Why Your Beer Might Not Pack The Buzz It Once Used To

As Bob Dylan famously wrote, "the times, they are a-changin'." With each generation, there are inevitable leaps in everything from fashion to music and what's trending in terms of food and drink is not immune. The beer industry, in particular, is ever evolving to keep pace with customer whims, from ales to stout, micro-brews, and even holiday special release brews. But what hasn't changed all that dramatically, to date, is the strength of those bottles and pints. Alcoholic beverages are regulated by ABV, or alcohol by volume, and beers generally range between 3.5% to 7% of total alcohol volume. But that metric is starting to shift downward.

As hordes of Americans become more aware of and invested in the sober curious movement, beer brewers are noticing and reframing. What follows is a new clutch of beers that are somewhat loosely labeled as mid-strength. We are not talking about nonalcoholic beer — these are simply craft beers with a lower ABV, roughly in the 2.5% to 3.5% range. These innovative tipples seem to appeal to a wide range of beer drinkers, whether as an alternate option for various social settings or for those focused on their lifestyle and fitness goals. What's more, advances in brewing methods and high-quality ingredients have created space for these super palatable newcomers.

A Gallup poll reports that only 54% of American adults say they consume alcohol, which is the lowest number in the 90 years the survey has been done. Companies experimenting with mid-strength alcohol options may be trying to claw back customers with interesting new and less potent options. Whether as a strategy for consuming less alcohol during a marathon event like the super bowl (when Americans astonishingly consume more than 325 million gallons of beer) or simply a desire to forgo overindulgence, mid-strength beers are gaining traction. In fact, the worldwide low-alcohol beverage market is projected to top $28 billion by 2030. 

To be clear, these mid-strength brews are crafted intentionally and are not merely watered down stand-ins. They have cheeky names and brands like Weekend Warrior and Dad Strength and have started to zero in on a target market that embraces the idea of enjoying alcohol with restraint (and likely feeling better the next day) rather than avoiding it entirely. If you are ready to see what all the fuss is about with the mid-strength movement, consider trying these best low-alcohol-content beers.