T|E|H: Meet the Brewers -Stoptober Special W/ Sheep in Wolfs Clothing (SIWC)

Hello, my fellow beer lovers,

Welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists, you may have noticed that we are knee deep in AF & Low ABV beers this week as part of our Alcohol Free & Low ABV Stoptober special.

Among the number of beers that we are reviewing, we have two beers by SIWC who have also graciously agreed to enlighten us on all things Alcohol Free.

So I sat down with Matty from SIWC and this is what he had to say.

“Hello Matty, thank you for joining us today, can you please tell us a little about how SIWC came about?“

Hey guys, thank you for asking us to come and speak to you about SIWC. So how did SIWC start?… Right, well Sheep In Wolf’s clothing is kind of part one of 2 aspects. Part one is that I wanted to create a company where we can provide a work opportunity for folks who are marginalized in traditional work environments. This is primarily those who are physically and neurologically diverse and struggle for work. Now, I was not smart enough to create some fancy app, or billionaire tech idea to do this, so I thought, ‘ahh I need something else.’

I also happened to be looking into the Low to AF (alcohol free) end of the beer market at the time, and thought there was a good opportunity there. And so, I married the two up, and that’s where it all began really.

I admit that somewhat unironically most of this was hashed out over a drunken conversation in the pub, like all good idea’s are.

“Well we definitely agree there, It will be no surprise to you that the four of us like a beer. Two of our number remember when Becks Blue first “graced” the shelves of supermarkets and bars. Soon after AF and low ABV beers became dirty words as they quickly gained a reputation of being particularly unpalatable. How did you overcome this stigma? “

The stigma around low and AF beer is still very much there. I think people often call our beer, or at least our low ABV ones, Table beers. Which I can understand, as I know what they mean. But traditionally table beer is what they served kids, It really was just bog-standard stuff to go with food.

Where we are trying to create a big beer experience with less ABV, which is a little bit more nuanced than that. So that coupled with the stigma, makes it quite difficult to overcome, especially as craft beer lovers tend to turn their noses up at it!

In terms of AF beer there is still tonnes of work to be done to change peoples’ perceptions, but I also think some of the offerings out there now are pretty fantastic to be honest, but some of them are very much wanting, or leave a lot wanting. I would also say that some of the newer, bigger names are not as good as their branding suggests.

So yeah, I think there is a huge amount of work to be done in changing the perception of what is possible in AF beer. We need to show the range and quality of what is accessible in the low and AF market, and to ensure that what is created actually qualifies as beer and not a thin sweet soft drink.

“Given that as a company you make a number of Low ABV & AF Beers along with some full strength ones, what would you say the main difference is between creating these?“

The main difference I would say in creating AF/Low ABV to High ABV is the lower the ABV the harder it gets, at least in my experience.

This is because there are less ways to hide; trying to create an experience is brutally difficult, and trying to make sure they are not too sweet or thin, is also very challenging. In my experience the lower the ABV the higher the risk. In contrast, our fuller strength beers are much less risk and easier to produce.

Otherwise, all our beers are beers. They are all brewed to volume and done traditionally, so beyond that there isn’t much difference between them.

“Looking at the low ABV and AF beer marketplace, they tend to be Lagers and IPA’s, and a few darker beers. Is there any reason why darker beers seem to be produced on a smaller scale when AF than lighter beers? Are they more expensive to produce, or is it a case of there isn’t enough demand for them?“

I think that the Darker beers generally have a lower demand. Did you know that lager is the most popular beer in the UK. Last time I checked 70% of all beer consumed in the UK is lager. So the darker the beer the more niche the beer becomes by default, which is funny because I would say the darker the beer the easier it is to produce as AF whereas AF lager is definitely the harder end of the scale.

So it’s an interesting one, but I think what you are seeing produced is the response to market demand although people and breweries like their AF stouts, and I think that is because they are easier to make.

We have brewed them, but not commercially yet and you certainly have a little more space to hide errors with these and it’s a bit more forgiving if they are a bit sweeter as you do get sweet stouts unlike with Lagers and IPA’s which are much more unforgiving but at the same time that is where the demand sits.

In terms of cost of production, AF beers are very expensive to produce, and they are very difficult to brew. We don’t skimp on ingredient, and we don’t skimp on hops. O.5% ABV brewing is expensive, and to brew a lower % even more so.

I would suggest that what you are seeing in the range of alcohol-free beers available is a response for traditional market demands for lagers and the IPA and Pale Ale categories.

“Have you noticed a difference in sales of low ABV & AF Beers since the Table Beer style became more popular?“

I’m not sure if I can comment on the table beer style and the impact it has had on that on sales…

Yeah, honestly I’m not sure on this one.

There is a lot of talk, but the reality is that most of the sales are for a higher % ABVs. You do get a lot of marketing and media attention around lower and AF beers but this doesn’t really seem to reflect the overall sales figures, although I do admit they are growing at the moment.

I am not sure if the popularity of table beers have helped this, I think its more that there is a certain table beer that is very popular at the moment rather than table beers being popular, as the range of those available is quite small and in my experience trying to find them is difficult, but hopefully it will continue to grow, and the market demand will too.

“Something that we notice especially in our local stores is that AF and low ABV beer is often not in the same Isle/ place as traditional beer and alcohol, it tends to be tucked out of the way which would make impulse buying more difficult. Due to this, How do you ensure that AF/Low ABV beer is given its fair place in the market all year round rather than just for promotions during Dry January and Stoptober?“

In terms of placement, I think you have raised a really good point to be honest.

We try not to market the ABV of our beers. We tend to put Beer first, Experience First, and People First we say ‘we create beers for anyone, anytime, and anywhere‘ and try to remove that stigma from non-alcoholic beverages.

I mean who cares right, you’re supposed to be in the pub with your mates, who cares if its an AF beer or a 10% imperial. That should be irrelevant.

With that in mind I keep living for the day that the AF section will just sit in the beer section, that way you will be able to enjoy what’s there.

There are an increasing number of groups of us out there who go to a bottle shop, pick up a beer check out the label and look at the ABV and most of the time put them back as the ABV’s are a bit too strong, as after just two or three of those I know I will be a bit too merry.

So there are a whole host of people out there now looking for more sociable and session-able ABV levels. This overtime should help grow the general acceptance and see the AF section moved to pride of place with the other high ABV styles.

At the end of the day It comes down to Market demand the more popular things are the more credence and attention they are given, so for now we live and hope that the market will continue to grow and I think it will over the next several years, and as that happens I think low ABV and AF beers will be given the space it deserves.

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Thank you Matty for taking the time to join us today and have a chat about SIWC, AF & Low ABV beers!

We are checking out two of SIWC tipples this week the first of which was their Blue Balls Lager which if you have not checked out already, what are you waiting for? The second will be reviewed by Peter later today so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for that one!

You can Pick up these cracking low and AF beers as well as some full strength ones too, and even a fancy new hat like Sam did this week here… its hardly been off his head since it arrived!