Exclusive: Harpoon wades into "mid-strength" beer market with Low Key lager

Driving the news: The Boston brewery is producing Low Key, a "mid-strength" lager with 3.3% alcohol by volume (ABV), says Nathaniel Davis, CEO of Harpoon's parent company Barrel One Collective.

• Davis said Low Key has a light, refreshing body with an "unusual tropical fruit character."
• For craft beer lovers worried about hangovers, he said, the modest ABV "allows for accessibility without guilt."

Zoom out: The so-called mid-strength beer has long been a tradition in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and Australia, where brewers are taxed on beers' alcohol content rather than volume, per the Wall Street Journal.

• Now, the mid-strength beer is catching on stateside, either because of an aging craft beer fan base seeking lighter brews or the nation's overall shift away from alcohol consumption.
• Beers with 6-8% ABV have long been considered the middle ground in the U.S.; mid-strength beers contain half the alcohol content, whether they're pilsners, IPAs or stouts.

State of play: Low Key joins a small, but growing list of self-described American mid-strength beers like Goose Island Lite Work Midstrength IPA (3.4%).

What we're watching: Harpoon will likely start distributing the lager next week and aim to have it fully released by March.

• Look for it at your local package store or at Harpoon's taproom in the Seaport.