FUELING THE BREWING REBELLION – ONE ZERO-ALCOHOL BEER AT A TIME

New Zealand is a country of beer drinkers. We love a brew. You don’t have to go far to find one that is to your taste. From the hundreds of world-class craft breweries, to the big players, you are pretty well catered for.

But what if you love beer, but don’t want the alcohol?

We have seen a sharp rise in the number of drinkers entering the zero-alcohol category in recent years, but what about options outside of mainstream non alc lagers?  Importantly, what about zero alcohol beer that tastes great?  This is where kiwi, Grant Caunter saw an opportunity, and State of Play, New Zealand’s first and only zero-alcohol brewery was born.

Grant has over 25 years in the brewing industry, here in New Zealand and abroad, most recently as Global Director of Craft Beer at Heineken, based in Amsterdam. In his time, he has enjoyed a lot of beer.

For a couple of years, things went well in Amsterdam – until the Covid pandemic hit, plunging the Netherlands into a lengthy, hard lockdown. Everything Grant loved about his job – the great tasting brews, the people, the stories, the travel – were gone overnight. He went from being out and about travelling & tasting, to a tiny home office and a punishing schedule of Zoom calls one after the other, twelve hours a day. The only steps he was clocking up were to the fridge for a beer. Life was more anxious, stressful, and out of his control. 

Motivation comes from progress, and he realised the only thing he could change was himself. So, he did. In July 2020 after 25 years working with beer, he and wife Nicky stopped drinking alcohol. Grant checked the scales every day and Nicky checked the sober calculator app that tracked how much they were saving by staying off the booze (a lot, it turns out). Together they moved past alcohol and have never looked back.

Grant still loves good beer, just not the alcohol. He was spoilt for choice in Europe where the popularity of zero alcohol beer has grown hugely in recent years. Zero alcohol beer has now overtaken craft beer, cider and seltzer sales in Europe, where people have changed the way they drink – for health, for family and for themselves. He muses that in Amsterdam, he was still able to ‘hammer the hops, without the hangover.’

Grant and his family arrived back in New Zealand in August 2021. He was 45kg lighter, and the family’s wallet was healthier. He couldn’t believe how little choice there was in the zero alcohol section besides the big brand pilsners.

Grant found himself searching, and failing to find a zero percent beer that satisfied, so he decided to launch NZ’s first zero alcohol brewery; State of Play. The aim; to create a zero-percent beer that tastes the way beer should – brewed the natural way, with the best New Zealand ingredients.

The only way to get this full taste experience is to brew with a special yeast that only produces a tiny amount of alcohol, and throw in plenty of skill from the brew team.  The other mainstream zero beers use a process that strips their beer of alcohol. When this occurs, many of the flavour notes from the hops and malt are stripped away. The State of Play zero alcohol brewing methodology is not as easy, but it does produce a tastier drop.

The first beer off the canning line is the flagship State of Play IPA. This is a cracking brew with a balance of NZ Hop bitterness and Canterbury malt backbone, and less than 0.5% alcohol.

The second beer is one for the hop-heads, our non-alcoholic Pale Ale. The Nectaron Hop aroma hits you before even your first sip.  Its all about hops and much higher in bitterness than the IPA.

State of Play is championing zero alcohol beers in New Zealand. It’s giving beer lovers a refreshing alternative. It’s for when you’re out playing with your mates and alcohol isn’t invited. It’s for when you’re drinking a bit less to be healthier, or like Grant, you’re part of the growing movement that is championing the alcohol-free life.  But really, anyone can crack a can, enjoy some hoppy goodness, and join the rebellion.