WILLIAMSTON, Mich. – A new spin on Old Nation’s popular M-43 beer offers reduced carbs and no residual sugars.
Old Nation owner, president and brewer Travis Fritts said B-43 only has three carbs per pint but boasts a 7 percent ABV, a step up from other low-carb alcohol options.
B-43, a dry IPA, is made with the same hops as M-43 but is processed differently, with certain grains being removed and the addition of an enzyme.
“You’re left with a very dry beer, but the hops combinations that we’re using have a lot of sweeter flavors, like mango, some pineapple and a little bit of melon,” Fritts said. “So, even though it’s a dry beer, it doesn’t come across as puckeringly dry. It comes across as like a pilsner, maybe, with a whole lot of these real interesting hops.”
Fritts said the new brew has been in the works for about a year and a half, and the decision to make a low-carb option came with fitness enthusiasts who still like to enjoy beer in mind.
While the brewery was working on B-43, hard seltzers exploded in popularity, reinforcing the need for a low-carb beer.
“Really, people asking for it is what made us start developing it, but we do recognize that there’s probably a subset of people that want a low-carb option but don’t, for example, want to walk into a party with a pack or a can of seltzer necessarily,” Fritts said.
B-43 started shipping to retailers this week. It will be available across the brewery’s distribution footprint by Dec. 23.