There’s something to be said for going to the pub, sinking a few (and then maybe some more) pints, and then waking up the next day without a hangover
Yes, it can be done thanks to the ever-increasing range of low- and no-alcohol beers on offer. Though the alcohol-free movement appears to have only recently come into fashion, there’s a long history of drinking low-strength beer in the UK (we’re talking way back in the Middle Ages when everyone drank beer because it wasn’t safe to drink water).
These days, if you want to go completely booze-free, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to beers. Removing the booze from beer can so easily mean removing the flavour – non-alcoholic beers used to be made by boiling away the alcohol, which had the unfortunate side effect of boiling away most of the flavour, too.
READ ALSO: Check out Brighton’s first no-alcohol bar with us this January
And while there are still some non-alc beers on the market that look like brown water and taste like thin squash, there are also keg-loads of AF and low-alcohol beers so good you’d never be able to tell they were (almost) booze-free, and that’s all thanks to innovations in the non-alcoholic beer brewing process.
Remember, for a drink to be deemed legally alcohol-free in the UK, it has to contain 0.05% ABV (alcohol by volume)or less. Between 0.05% and 1.2% currently counts as low-alcohol over here, even if no alcohol has actually been removed. But there are moves to raise this threshold to 0.5% to bring the UK in line with the US and other countries. So whether you’re teetotal, cutting down or just experimenting with on-the-wagon life, these are the best low- and no-alcohol beers to get in your glasses.
Beavertown’s Lazer Crush
Beavertown’s no-alc IPA Lazer Crush is brewed using a special strain of yeast that ferments the malt without adding alcohol, so you get full flavour along with hints of peach, mango and grapefruit from the hops, all at just 0.3%.
Days
Produced in Scotland, Days Lager and Pale Ale is 100% beer with 0.0% alcohol – the brewing process doesn’t produce any alcohol at all, so none has to be burned off. Days also donates 2% of all sales (equivalent to the alcohol duty) to mental health initiatives so you’re doing good by drinking this. (And their social media campaign featuring the brand’s two (initially) reluctant millennial founders is brilliant.)
Loah
If you like a fruity beer but would rather it came without the booze, then reach for a can of Loah. By brewing them in the same way as full-strength beers but to a percentage of just 0.5%, all the hop flavour is kept in and topped up with fruity notes of lime and peach for the two lagers and blood orange for the IPA.
Athletic Brewing Co.
Athletic Brewing Co. is the best-selling AF craft beer in the US and now it’s available in supermarkets on our shores. The Run Wild IPA is a great session beer, with malt, citrus and bitter notes, whereas the Upside Dawn Golden Ale is lighter, with a subtle floral undertone, and both are less than 0.5% ABV.
Lucky Saint
The award-winning Lucky Saint lager (at 0.5% ABV) is made with top-notch hops, high-quality malted barley and their own single-use yeast, and it’s left unfiltered to deliver the maximum amount of flavour with none of the alcohol. Seriously, you won’t even realise it doesn’t contain any booze. A bottle of beer has never felt so saintly.
Nirvana Brewery
East London-based Nirvana Brewery is the UK’s first and only dedicated alcohol-free brewery, meaning they can produce a whole range of no-alc beers, from Bavarian Helles Lager to Dark & Rich Stout. We particularly like the Classic IPA with notes of citrus, pine and spice – perfect when it’s hot outside but goes down a treat all year round.
Big Drop Brewing Co’s Galactic Milk Stout
No-one likes a thin-tasting stout so Big Drop have created a brew with all the depth and richness you’d expect from a regular one, just minus the booze. The Galactic Milk Stout is smooth and chocolatey with the right amount of bitterness to keep you going back for more.
Recent Comments