.
Founder of Big Drop Brewing Co. Rob Fink, discovered during a period of abstinence from alcohol in 2015 a lack of choice when it came to good quality alcohol free and low alcohol beers, particularly when it came to dark beers. Further research revealed to Fink a gap in the market for a craft brewery dedicated solely to the production of great quality <0.5% ABV beer. This was when the idea of Big Drop Brewing Co. was born.
To create a 0.0% ABV beer Fink learnt that removing all of the alcohol from beer requires external processes such as heating or reverse osmosis but these can be detrimental to the flavour and character of the beer. Therefore, with Clayton’s guidance, they decided to produce beers at <0.5% ABV. This allows Big Drop Brewing Co. to keep the character and flavour of the beer intact whilst innovatively managing the alcohol level through the malts used and treatment of the yeasts. The complex malt bill gives a robust backdrop to the beer and great attention has been given to the elements that go into the beer such as lactose, for body and cocoa nibs, for depth and sweetness.
Fink comments: “We are really proud to have crafted a delicious, authentic tasting Chocolate Milk Stout at just 0.5% ABV. It is clear that there is increasing demand for a better choice of low and no alcohol beers and as someone who previously struggled to find an enjoyable low alcohol beer I am happy to be able to bring something new to the market, which is also made in London.”
Big Drop Chocolate Milk Stout is available in 330ml bottles from Dry Drinker at an RRP of £2.49 (based on a case of 12 or 24 bottles). For on-trade enquiries, please contact: rob@bigdropbrew.com.
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Website: bigdropbrew.com
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About Big Drop Brewing Co.
April 2015
Founder of Big Drop, Rob Fink, decides to give up booze following what can only be described as a once in a decade binge that ends badly…
May – September 2015
Rob enjoys a period of abstinence and tries to find good low alcohol and alcohol free beers to drink but encounters only a lack of choice. The best couple of options are fine but a good quality dark beer with the depth and flavour of a great stout is notably absent.
September – December 2015
Further research reveals a gap in the market for a craft brewery dedicated solely to the production of great quality low alcohol beer. Other breweries seem to have just one low/no alcohol beer, or two at most, but no-one is focusing all of their efforts into creating a range of great quality, full flavoured beers below 0.5% ABV.
January 2016
The idea for Big Drop was born and Rob’s school friend and design supremo James Kindred signs up … the search is on for a brewer and brewery …
March 2016
Rob meets Johnny Clayton, former brewer at Wild Beer and one of the finest experimental brewers in the business, at UBREW in Bermondsey. Johnny embraces the challenge.
Removing all of the alcohol from beer requires external processes such as heating or a technical procedure called reverse osmosis. The problem with these processes is that they can be detrimental to the flavour and character of the beer.
As a result, we decide we won’t make a 0.0% ABV beer. Instead, a 0.5% ABV beer is sufficiently free of alcohol to satisfy most people who, for whatever reason don’t drink. Although we can’t officially call our beer “alcohol free” (because the law says we can’t), it doesn’t contain much more alcohol than an overly ripe banana.
August – October 2016
Although none of our beers are more than 0.5% ABV, by allowing ourselves the smallest drop of alcohol, we can brew our beer in the same way you would brew any other beer. It’s just that we have to pay a lot of attention to the other elements that go into the beer – the yeasts, type of malt and extras such as lactose (for body) and cocoa nibs (for depth and sweetness).
We decide on a chocolate milk stout as our first beer and experiment with lots of different recipes to make sure it’s the best it can possibly be.
November 2016
Big Drop’s first beer is released…testing begins on a pale ale and a spiced brown ale…