Good non-alcoholic beer

[CubanPete]

I didn't like the brewdog.

Bavaria, Becks blue wern't bad, but Heineken was the favourite.

[rdjohn]

I am not a fan of lagers generally and, to date, I have been even more disappointed with low/zero alcohol versions.

My wife was reading that Adnam’s Ghost Ship was pretty good https://cellarandkitchen.adnams.co.uk/catalog/prod...

To my palate, it is a perfectly acceptable bottled Ale, the fact it is low alcohol is just a great boost. I tend to drink it at about 14degC and so the aromas and flavours are full on.

We buy it a Tesco for about £1:70p per bottle. An excellent substitute if you are out driving this Christmas.

[mintybiscuit]

I'm with you on the Adnams Ghostship. It has a great taste.

My local had so much demand, that they now have it on draught.
Much better than the bottled as it is served at cellar temp, rather than fridge temp.

[Frank7]

I don’t drink beer, but non-alcoholic beer sounds like an anomaly.
I drink vodka predominantly, and bourbon occasionally, but I’m totally disinterested in any non-alcoholic options, thanks.

[InductionRoar]

Frank7 said:

I don’t drink beer, but non-alcoholic beer sounds like an anomaly.
I drink vodka predominantly, and bourbon occasionally, but I’m totally disinterested in any non-alcoholic options, thanks.

It's this level of insight that is lacking on other forums.

[rdjohn]

mintybiscuit said:

I'm with you on the Adnams Ghostship. It has a great taste.

My local had so much demand, that they now have it on draught.
Much better than the bottled as it is served at cellar temp, rather than fridge temp.

Is that in the UAE or UK? Is it natural, or does it have added CO2?

That really does sound like the perfect solution for a lot of out-of-town pubs. Hopefully if it becomes that big, other breweries will follow suit.

[mintybiscuit]

rdjohn said:

Is that in the UAE or UK? Is it natural, or does it have added CO2?

That really does sound like the perfect solution for a lot of out-of-town pubs. Hopefully if it becomes that big, other breweries will follow suit.

rdjohn.
Sorry for not getting back sooner.
This is in the UK, This place to be exact......... http://www.suffolkcamra.co.uk/pubs/pub/913
Some co2 is added during the brewing process apparently.
It is served using 70/30 mixed gas.
It also claims to be " de-alcoholised " rather than made to be alc free !

[Ratski83]

The wheat beers from Germany seem to taste the most real to me. Having not drunk for a couple of years I was quite taken back when I had a bottle of Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Alkoholfrei as it tasted so similar to the alcohol versions.

I stick to Fever Tree Ginger Beer usually but needs to be the Premium stuff not the Naturally Light muck.

[SVX]

This will be my first completely dry Christmas for medical reasons, so I've been trying out the alternatives.

The game has moved on somewhat - and I've tried most of the alternatives above - Ghost Ship is widely available in most Wetherspoons, which is great if you're out with a group of people. For home drinking I've found, the following:

Brewdog Raspberry Blitz:



Very similar to Belgian/Dutch/French fruit beers.

Infinite Session Pale:



Here in South Africa (I'm visiting for the Christmas period), there is quite the selection of AF beers, Castle Free, imported there is Super Bock 0.0, Budvar Free and a local (Cape Town) brew called Devil's Peak Zero to Hero:

[Ratski83]

The wheat beers from Germany seem to taste the most real to me. Having not drunk for a couple of years I was quite taken back when I had a bottle of Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Alkoholfrei as it tasted so similar to the alcohol versions.

I stick to Fever Tree Ginger Beer usually but needs to be the Premium stuff not the Naturally Light muck.

[cml24]

Just thought I'd bring this thread back to the top. I've been drinking far too much in lockdown, so thought I'd seek out some alcohol free beers to give me some days off!

I've had brew dog nanny state as its available locally, and the ghost ship is good (probably my preferred choice). However, that's about all I can get locally so wondered if there was somewhere to buy a big box online?

I can get a mixed box of 48 cans from Brew Dog, so tempted by that. Any other options recommended?

[lauda]

Brooklyn Special Effects is my favourite. Doesn't have that slightly weird aftertaste that I tend to notice with a lot of other low-alcohol beers.

[cml24]

lauda said:

Brooklyn Special Effects is my favourite. Doesn't have that slightly weird aftertaste that I tend to notice with a lot of other low-alcohol beers.

I'll give that one a go next time. I'm sure I've seen it in our local supermarket. Checking online, it looks like its no cheaper to buy in bulk, so I might as well keep buying a few each week with the normal food shop.

[chemistry]

lauda said:

Brooklyn Special Effects is my favourite. Doesn't have that slightly weird aftertaste that I tend to notice with a lot of other low-alcohol beers.

Agree

[Ynox]

Infinite Pale is great.

I bought a mixed case of alcohol free beers from Brewdog. Have enjoyed most of them so far - also trying to drink a little less!

[EdwardC1989]

lauda said:

Brooklyn Special Effects is my favourite. Doesn't have that slightly weird aftertaste that I tend to notice with a lot of other low-alcohol beers.

+1 on this. Always pick this up, normally on offer at Tesco/Waitrose. Budweiser Prohibition is good, and Heineken 0 is probably the closest you can get to a 'mainstream' lager.

[ladderino]

I drink a lot of AF beer as not supposed to drink very much because of medication I'm on.

Lock down has completely shot that to pieces, however prior to that I'd tried a lot of the different AF beers. Clearly it's all very subjective, ymmv, but here's my own view on how the different ones rate -

Great
Hoegaarden
BrewDog Punk AF
Brooklyn Special Effects
Erdinger Alkoholfrei
Franziskaner Alkoholfrei
Ghost Ship

Good
Schneider Weisse Alkoholfrei
Big Drop Pale Ale
Jever Fun
Jupiler
San Miguel
Bavaria
Clausthaler

OK
Heineken
Carlsberg
Leffe
Warsteiner
Becks Blue
Bitburger
Speckled Hen

Rank
BrewDog Nanny State
Maisel's Weisse Alkoholfrei
Infinite Session Pale
Peroni
Moretti
Big Drop Lager

Horrific
Cobra

[Jiebo]

Lucky saint.

It’s 0.5%, but genuinely excellent. You can’t find it in the shops and I’ve had it at a restaurant in London.

Surprised it’s not been mentioned yet. Much better than the utter ste that brew dog make.

Edit/ looks like it’s available in sainos now!

Edited by Jiebo on Thursday 23 April 18:35

[juice]

Jiebo said:

Lucky saint.

It’s 0.5%, but genuinely excellent. You can’t find it in the shops and I’ve had it at a restaurant in London.

Surprised it’s not been mentioned yet. Much better than the utter ste that brew dog make.

Just about to post the same thing. I ordered it from amazon and tried it today. It's really very good indeed.

[the cueball]

I’ve worked my way through plenty of the Lidl Perlenbacher 0.0% stuff.

Really enjoy drinking them... something I though I would never say.