Low ABV Cocktail with Beer and Ginger | The Low proof revolution!
A low alcohol cocktail recipe with non-alcoholic IPA, ginger syrup and Manzanilla sherry. A delicate sipper that differs from the usual fruit juice forward low-proof cocktails.
Welcome to my cocktail revolution! Here to shake up the way we view cocktails. For the longest time complexity, character and depth in cocktails have been led by heavy-hitting high ABV drinks, Such as Old fashioned’s, Negroni’s and Vieux carré’s.
Whilst on the other end of the scale you have non-alcoholic cocktails. Usually a parody of these cocktails. Hence the name “mocktail”.
Sitting somewhere in the middle is low alcoholic cocktails. Which are majority fruit or spritz based. Think, wine based lemonade mixers or long glasses filled with pineapple juice. Now don’t get me wrong, there are definitely a lot of people leading the movement of creating better low-proof cocktails.
Especially now people are starting to consider fortified wines and bitter liqueurs more as a base for a drinks instead of spirits If you’re yet to try a fernet branca and coke or a dry vermouth and tonic you need to “Insert chefs kiss gif”
Why go low proof?
Wellness and mindfulness is something people are now seeing more as an accessible way of living and not just a hippy trend. There are plenty of reasons why people choose to go sober and cut alcohol out entirely. Just take a look at everyone doing dry January. From health issues, dependency or just generally not liking the taste or idea of booze. But going low? Why would you do that.
For a lot of people, they may struggle with alcohol and so choosing to go low proof is a way where they can still drink the same amount, but drastically lower the alcohol intake. It’s a good mid-way point to go sober, like a bridge to sobriety. But by no means does being sober have to be the end goal.
I drink a lot of low and no abv cocktails and drinks with no intention of going sober. Sober doesn’t always have to be the goal. General mindfulness and mental wellbeing are great reasons to cut down on alcohol in general.
The reason I do it is because some nights I just want to have a drink as a way to unwind, but at the same time I also don’t want to get smashed on a Monday night on my own whilst binging 90s Christopher Walken films. Oddly specific I know.
Enter, Low ABV Cocktails
Sometimes I just don’t want to over indulge. And yet my go to cocktails are heavy hitting booze forward. Hence my low-proof revolution to make hard-hitting cocktails which are low in alcohol but high in character. And the first cocktail in my low-proof revolution? The name-sake of course. The “Low proof revolution”
If you want to know more about mindful drinking and how to achieve it, check out my guide and tips to mindful drinking.
The Chocolate Garnish
Gold sprayed chocolate gears. To make these chocolaty gears is easier then they seem. Step one, lay some bubble wrap down yes bubble wrap. Next melt some dark chocolate and spread it evenly over the bubble wrap. Put that in a freezer to cool. Once the chocolate has fully hardened, peel off the bubble wrap and and break the chocolate into pieces.
To give them the gold look, spray them with some gold edible cake decorating spray which you can pick up cheaply at most supermarkets or an Amazon UK here and Amazon USA here.
I’ve also covered the same garnish in a video I have on Youtube. You can find that here at the 0.47 mark
The Low ABV Cocktail Inspiration
The inspiration behind this low-proof cocktail other then my revolution to create low alcoholic high character cocktails is the industrial revolution. Being a Manchester lad, I’m surrounded by reminders of the industrial revolution.
From the 1740’s onwards Manchester started to grow and lead the industrial revolution. By the 1800s Manchester was said to be “steam mill mad” and by the 1830s there were over 99 cotton spinning mills in Manchester. Then in the 1840s IPA beer grew in popularity massively around England showing it was a British favourite.
By the 1870s Manchester was known as “Cottonopolis” due to the cotton trade and textile industry.
It shows all around Manchester. I myself live in a converted cotton mill like many fellow Mancunians. I even have a 200 year old beam above my bed and industrial beams in my living room as a constant reminder of this.
My nod to this in the cocktail is apparent with the name, use of IPA and my chocolate gears.
De-carbonated non-alcoholic IPA beer
Okay, so this is the most simple part of the cocktail other than adding a splash of sherry. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is. First things first you need to get some non alcoholic IPA. There are loads to choose from, even Brewdog has a 0.5% version of their ever so popular Punk IPA which you can find here. A few other brands I recommend are free star, infinite session and drop bear beer.
Once you have your non-alcoholic IPA it’s time for the very complicated de-carbonation process I lie of course, this is super easy. Open your beer, pour it into a jug and bash/stir out the bubbles with a fork or spoon. Basically just let it go flat...
Ginger syrup Recipe
For the ginger syrup, mix 200 grams of white sugar with 200ml of water in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil whilst stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Once the sugar has fully dissolved and the mixture is boiling, drop in 100grams of peeled ginger root and simmer for 10 minutes. After simmering, take it off the heat and allow it to cool before removing the ginger.
After its cooled (40-60 minutes) strain out the ginger and refrigerate.
Or you can pick it up from Amazon UK here and Amazon USA here.
Low Proof Revolution! Recipe
Low Proof Revolution!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Build everything in a mixing jar and stir with ice till cold
- Strain into a rocks glass filled with cubed ice
- Garnish with a chocolate gear.
Notes
De-carbonated non-alcoholic IPA beer
Okay, so this is the most simple part of the cocktail other than adding a splash of sherry. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is. First things first you need to get some non alcoholic IPA. There are loads to choose from, even Brewdog has a 0.5% version of their ever so popular Punk IPA which you can find here. A few other brands I recommend are free star, infinite session and drop bear beer.
Once you have your non-alcoholic IPA it’s time for the very complicated de-carbonation process I lie of course, this is super easy. Open your beer, pour it into a jug and bash/stir out the bubbles with a fork or spoon. Basically just let it go flat.
Ginger syrup Recipe
For the ginger syrup, mix 200 grams of white sugar with 200ml of water in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil whilst stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Once the sugar has fully dissolved and the mixture is boiling, drop in 100grams of peeled ginger root and simmer for 10 minutes. After simmering, take it off the heat and allow it to cool before removing the ginger.
After its cooled (40-60 minutes) strain out the ginger and refrigerate.
Or you can pick it up from Amazon UK here and Amazon USA here.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
74.65Fat
1.34 gSat. Fat
0.17 gCarbs
13.17 gFiber
0.28 gNet carbs
12.89 gSugar
11.12 gProtein
0.32 gSodium
144.46 mgCholesterol
0 mgThe nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
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