Had enough of the cotton-wool mouth feeling and the dry eyes you get the morning after a couple of glasses of wine or a pint?
You’re not the only one: at Tesco, sales of alcohol-free beers boomed by 25% in June - higher than the bestselling month of Dry January - while pubs are reporting a 23% hike in demand for low and no-alcohol beers in the last year, and sales of regular pints have actually dropped by 6%.
Meanwhile, Guinness this week announced it is nearly tripling production of its zero-alcohol brand to meet brewing demand. Duncan Fox, consumer products analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, says the record-breaking temperatures in June helped drive sales for both soft drinks and booze, but the main reason behind the recent demand for zero-alcohol options is taste.
“Back in the 1970s and ‘80s, the options for a low or no-alcohol drink was limited to soft drinks, or Kaliber,” he explains. “Now beverage companies have spent time and money to develop a portfolio of brands that taste pretty similar to the real thing. Working with ingredient suppliers on enzymes that take out the alcohol while leaving the taste has taken time, but is now paying off.”
Younger ‘Gen-Zs’ - those born between 1997 and 2012 - have also shifted away from drinking alcohol like the generations before them, and these teetotal youngsters could also be behind the rise in 0% alcohol drinks.
So do you need to spend a lot to be hoppy with the taste? Or are the bargain offerings ale you need? Here, we try out the best across the budgets, so you can quench your thirst without pouring money down the drain.
LOWTIDE WEST COAST HOP LOCK
£2.89 for one or £17.34 for pack of six from lowtidebrewingco.com - 44 calories per 440ml
A fruity pale ale with hoppy overtones that leave a trace of bitterness after the first swig, this little tin packs a powerful punch. Inspired by the Californian coastline, Lowtide’s Hop Lock combines the fruity American hops eukanot, citra and azacca with Vienna malt and Windsor yeast for a truly international party in the mouth. A real summer-drenched treat.
FUNGTN LION’S MANE IPA
£3 per can, available in store and online from Club Soda - 62 calories per 330ml
With a burst of fruitiness, this is more akin to a cider and tastes just like the real thing. Made from Lion’s Mane, an adaptogenic mushroom historically used in Chinese medicine to improve brain function, Fungtn is citrusy and earthy with a hint of peaches to make the drink go down a treat.
ESTRELLA GALICIA 0.0%
£4.50 for case of 4 from Ocado - 53 calories per 250ml
Like its boozy sister, you can’t help but feel you’re on holiday with one of these in your hand, with its smooth, dry, drinkable taste and very subtle floral hints. Definitely one for those of us who - whisper it - aren’t actually massive beer drinkers.
ALDI’S SAINTE ETIENNE 0%
99p for single can - 130 calories per 500ml serving
An absolute bargain from budget supermarket Aldi, the Sainte Etienne tastes just like a normal light French or Belgian lager but with a bitter after taste. It’s probably more reminiscent of the first wave of alcohol-free beers on the market, a little old-fashioned perhaps but one for the traditionalists. And at that price, who can argue with tradition?
CLAUSTHALER DRY HOPPED LAGER
£2 through Club Soda - 86 calories per 330ml
Using the German Zwickel tradition of unfiltered brewing, then adding hops to the brew post-fermentation, the brainiacs behind Clausthaler have come up with a 0% lager that is rich, hoppy and very similar to the dark beers you find on the continent. There’s a bit of a kick with each mouthful that is unlike the paler options, but again, this is a great like-for-like for those looking for a beery experience without the hangover.
CHOUFFE
£20 for case of 8 from DryDrinker.com - 76 calories per 330ml
A blonde Belgian beer with a wheaty whiff, its distinctive sour, bitter notes turn to a dry aftertaste. It’s still fruity and fresh, however, and you’d be hard pushed to tell it from a full strength blonde beer.
INNIS & GUNN 0.0% LAGER
£4 for pack of 4 from Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda in Scotland or innisandgunn.com for the whole of the UK - 101 calories per 440ml
Rich, full-bodied and tasting closer to an ale than a lager but still with bitter, zesty notes. Very drinkable, especially as the weather cools down and thoughts start turning to cosy nights in.
GUINNESS 0.0 DRAUGHT
£5.49 for pack of four from thebottleclub.com - 75 calories per 440ml
A dead-ringer for the real thing, Guinness’s super-successful alcohol-free offering even has the traditional head of foam as you pour it (it needs someone more skilled than me to swirl the shamrock on top, though). It tastes rich and full-bodied, just like a real pint, with that satisfying trademark tang as you swallow. Guinness owner Diageo has already poured £21.5m into a new special facility at its flagship brewery in Dublin to produce its 0.0 product, and expects every one in 10 Guinness sales on the island of Ireland to be for its booze-free version before long.
