#92 Mash Gang | Pushing the envelope

Gone are the days where choosing a beer without the alcohol meant forgoing genuine choice in the process. Countless macro businesses now offer 0.5% or 0.0% iterations of well-known brands. And with January already halfway behind us, numerous independents have thrown their hats into the ring with a fascinating array of low and no pales, lager, sours and stouts. Beers that complement the burgeoning number of beverages available to consumers that want a great beer, just with less, or none, of the alcohol. For today’s guests, who started their brewing journey back in the first COVID lockdown, no-and-low is their raison d’être. And if ongoing demand is anything to go by, they’re showing that the appetite for quality beers, without the alcohol, is only growing and growing. A successful crowdfunder, brewing 36 beers, exports to the Nordics, Australia, and USA to name but a few along with 700% growth FY21-FY22 – it’s not been a bad few years for the team at Mash Gang. Of course, that’s come with a lot of hard work along the way.  But in doing so, they’ve showed that you can produce exciting beers that taste great, look the part and further broaden people’s understanding of what low and no alcohol beers can really be. In this episode, we speak to Jordan Childs, the leader and brewer at Mash Gang about challenging consumer perception of NOLO beverages, its debut supermarket beer launch, working with breweries and businesses of all kinds, and the group’s desire for continuous improvement. Image credit: Mash Gang