Leafkicker – Low Alcohol Amber Ale

Big Drop Brewing have been featuring on this blog for a number of years now because of the quality of their low alcohol ales. They keep them coming and they keep on winning the awards. The quality is absolutely there and so I keep writing about them! I like their latest amber ale a lot. A collaboration with Square Mile Coffee Roasters, Leafkicker is a pristine amber ale that could pretty much pass off as the full strength deal on most levels.

And that’s the point isn’t it? The two founders of Big Drop wanted alcohol free beer that tasted like beer. They’ve since been joined by a former Wild Beer Co brewer and developed techniques to brew without de-alcoholizing the product. This means they are brewing with less grain and a less efficient yeast to create less alcohol. This still gets the benefits of the layers of flavour that you can expect from traditional brewing.

Leafkicker Amber Ale

Leafkicker has the absolutely perfect amber ale colour – you could use it for a beer colour chart. The aroma starts off malty with a hint of coffee and I found the flavour like that too. As you drink further down your draught, the coffee flavours reveal themselves. They envelope your mouth, kept light by a very slight carbonation. Enjoy some biscuity and toffee notes to balance out the smokey coffee aromas too. Expect that maltiness to fade and just leave you with the aroma of a recently set down cafetiere in your nostrils.

Somehow, this is so on the money as an amber ale that in my mind I was transported to a traditional pub full of dark wood and murmured banter when I was drinking this. So I’ll hang on to a can just in case there is another lockdown and I need a dose of astral projection.

This set came with a little package of the coffee to try too which I thought was a nice touch. A great way for two brands to collaborate. Where do Big Drop go from here? They are expanding rapidly around the globe. I am going to be interested to see whether or not we say them being bought up by one of the big four global brewing companies. It wouldn’t surprise me, and yet, they are doing such a great job of building trust with their customers through crowdfunding and consistently bringing out excellent product. If it was my company I would not be inclined to give that up! Let’s watch this space, enjoy the ride, and crack another delicious alcohol free beer as we do so.

This sample was gifted to me, however my write up is my own unfiltered thoughts on it. Sorry.