A bit of a buzzkill for NA beer, and another craft brewery acquisition to report

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Just Tapped

It’s all happening so fast. Seems like just yesterday we couldn’t stop talking about fresh hop beer and suddenly it’s Thanksgiving. For whatever reason, this season seems to be flying by at a breakneck pace, so let’s get to it while the gettin’ is good.

A Buzzkill for NA Beer

For ages upon ages, one of beer's greatest assets to mankind has been its ability to fight against the spread of illness and disease, which is not such a big deal nowadays as it was back in the days of yore. Back then it was considered a miracle, but today we understand that beer possesses certain properties that inhibit the growth of some common bacteria like E. coli, salmonella, and listeria. However, that kind of bacteria rarely finds its way into beer. Right?

A recently published study based on research conducted by scientists at Cornell University shows that non-alcoholic beers do less to safeguard against the growth of bacteria compared to their regular, alcohol-containing counterparts. Researchers theorize that it’s because alcohol is known to work as a disinfectant. (Read more about the study here.)

Researchers studied the beers in two situations. In the first case, the NA beers were refrigerated at 39.2°F. In the second, the NA beers were left at room temperature (57.2°F). The study showed that bacterial growth in non-alcoholic beer thrived at room temperature, but the refrigerated beer showed smaller amounts of harmful bacteria. However, the researchers pointed out that simply keeping non-alcoholic beer refrigerated doesn’t alleviate its dangers. 

In a statement shared by the Daily Mail, the study’s authors said, “Low and nonalcoholic beers should be processed through pasteurization to achieve commercial sterility. Sterile filtration and the addition of preservatives should be considered as additional steps to reduce this microbial risk.”

And there’s the rub. Athletic Brewing, which is the fastest-growing craft brewery in all the land, goes to great lengths to ensure the safety of its product. Defending its line of NA beers, that company was very quick to release a statement in response to the Cornell University study. 

A message from the company's PR firm said that Athletic Brewing Company has “gone to great lengths to prevent its NA brews from contamination. Athletic owns and operates two of the largest dedicated non-alcoholic breweries in the world, and has invested millions of dollars into establishing a world-class food safety program." The message also pointed out that Athletic’s NA beers are pasteurized using the latest and greatest methods available.

Good on them. Nobody is doubting that the largest producers of NA beers are doing the same. Still, a lot of smaller breweries are producing NA beers. Not every one of those companies is so well-funded or singularly focused on NA beer.

The quick-fire response statement from Athletic Brewing also pointed out that the researchers intentionally infected the beers in order to study how the beers reacted. That’s good. That’s what they should have done. The researchers did it intentionally, but NA consumers must trust that the brewery didn’t do it inadvertently. Moreover, consumers must trust that the product was properly handled across the supply chain. 

Nothing in the study suggested that NA beer should be illegal. It simply pointed out some potential dangers and made some solid recommendations for minimizing the risks. The stakes are pretty high when you’re talking about things like E. coli, salmonella, and listeria. Craft breweries considering pushing out an NA option just because it’s the current cool thing should consider those risks. 

All that being said, we have a simple question for you. Regardless of this study, is NA beer a passing fad?

Other Half Acquires Young Lion

This week we learned that Other Half Brewing of Brooklyn has inked a deal to purchase Young Lion Brewing of Canandaigua Lake, NY (Western/Upstate New York). Reports say that the Young Lion brand and intellectual property were not part of the deal. Basically, Other Half Brewing simply purchased the facility, which includes a 10,000-barrel production brewery, a 1,000-square-foot taproom, and a 2,400-square-foot event space. The deal should close at the end of the year.

Young Lion Brewing opened in 2017 in the town of Canandaigua Lake. Shortly thereafter, Other Half Brewing opened a facility nearby, which it describes as “a true farmhouse brewery on 8 acres in Bloomfield, NY.” That facility, Other Half FLX, was designed “to explore our connection to local agriculture and wild yeast through spontaneous and mixed-fermentation brewing.” Now the company has a more mainstream kind of facility in Upstate New York, too.

In 2022, Young Lion produced approximately 4,700 barrels of beer, according to the Brewers Association. In 2022, Other Half Brewing’s output increased to approximately 34,000 barrels, its largest production volume ever. Other Half has posted double-digit production growth since 2019, according to the Brewers Association’s production data.

Other Half Brewing was founded in Brooklyn, NY but now has locations in Manhattan, Western New York (Bloomfield), the District of Columbia, and Philadelphia. Coming soon to Canandaigua Lake.

Say What?

In response to last week’s story about the beer caves beneath Iowa City….

dj.gmur said: “I went to school at the U of I in Iowa City and had no idea the these caves existed. I found that very interesting and I lament that prohibition wiped out so many small breweries and, with them, a lot of history.”

This week's Taster Tray was composed by Kendall Jones.