Word to the Wise: Small Beer
by ETR (04/25/2008)
The expression "small beer" - derived from a name for beer with very little alcohol content - refers to something that’s insignificant.
Example (as used by Jerry Coyne in The New York Times): "Call me a geek, but for biologists, marvels like the parasitic flatworm are on tap every day, making the reveries of Hollywood seem like small beer."