We set out to explore the middle ground between N/A and the big, boozy imperials and extra-hopped beers that helped make American craft beer famous, and figure out if it offered any clues as to where non-alcoholic beer could be headed. While IPAs and the like aren’t going anywhere, in the traditional brewing world there’s undoubtedly been a movement toward lower gravity lagers, pilsners, English ales and related styles that dare to come in at 5% ABV or lower, at least inching a bit closer to their under .5% counterparts. 

We start our episode sitting down with the creator of Duluth, Georgia’s Little Beer Festival, having recently celebrated its 4th iteration this month. Todd DiMatteo is also the owner/brewer of Good Word Brewing & Public House, which itself focuses on these low gravity styles. Similar to a few other festivals that have popped up in recent years to focus on lighter brews, Little Beer offers festival-goers the opportunity to sample hordes of beers that won’t knock you over with alcohol, which may go against some perceptions of a beer festival.

At the event we also talk with brewers and experts from Lupulin Brewing, Wren House Brewing, and The Whale Craft Beer Collective. All shared their own perspectives of non-alcoholic beer, where and how it’s going for them, and whether there may be an intersection of these movements within an overall trend toward moderation in craft beer consumption.

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