HEAPS NORMAL QUIET XPA
Sharing a convo could be the shot in the arm that we all need. So, whether your chosen 'vaccine' is a pale or a pilsner, administer one with a mate
Origin – Kingston, Australia Capital Territory
ABV – 0.5%
Size – 355mL can
Style – Extra Pale Ale
A hard-earned thirst needs a big cold beer. And the best cold beer is … non-alcoholic? That's not quite the message from the famous anthem that has promoted one of Australia's best-known full-strength beers for half a century. Yet there are a growing number of drinkers that are crushin’ a can of a non-alcoholic version of the amber nectar. And while everyone from Carlton to Heineken has quickly jumped on the bandwagon to cash in as Australia's no-alcohol beer market froths up, none seem to have managed to get one to taste like normal beer… we'll at least not until four mates, who all met through craft beer, founded Heaps Normal.
While Jordy Smith, Andy Miller, Ben Holdstock and Peter Brennan each have their own reasons for reducing their alcohol consumption, what they have in common is the desire to get people talking about something more interesting than getting wasted, whether that is being sober for a night or for life. Yet starting a non-alcoholic beer company and brewing beer without the hangover hasn't been without its challenges, not the least of them creating an alcohol-free beer that tastes as good as your regular craft brew. 'Like most people who drink beer for the taste, a tasty non-alcoholic beer had completely evaded us', shares head brewer Holdstock. 'So, we decided to make our own. It took us more than 6 months of trial brews and about as many failures to create our first AF beer.'
To get things to work, the lads ended up completely redesigned the brewing process, including constructing their own unique recipe, brewing method and non-traditional yeast to land on something they were happy with. Though not content with relying on their own taste buds, the first batch was shared with brewers, chefs and sommeliers, together with some barflies at the local, and… it passed the pub test! Commercialising the recipe, they labelled it Quiet XPA and in late 2020 launched the beer that’s helped parties all over the country dial the good times up to 11 and still allow those burning up the dancefloor, or just the midnight oil, to perform at their best the next day. Much like a normal XPA, it’s delicious and refreshing. Tropical and citrus aromas are balanced with bitterness and a subtle malt sweetness that is unmistakably beery.
So, whether you get it walkin’ or you get it talkin’, you can now crush your thirst by trading the standard drink for a new drink standard.
