As people get older and responsibilities increase, they tend to consume less alcohol. “The 40-year-old liver is not the same as a 25-year-old liver,” said Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, which introduced Fuzzy Details, a hazy IPA with 2.5 percent alcohol, to the taproom in December. Mr Oliver fondly remembered the brewery’s Black Light, a 2.2 percent stout. “I could have a pint and go straight to the gym,” said Mr Oliver.
When Luc Lafontaine is brewing, he doesn’t drink much water. “I drink beer,” said Mr. Lafontaine, an owner and brewmaster of Godspeed Brewery in Toronto. His go-to is Baby Světlý, his Czech-style pale lager that, at 1.5 percent alcohol, is a warm-weather favorite.
Building high-quality, low-alcohol beer is a balancing act. Brewers need to cut back on malt — the grains that provide the sugars fermented into alcohol — and too much hops can cause clashing bitterness and taste. Mr. Lafontaine uses imported Czech malt and hops and carefully adjusts the water chemistry. “I want to go as low as 1” percent, he said of Baby Světlý’s alcohol content.
One complaint about low-alcohol beers is that they can taste watery. To brew Buzzard, a 3 percent “hoppy little beer” released in January, Matt Young, the director of brewing operations at the Chicago brewery Half Acre, fortified the body with wheat. He also relied on fragrant hop extracts and Cosmic Punch, a yeast strain that provides complementary tropical aromas. Buzzard costs $10.99 for four 16-ounce cans, or $1 less than several stronger IPAs
“Just because there’s less alcohol doesn’t mean it was cheaper to produce,” said Mr. Young.
mr. Boisson released two versions of Bella Snow Soft Ale, flavored with tangerine or grapefruit, in four-packs of 12-ounce cans, selling for $7.99. “It was a price low enough that people would try it,” said Mr Boisson, adding that half of the repeat customers are baby boomers. After decades of drinking, “they just know they shouldn’t have that much,” he said.