What type of beer is Woodcutter?
Woodcutter is a brown ale
A brown ale, is a dark or amber coloured ale. Like all ales, they use top fermenting yeasts but can be a diverse group. They are generally more malty than hoppy and given the IBU of this beer being 17, that is likely true here. I wouldn’t expect too much hops and malt should be the dominant flavour
Woodcutter Brown Ale Ingredients
The last two Big Drop beers i’ve reviewed have had the slightly unusual ingredient of maltodextrin, to bulk up the body as they were light in carbs.
Does Woodcutter have anything as fancy or unusual?
Woodcutter Brown Ale has…
- Water
- Barley
- Lactose
- Wheat
- Hops
- Yeast
Nothing too earth shattering then but lactose is a slight anomaly. It is the sugar in milk and is added as it doesnt ferment and brings some sweetness, body and mouthfeel to the finished beer.
It does make the beer not vegan friendly tho.
Woodcutter Brown Ale Nutrition
So there is added lactose that gets through the brewing so will that result in high calories and a high sugar content?
Woodcutter’s nutrition stats are…
| | Values per 100ml or 100g |
| Alcohol | 0.5% |
| Calories | 22kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 4.9g |
| Sugars | 2.7g |
A calorie count of 22kcal/100ml is a bit above average for a non alcoholic beer but not out of keeping for an ale and not a lager.
Similarly, a sugar level of 2.7g/100ml would concern me in a pale lager as i think it might start to taste too sweet without lots of hop bitterness but i think this type of ale with caramel and coffee notes can carry it off.
For a full article on the calories, carbs and sugar in non alcoholic beers then read my article on it here
Is Woodcutter Brown Ale really alcohol free?
Well the eagle eyed amount you will spot the bottle claims the beer is “alcohol free”.
UK and US law says only beers with an ABV of less then 0.05% can use alcohol free terminology. Big Drop are likely using EU laws here where anything up to 0.5% ABV can be called alcohol free. Clear as mud, eh?
Anything 0.5% ABV and below is definitely non alcoholic tho.
Lots of foods actually have a similar or higher ABV, such as orange juice or a ripe banana.
You can read my entire article on how to tell how much alcohol is in a non alcoholic beer here
If you would like to find out why breweries like this go for a 0.5% beer rather than a 0.0% beer then read my full article on that here
The Look
Purple and orange colourway, puts you in mind of a darker beer and the beer is indeed dark brown verging on a porter black.
The Aroma
Quite a bit on the nose. Big malt smell with caramel, chocolate and roasted coffee. For a non alcoholic beer that is quite a big aroma, im looking forward to drinking it now.
The Taste
Ahh, that was a decent first drink. It has a nice malty taste with just enough of the other things I had smelled to keep you thinking. There is some caramel, chococlate and coffee notes but I honestly thought there would be more or out in force a bit more from the smell.
Compared to the last 2 Big Drops I tried (Fieldhopper and Uptime), this has a huge amount more body and structure. They were extremely skinny on the carbs and sugar and this has substantially more and you can tell. It doesn’t taste too sweet tho.
I think it is carbonated enough too, it is not hugely fizzy and is toned down like a dark ale or porter should be and all the better for it.
Now ive had a good few gulps I would say that perhaps I could have more depth of flavour to get up the rankings towards the top but it is a solid beer.
The Verdict
A nice rounded brown ale, whilst it doesn’t blow you away like St Peters Without did, it is very dependable.
The Score
7/10 – A decent effort, you might not drink a lot of these in a session for I had a pleasant but unspectacular drink.
Find out where this beer ranks compared to all the beers i have reviewed on my updated “Best Non Alcoholic Beers” page
Where to buy
To check out the latest Amazon prices you can follow this link
You can try these at Wise Bartender as well, a brilliant non alcoholic retailer
For UK readers, Light Drinks has this and others, if you use code OPENINGTHEBOTTLE you get an additional 5% off
For Australian readers, Craft Zero has a range of products, if you use code OPENINGTHEBOTTLE you get an additional 10% off
*Affiliate Disclosure – if you click on the links and buy from these providers, i might receive a small commission*
Is Woodcutter Brown Ale Free?
Woodcutter Brown Ale is not gluten free as the company state it has 25ppm and the cut off is 20ppm to be gluten free.
I have an entire article on non alcoholic beers and gluten if you want more information.
Is Woodcutter Brown Ale Vegan?
Woodcutter is not vegan as it contains lactose, from milk.
For more on vegan beers see my article on the matter. Why beers may or may not be and how to check.
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SUMMARY
A decent effort, you might not drink a lot of these in a session for I had a pleasant but unspectacular drink. |
3.5
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