Big Drop Pine Trail Pale Ale

Big Drop Brewing Co have certainly made their mark in the alcohol-free beer market here in the UK. Over the past 3 years they have achieved 150% year-on-year growth, and in 2019 their revenues were nearly £900,000. This shows me two things; firstly Big Drop are invested in producing great quality non-alcoholic beers, and secondly their products are popular amongst the consumers. They’ve also recently undergone a funding drive, reaching their target of £500,000 with little effort. If you’re interested in such things, you can join in the fun here: https://www.seedrs.com/big-drop-brewing-co

Big Drop Pine Trail Pale Ale is one of Big Drop’s core range of beers. It’s picked up some prestigious awards in the World Beer Awards; earning World’s Best Style Winner in 2017, and Bronze in the Pale Beer Low Strength United Kingdom category in 2019. In fact, Big Drop’s offerings are no stranger to awards, with most of their offerings having at least one title to their name. But as evident from my previous reviews of their products, this doesn’t always equate to a good review here on Free Beer. Anyway, enough pining on, let’s get on with the review.

Pouring from the can we get a pale golden liquid with lively carbonation and a wee fluffy head that shrinks down but does linger for a while. On the nose we get the aromas teased by the beer’s name; resinous piney hops, also tropical and citrus notes, with also a sweet undertone. Very fresh and clean.

The flavours carry on from the aroma, and this time I’m glad to say are full strength! Lovely pine flavours mixed with grapefruit and lime citrus, hoppy resin, very light malt sweetness with a bitter finish. The body is good, probably a combination of the carbonation and the addition of lactose.

A great example of a hoppy pale ale, a lot of bitterness, verging on tart, but not overwhelming the senses. It’s on the border of being an IPA, but remains refreshing and very drinkable. I’m glad to say this is finally another from Big Drop’s stable (joining Galactic Milk Stout) that I’ll be adding to my regular tipple rotation.

Nutritional Information (per 100ml)

0.5% alcohol by volume
18.5 calories energy
0.1g fat
3.6g carbohydrates
0.1g sugar
<0.5g protein

(taken from the side of the can)

Ingredients

Water, Barley, Wheat, Lactose (Milk), Hops, Yeast