I am going to be 40 next year…yep, pretty scary seeing as I still think of myself as a 20 year old…well  a 20 year old with a Dad-bod (very fashionable these days). When you get to your forties many things begin to change. All of a sudden you are considered middle aged, you need to get regular check-ups for all of those embarrassing ailments that affect us guys and some of us turn to drinking light beer!

I shudder at the thought of becoming like my old man and succumbing to the allure of the 2.2% ABV yellow water that he used to tip down his throat. If having a drink for you is about maximising your trips to the loo to take a leak, then step right up and be my guest. If you like to have a drink to relax and enjoy the taste of your chosen beverage, then walk and find something better!

If you feel the need to tone down your drinking ways then maybe a mid-strength at 3.5%-ish is a good meet in the middle option. I was introduced to XXXX Gold in my early days at Lion and had my first “XXXX Epiphany” at the V8 supercars and was hooked from then on. The epiphany was an internal bit of jargon that we used to describe the feeling of waking up the next morning with a clear head after having drunk Goldie’s all day and having had a bloody fantastic time. It was kind of like, “oh yeah, this mid strength stuff ain’t too bad”.

For craft beer drinkers, the Goldie’s won’t quite cut it for a session beer (great for fishing though) but for many years there weren’t that many competing mid strength offerings out there. Little Creatures Rogers would probably be the best in my opinion and frequently finds a home in my beer fridge, but things fell away very quickly after that option.

We are now starting to see a few Australian brewers experimenting with the idea of full flavour, reduced alcohol beer and succeeding at it. Always on the lookout for a great craft beer middie, I stumbled across the Brewcult Reset Robot at my local bottle-o and thought I would give it a crack.

Billed as a “3.5% tangelo treat that’ll tickle the tongue whilst keeping your brain in check” it sounded like a bloody good option! Packed with NZ hops that deliver a fruity nose on a light malt backbone, this is the definition of a lawnmower beer in my opinion.

Lawnmower-beer
/ˈlɔːnməʊə/
noun
1. A beer you need to have once you have finished mowing the lawns in the heat

You know, you have been out in the heat mowing the lawns, covered in grass and dirt, smelling like petrol and sweat and all you want to do is smash a couple of stubs…that is a lawnmower beer, and Reset Robot can be my post-lawn mowing thirst quenching friend forever!

Bit of a shout out to the creator of Brewcult, Hendo…he is a legend in the industry and now doing some great stuff with Brewcult. If you are interested in finding out a little more about the man, check out this article Crafty Pint wrote about him, or visit www.brewcult.com

If you are interested in lower alcohol beers that are packed with flavour, maybe check out these other great options:

Deschutes Brewery: River Ale (3.9%)

Little Creatures: Rogers Beer (3.8%)

Temple Brewing: Bicycle Beer (4.2%)

Monteiths: Mid Strength Ale (3.0%)

Stone & Wood: Garden Ale (3.8%)

Cheers to great beers!