Very low alcohol beer

[mattjgalloway]

Hey all.

I'm still a novice, only 4 brews in, so bear that in mind here!

I was wondering if anyone had any tips / thoughts on how to brew a very low alcohol beer, say around 0.5%. I know BrewDog have one, Nanny State, at 0.5%. It's really sweet, so I guess it has a high FG.

Is it something that I can do in a home brew setting? How can I achieve low attenuation without ruining the beer?

 

[JonM]

I did Orfy's Mild with 002, which is a really low attenuating yeast, and the final ABV was around 2%. THe beer was ridiculously flavorful and robust tasting too - not sweet at all.

 

[mattjgalloway]

Ooo interesting. I would like to get the ABV down lower than 2% though if possible. What do you think I'd need to do to do that?

 

[mrgrimm101]

I can't say for certain, but I would imagine that an extract recipe with hardly any extract would give you a very low OG. You could steep some crystal or other grains for some extra flavor/color so it's not overly dry. I would pick a style that is very lightly hopped so as to not offset the balance of bitter/sweet. Also pick a low attenuating yeast for sure so it finishes high. That will help it not be as dry. It will end up being mostly water, but I would have to think you will get a low ABV..it's going to be hard to get one that low that still has some body and flavor.

 

[raysmithtx]

Here's a very in depth thread on making N/A beers. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=39433

 

[AnthonyUK]

It is very easy to make a low alcohol beer
To make one that actually tastes of anything though is quite a challenge and maybe not a topic for the beginner forum.
My take on the low alcohol is a variation on another Brewdog beer, All Day Long which was fantastic at 3%.
It contains quite a few speciality grains such as Carared, Dextrine and Rye to increase body.
When I made it there was no hop addition before 10 mins. from the end of boil and most were post boil and dry hopped.
To go any lower than this is seriously difficult to maintain body.