2.5% ABV Meets 100% Flavor: Soul Tone Beer Launches as Pennsylvania’s First Mid-Strength Craft Beer Brand; a Sly Fox Project

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Craft beer fans seeking full flavor with lower alcohol levels have a new way to find that long-elusive harmony with the introduction of Soul Tone Beer. Soul Tone’s 2.5% ABV beers utilize traditional ingredients and brewing techniques, resulting in enjoyment and flavor profiles comparable to beers with significantly higher alcohol content.

Soul Tone is a collaboration between Pottstown’s Sly Fox Brewing Company – one of the region’s pioneering craft breweries dating back to 1995 – and Pivo Nova Brewing, a Lehigh Valley beverage innovation company owned and operated by the Kester family.

The Pivo Nova team has dedicated more than a decade of research to develop a revolutionary and proprietary technique for precisely controlling a beer’s ABV while retaining the body, flavor, and drinkability of craft beer. Paired with Sly Fox’s expert brewers and well-earned reputation for quality, the resulting Soul Tone beers deliver an alternative to both non-alcoholic beers and “session” beers that typically fall around 4-5% ABV.

“Craft beer lovers shouldn’t have to sacrifice real beer flavor when limiting alcohol intake by resorting to NA beers. Now there is a true alternative,” said Greg Kester, who spearheads Pivo Nova’s development team. “We’ve created something truly different. Soul Tone delivers the complex character and body of a world-class beer with a much lower alcohol content than most craft beers – and without the dilution, mechanical alcohol-stripping, artificial processes, non-conventional yeasts, or fermentation blockers used in production of most NA beers or other mid-strength brews.”

Soul Tone is launching with two styles of beer: a hoppy West Coast-style IPA and a crisp German-style pilsner, both landing at 2.5% ABV. By debuting with two distinctly different styles, Soul Tone is demonstrating the breadth of its brewing techniques and its ability to deliver true-to-style beers with an astoundingly low alcohol content.

A real beer for changing consumer tastes

The timing for Soul Tone Beer’s 2.5% ABV concept is ideal. According to a 2025 report from data analytics company Circana, nearly half of adults aged 21+ aim to reduce their alcohol consumption. Furthermore, 2025 research from the United Kingdom indicates that 50 percent of consumers prefer two mid-strength drinks over one full-strength option, and 13% are choosing to “coast” their evenings by only drinking mid-strength beverages.

While overall beer sales have declined gradually in recent years, peer-reviewed forecasts and industry evidence indicate that low-alcohol beer (including 2-3% ABV “mid-strength” products) is a structurally expanding segment in the United States, with a forecasted 8-9% compounded annual growth rate, mirroring the growth witnessed internationally.

“We’ve seen the rise of mid-strength beer and consumers choosing lower alcohol options in the UK and Australia over the last several years,” said Peter Giannopoulos, President of Brewery Operations at Sly Fox. “Across the pond, NA beers have been a popular choice for a much longer time than the recent boom in the U.S., and we’re anticipating a similar rise in popularity of lower-alcohol options in the American craft beer market as well.”

Evolving a cultural staple

The long tradition of beer as a cultural staple at picnics, outdoor gatherings, sporting events, concerts, restaurants, bars, and other gathering places has made it part of the nation’s social fabric.

Soul Tone Beer’s 2.5% ABV ushers in a new era of responsible enjoyment and an opportunity to enjoy authentic craft beer as part of extended social sessions. It is ideal for workplace events, family gatherings, and situations where traditional ABV levels may be a concern.

Soul Tone Beer is available at select bars, restaurants, and retailers throughout the Greater Philadelphia region – including the Lehigh Valley, Lancaster, and Reading markets.

About Soul Tone Beer

Soul Tone Beer is Pennsylvania’s first beer company dedicated to crafting full-flavored beers at just 2.5% ABV. The brand is built around balanced drinking and social connection, offering an alternative to traditional high-alcohol craft beer and non-alcoholic beers.

Vibe with Soul Tone:

soultonebeer.com

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instagram.com/soultonebeer

tiktok.com/@soultonebeer

About Sly Fox Brewing Company

Since the inaugural brew in 1995, Pottstown’s Sly Fox Brewing Company has been dedicated to brewing and introducing its customers to a wide variety of the highest-quality beers. Its critically acclaimed year-round lineup and highly anticipated seasonals are available at the brewpubs in Phoenixville and Pottstown and taphouses in Malvern, Pittsburgh, and Wyomissing, as well as top restaurants and retailers in the mid-Atlantic region. Sly Fox was one of the first craft breweries in the country to implement a canning line and, with it, earned one of the first-ever Great American Beer Festival (GABF) medals awarded to a canned craft beer. Still family-owned and operated after three decades in business, Sly Fox is widely recognized among the region’s best and most enduring independent craft breweries.

slyfoxbeer.com

instagram.com/slyfoxbeer

facebook.com/slyfoxbeer

About Pivo Nova Brewing

Pivo Nova Brewing LLC is a Lehigh Valley, PA-based beverage product development company specializing in lower-alcohol beers in the 2-3% ABV range. The organization brings experience in brewing science, analytical chemistry, R&D process management, and industrial engineering. The partnership with Sly Fox is the culmination of over a decade of product development work and merges Pivo Nova’s design success with Sly Fox Brewing, one of Pennsylvania’s best-known, innovative, and quality-driven breweries. The team at Pivo Nova, which started as a father-son duo between Tom and Greg Kester, has grown to include Tom’s wife Julie and their daughter Audrey.

pivonova.com

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