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To Drink. Not to be Drunk
A non-alcoholic beer that tastes as good as it’s counterpart? Even the judges at the USA Beer Ratings said so!
Launched in 2016 by two school friends James Kindred and Rob Fink, Big Drop Brewing Co. is a beer producing company promoting the message of ‘To Drink. Not to be Drunk.’ The idea to launch this brand stemmed from two major reasons, the first being a change in lifestyle owing to fatherhood and the second being the lack of good alcohol-free beer options in the market. As they found it increasingly difficult to have a beer that contained little to no alcohol, they decided to take matters into their own hands and thus the Big Drop Brewing Co. came about.
Having an idea and actualizing it are two different things. James and Rob knew from the start that to make Big Drop Brewing Co. a success, they would need a great brewer by their side, one who could make the beer taste just as good as the rest of them in the market sans the alcohol. Thus, to bring this idea of alcohol-free beer option to fruition, Rob Fink and James Kindred roped in renowned experimental brewer Johnny Clayton for their project.
Through the years they have perfected the technique of brewing alcohol-free craft beer without compromising on the taste. They now have in production a variety of beers with no more than 0.5% ABV. At the 2020 USA Beer Ratings, three of Big Drop Brewing Co.’s beers were among the medal winners.
Pine Trail Pale Ale: This double award-winning Pale Ale contains barley, wheat, yeast, and lactose (milk) with the hops being magnum, mosaic, and Amarillo. As soon as you pour the beer, rosy floral aromas are evident and the palate has a lime citrus bite. There is bitterness at the finish. The Pine Trail Pale Ale was awarded 92 points by the judges which brought the beer a gold medal and a Best in Show by Country award as well.
Big Drop Brewing Co., Source Facebook
Galactic Milk Stout: James and Rob wanted to take the notion away from the people about a good stout having had its day with the people. To bring back the glory to this wonderful beer variant, they introduced the Galactic Milk Stout, an alcohol-free stout that tastes like a honeycomb covered in chocolate. Containing cocoa nibs, barley, oats, rye, and hops of brambling cross, the Galactic Stout scored 86 points and took home a silver medal at the 2020 USA Beer Ratings.
Uptown Craft Lager: Another wonderfully elegant craft lager coming from the house of Big Drop Brewing Co. is the Uptown Craft Lager which was also awarded a silver medal at the competition for their tally of 80 points. Full of floral hops and aromas with a hint of caramel and pepper spiciness, the Uptown Craft Lager is one you can enjoy on a great summer day as you chill with a game on your TV screens. The lager containing magnum and Hallertau hersbrucker hops has a nice palate that ends on an orange note.
For a company that came to existence on the back of a mission of providing beers to drink but not ones that get people drunk, Big Drop Brewing Co. in just over four years of operation has fulfilled its mission by creating 0.5% ABV versions of a stout, lager, pale ale, golden ale, IPA, brown ale, winter ale, and a sour beer.
Their list of products includes:
Big Drop Brewing Co., Source Facebook
Their vision was always to create beers that people could enjoy without worrying about the numbers in case the alcohol content was a bit too much. From what was once just an idea, Big Drop Brewing Co. has become a market leader and a hero of the non-alcoholic beer brand segment, so much so that in just a small time of business, they got a call from the third-largest buyer of beer, Swedish state-owned Systembolaget.
Big Drop Brewing Co. has a website dropping in January where LA drinkers can order their award-winning beers from. Available to drink in various European and Asian countries like Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, and Australia just to name a few, they have plans for expansion in several other markets. Along with North America, they also have sales in the pipeline for Germany, Iceland, and Ireland. You can also give them a follow on their social channels, here- Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
What were an idea for James Kindred and Rob Fink that came out because of reasons attached to their personal lives now sees two childhood friends own a beer brand that is changing the game as we go along. The story of Big Drop Brewing Co. has only just started to brew, and they would love for you to be a part of their journey.
