Low Alcohol

Should a low-ABV beer be high on your brewing schedule? Here, brewers who are crafting “mid-strength” ales and lagers—in the neighborhood of 3 percent ABV—weigh in on whether they might thrive among stronger and nonalcoholic options.

There are only so many ways to make a low- or no-alcohol beer, and none provide an easy route to a product that tastes good—especially for smaller breweries. However, one increasingly viable option is specialized yeast. Here’s how it works.

Hard seltzer continues to sparkle; cans are set to out-fill bottles; and brewers are betting high on low-strength, low-cal, low-carb.