Robin Shepard
Lakefront's Noon Game.
Don’t get blitzed: Noon Game offers flavor without knocking drinkers out.
There’s strong interest in beer with less alcohol, low in calories and yet high in flavor, says Lakefront Brewery owner Russ Klisch. His brewery recently introduced Noon Game into its year-round line up of beers — a 3.2% ABV, 100-calorie IPA with prominent hop character that drinkers can actually taste. These are not beers like Miller Lite. It lacks the flavor character and has a higher ABV (4.2 %) yet almost the same number of calories (96).
This is also not the 3.2% beer sold in grocery stores 50 years ago to 18- to 21-year-olds. Yes, this actually was a thing in the 1970s in some states where the legal drinking age was 21. Not in Wisconsin, though, since the legal drinking age here in the 1970s was 18.
Keeping the ABV and calories low makes coming up with assertive flavor a challenge. “There are a lot of things you try to give the beer body and flavor while lowering alcohol and calories,” says Klisch. To achieve this, brewers often turn to specific varieties of hops, yeasts and grains. Some also utilize filtering and de-alcoholization equipment that target ABV levels and calories. It took nearly a year and three test batches before Noon Game was ready.
Its flavor comes from Wisconsin-grown Magnum hops, along with varieties of Citra, El Dorado and Cashmere. The assertive citrus bitterness is sharp, clean and dry. Even so, if you are looking for a big, bold, piney IPA, this will seem tame — yet that’s the point, and what makes Noon Game a good session beer. Most drinkers could have a couple during an afternoon game and then go back to what they were doing.
Mid-strength craft beers, those that fall between 2.5%-4% ABV, are not entirely new. About 30 years ago, breweries outside the U.S. started calling them “mid‑strength” but these brews didn’t gain much traction in the U.S. until recently. Now mid-strength ales and lagers in many different styles are cropping up. Michigan’s Founders Brewing Company was an early leader in the field with its All Day IPA more than a decade ago. That beer is now high for the category, at 4.7% ABV and 140 calories. This spring, Founders introduced Low Profile, a 3% ABV, 85-calorie IPA.
Consumer interest in flavor and moderation has driven the popularity of mid-strength beers. Brewing technology and ingredients have made them possible. De-alcoholization equipment and temperature control in the brewing process, wider choices in flavorful hops and malts, and yeast strains that keep the alcohol level low are allowing more small brewers to chase the trend.
Lakefront is a leader among Wisconsin breweries in making low-alcohol brews. In addition to Noon Game, the brewery has a low-ABV low-calorie radler, in addition to three non-alcohol beers, in its current line.
