Over the last few years, non alcoholic beer has really taken off in Australia. In fact, statistics show that it's one of the fastest growing drinks trends ever. So it's an exciting time for people like Jaz Wearin, co-founder of NORT.
I wanted to find out more about this amazing brand, so I sat down for a chat with Jaz.
Why did you decide to start making alcohol-free beer?
"I am the co-founder along with my husband, Grant, of Modus Brewing. So to say I am a beer girl is an understatement. When I was pregnant with my son a few years back all I craved was beer. In fact I know a lot of women crave beer due to its refreshing nature. At that time there was only mainstream non-alc beer options out there and they lacked flavour, body and a refreshing finish. I could see an opportunity however with a new baby and running Modus, I simply didn’t have the bandwidth to get something off the ground.
It wasn’t until the first lock down (winter 2020) that I really saw the clear path. I could see that people were increasing their alcohol intake due to the uncertainty of the future, home schooling, working from home and just being out of their usual routine. Overindulging in alcohol during a stressful time as we all know isn’t a great combo. I went for an early morning walk and decided after that walk I was bringing out a non-alcoholic beer that was full of flavour, like you were drinking the real thing. Something you could replace alcohol with completely or balance it with alcoholic beverages. It was a whirlwind period from that conception walk to the release of NORT, which we did in a mere few months."
What was your vision for the NORT brand?
"Our tagline for NORT is Enjoy More. This sums up exactly my vision and how we intend people to interact with the brand. Enjoy More beer. Enjoy More catch-ups, enjoy an early morning surf. Enjoy More long lunches, enjoy an arvo of productivity.
NORT is about giving you freedom to live the life you want. It may be that you don’t want to give up alcohol all together but you do want to cut back. You can balance between a hoppy, hazy alcoholic IPA and then switch to a NORT IPA and repeat, meaning that you have halved your alcohol content. It may be that you have to abstain from alcohol due to pregnancy or health and NORT ensures that you feel included in social events and you can still enjoy all of those occasional moments.
Or it could be that you have decided personally to give up alcohol all together but you still want to head to the pub and have a beer with your mates, not a soft drink. We wanted to celebrate alcohol free with the freedoms it can offer to anyone and everyone."
NORT is one of the best zero alcohol beer brands on the market in terms of calories/sugar – was this part of your vision?
"The traditional non-alc options for adult consumption have been high in sugar, high in calories and can actually do more harm to you than good. You can leave a night feeling like you are on a sugar high and quite bloated. There is also an assumption that beer is high cal, but I knew that we could not only offer a flavourful 0% beer, but also a healthy one with very few calories
The NORT flavours range from 49 - 60 calories which make it the lowest cal Aussie made non alcoholic beer in the country."
Can you tell me a little about how NORT is made?
"NORT is made just like an alcoholic beer through traditional brewing processes - milling, wort, boiling, fermenting. After over seven years making award winning alcoholic beers for Modus Brewing we felt confident we could make an alcohol free beer that had flavour, aroma and mouthfeel.
We spent some time selecting malts, yeasts and hops that would deliver flavour whilst also being low calorie… and of course making sure there was no refermentation that would create alcohol.. not an easy feat but we now have 4 flavours in the range all full flavoured and low calorie."
What makes NORT different to other non alcoholic beer?
"NORT is naturally brewed which means it retains all those lovely beer flavours, whilst a lot of the mainstream non-alc beers are boiled to remove the alcohol which takes out that very important flavour that we beer lovers seek and have a thirst for!
NORT is also female founded, family owned and brewed in Australia by experienced award winning craft Brewers. We were also awarded recently a $1 million government grant to assist us with brewing NORT at our newly built brewery in Newcastle which will make us one of the first independent breweries to be able to brew alcohol free beer in our own facility and employee more Aussies in manufacturing which we are very passionate about."
A Guide to NORT Beer
[product name="nort-non-alcoholic-beer"]
The taste: This NORT Refreshing Ale has a deep golden colour and features fruity aromas, a crisp and refreshing mouthfeel and a clean finish
Worth noting: 15 calories per 100ml and less than 1g sugar.
What customers are saying: "One of the best non alcoholic beers - great flavour, just like the real thing."
[product name="nort-pacific-ale"]
The taste: This NORT Pacific Ale has a rich golden hue and features aromas of tropical passionfruit, a light body and a long refreshing finish.
Worth noting: 15 calories per 100ml and less than 1g sugar.
What customers are saying: "Great taste, like my favourite alcoholic pacific ale, really enjoyable."
[product name="nort-xpa"]
The taste: This NORT Tropical XPA has a frosty haze and features fruity aromas of pineapple, mango and citrus.
Worth noting: 15 calories per 100ml and less than 1g sugar.
What customers are saying: "I am a massive fan of NORT as a non alcoholic craft beer. Easy to drink with beer like flavours which are lacking in some other non alcoholic beers.:
[product name="nort-all-day-ipa"]
The taste: This NORT All Day IPA features a complex flavour profile with citrus, grapefruit and malty tones.
Worth noting: 16 calories per 100ml and less than 1g sugar.
What customers are saying: "Great every day beer, like a summer ale crossed with a mid range IPA."
Over the last few years, non alcoholic beer has really taken off in Australia. In fact, statistics show that it's one of the fastest growing drinks trends ever. So it's an exciting time for people like Jaz Wearin, co-founder of NORT.
I wanted to find out more about this amazing brand, so I sat down for a chat with Jaz.
Why did you decide to start making alcohol-free beer?
"I am the co-founder along with my husband, Grant, of Modus Brewing. So to say I am a beer girl is an understatement. When I was pregnant with my son a few years back all I craved was beer. In fact I know a lot of women crave beer due to its refreshing nature. At that time there was only mainstream non-alc beer options out there and they lacked flavour, body and a refreshing finish. I could see an opportunity however with a new baby and running Modus, I simply didn’t have the bandwidth to get something off the ground.
It wasn’t until the first lock down (winter 2020) that I really saw the clear path. I could see that people were increasing their alcohol intake due to the uncertainty of the future, home schooling, working from home and just being out of their usual routine. Overindulging in alcohol during a stressful time as we all know isn’t a great combo. I went for an early morning walk and decided after that walk I was bringing out a non-alcoholic beer that was full of flavour, like you were drinking the real thing. Something you could replace alcohol with completely or balance it with alcoholic beverages. It was a whirlwind period from that conception walk to the release of NORT, which we did in a mere few months."
What was your vision for the NORT brand?
"Our tagline for NORT is Enjoy More. This sums up exactly my vision and how we intend people to interact with the brand. Enjoy More beer. Enjoy More catch-ups, enjoy an early morning surf. Enjoy More long lunches, enjoy an arvo of productivity.
NORT is about giving you freedom to live the life you want. It may be that you don’t want to give up alcohol all together but you do want to cut back. You can balance between a hoppy, hazy alcoholic IPA and then switch to a NORT IPA and repeat, meaning that you have halved your alcohol content. It may be that you have to abstain from alcohol due to pregnancy or health and NORT ensures that you feel included in social events and you can still enjoy all of those occasional moments.
Or it could be that you have decided personally to give up alcohol all together but you still want to head to the pub and have a beer with your mates, not a soft drink. We wanted to celebrate alcohol free with the freedoms it can offer to anyone and everyone."
NORT is one of the best zero alcohol beer brands on the market in terms of calories/sugar – was this part of your vision?
"The traditional non-alc options for adult consumption have been high in sugar, high in calories and can actually do more harm to you than good. You can leave a night feeling like you are on a sugar high and quite bloated. There is also an assumption that beer is high cal, but I knew that we could not only offer a flavourful 0% beer, but also a healthy one with very few calories
The NORT flavours range from 49 - 60 calories which make it the lowest cal Aussie made non alcoholic beer in the country."
Can you tell me a little about how NORT is made?
"NORT is made just like an alcoholic beer through traditional brewing processes - milling, wort, boiling, fermenting. After over seven years making award winning alcoholic beers for Modus Brewing we felt confident we could make an alcohol free beer that had flavour, aroma and mouthfeel.
We spent some time selecting malts, yeasts and hops that would deliver flavour whilst also being low calorie… and of course making sure there was no refermentation that would create alcohol.. not an easy feat but we now have 4 flavours in the range all full flavoured and low calorie."
What makes NORT different to other non alcoholic beer?
"NORT is naturally brewed which means it retains all those lovely beer flavours, whilst a lot of the mainstream non-alc beers are boiled to remove the alcohol which takes out that very important flavour that we beer lovers seek and have a thirst for!
NORT is also female founded, family owned and brewed in Australia by experienced award winning craft Brewers. We were also awarded recently a $1 million government grant to assist us with brewing NORT at our newly built brewery in Newcastle which will make us one of the first independent breweries to be able to brew alcohol free beer in our own facility and employee more Aussies in manufacturing which we are very passionate about."
A Guide to NORT Beer
The taste: This NORT Refreshing Ale has a deep golden colour and features fruity aromas, a crisp and refreshing mouthfeel and a clean finish
Worth noting: 15 calories per 100ml and less than 1g sugar.
What customers are saying: "One of the best non alcoholic beers - great flavour, just like the real thing."
The taste: This NORT Pacific Ale has a rich golden hue and features aromas of tropical passionfruit, a light body and a long refreshing finish.
Worth noting: 15 calories per 100ml and less than 1g sugar.
What customers are saying: "Great taste, like my favourite alcoholic pacific ale, really enjoyable."
The taste: This NORT Tropical XPA has a frosty haze and features fruity aromas of pineapple, mango and citrus.
Worth noting: 15 calories per 100ml and less than 1g sugar.
What customers are saying: "I am a massive fan of NORT as a non alcoholic craft beer. Easy to drink with beer like flavours which are lacking in some other non alcoholic beers.:
The taste: This NORT All Day IPA features a complex flavour profile with citrus, grapefruit and malty tones.
Worth noting: 16 calories per 100ml and less than 1g sugar.
What customers are saying: "Great every day beer, like a summer ale crossed with a mid range IPA."
