Mornington Peninsula Brewery (MPB) has released a non-alcohol beer, Mornington Free. It is the
brewery’s first non-alcohol beer and its first pale ale.
The beer is fermented with a special yeast where instead of producing regular alcohol it produces esters, which are necessary to give beer a distinctive taste and mouthfeel.
Unlike lagers, pale ales use aroma hops to give the beer a fruity flavour, which MPB says makes it the perfect beer variant to transition to non-alcoholic. Due to the hops profile of citrus and passionfruit in Mornington Free, these bold flavours stand out and help minimise the taste (or lack thereof) of the alcohol.
The brewery, acquired by Tribe Breweries in 2018, has released the beer in time for summer and at a time many are reconsidering their drinking habits.
Tribe’s head of innovation Roland Thiemann said: “People’s drinking habits have changed so much in just 2020 alone, that there is a new demand for non-alcoholic alternatives to taste just as good as the real thing.
“The great thing about the way we created Mornington Free, is that it is brewed to be less than 0.5 per cent alcohol, as opposed to mainstream non-alcoholic beer brands, who brew to higher strengths and then completely strip the alcohol out altogether.
“The beauty of our method, is that it helps the beer maintain its crisp flavour and is not a disappointment on the palette for beer lovers.”
Tribe Breweries co-founder and CEO Anton Szpitalak said: “The development and introduction of low-no alcohol beers into our range of brands has been a top priority for Tribe over the past year. MPB has a very strong heritage and reputation in the craft space, making it an ideal collaboration as we explore this new market.
“With more people wanting to reduce their alcohol consumption, the market has widened completely. Our focus has thus been to work hard with the team at MPB to ensure that our drop is not just another ‘alcohol-free’ beer, but actually tastes, feels and drinks as sessionably as any standard pale ale.”
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: <0.5%
RRP: $15 per six pack, from independent retailers
