For reasons I'm now a non drinker (yes I realise AF can be up to 0.5%). I've tried quite a few 0.0/AF beers with varying success. Quite like erdinger but it's not my favourite, Guinness 0.0 is ok but sometimes leads to devastating, for others olfactory sensitivity, trouser trumpets.
So what's good? Tempest brewery's offerings are tasty and it's just up the road. Durty was less pleased with might have been the batch.
Owt else?
Nip* into Villeneuve's they normally have a decent selection but its quite patchy what they are able to get in**.
Sport zot its great, belgian and they nearly always have it. I normally go in, do a sweep of a few of each (plus some of their other excellent non AF).
Try them and nip back for the goodbefore they all go.
* I don't actually know how close to peebles you are. It might be more of a jaunt than a nip.
**Some of the absolute best ones have been limited runs/collaborations or just not that available.
I liked Leffe 0.0% when I tried it a few weeks back.
When I'm driving on pub quiz nights I enjoy a few bottles of Budvar Nealko, which although it technically not alcohol free is <0.5% and is the most palatable alcohol free beer I've drunk there.
Still not as good as Guinness 0.0 IMO but will quite happily drink it all evening.
Have a look on drydrinker.com...huge selection there
I particularly like the Kaineken smoked porter
Mr B’s favourite is Beaverton, seems quite widely available in supermarkets.
Big drop galactic milk stout
Has anyone found a decent alcohol free 'traditional' bitter/brown beer? There's quite a few decent AF lagers and happy IPA type ones, but all the ones I've tried in a more traditional style have not been great at all, they were really sweet (basically testing like unfermented wort).
This was about a year ago though and times move on, so anyone found anything?
Free Damm is also gluten free. Only one I know of and luckily I like it.
Big Drop make some nice ones.
They do AF and gluten free which can be handy for coeliac.
The other AF GF one I've found regularly in supermarkets is Estrella free dam, likable lager.
Cross post - same idea
I had a Brooklyn one last night that was good.
Butcombe's Goram IPA Zero is my new favourite, though it's only available direct or through one or two places online.
Another vote for Ghostship 0.5
I'll buy the Peroni 0.0 when it's on offer or Becks Blue when it isn't!
Lucky Saint is okay- again only buy on offer
Last Jan, my go to was Erdinger Citrus. Really refreshing but never seen it since!
In our local, they do "Clearhead" on draft (Bristol Brewery I think) - very good. Not seen it in a bottle tho.
I can highly recommend all the beers from Jump Ship Beer, based in Pathhead. An AF only brewery making some top products.
Not the cheapest on the market but you get what you pay for
Shipyard low tide American pale ale is nice (Morrisons £1.75)
Brewdog do a mixed box of their AFs. I like the Elvis Juice best but they are all nice.
Guinness 0.0 is my go to.
Jump Ship looks interesting, close enough to me I could do a beer run on my bike.
I have Infinite Session on a monthly delivery, mixed case with lager, pale Ale and another. I also love Impossibrew, though quite pricey.
This might be a stupid question but is there any such thing as super-low abv beers? i.e. like 2 or 2.5 or 3%? I see lots of AF beers and lots of strong/standard ones but not much in-between.
I'm not trying to quit drinking but sometimes I really would like to keep my intake low but still "join in", in social situations if that makes sense.
Obviously I could just alternate standard beers with AF ones I suppose, but I feel like it would be nicer to drink really low ABV beers throughout.
I guess it may be a somewhat niche request though.
or Becks Blue when it isn’t!
Becks Blue has got to be the worst NA Lager out there - how they can still sell that rubbish baffles me. Awful aftertaste.
Guinness 0.0 is really rather good.
Lucky Saint is a nice IPA too.
At a gig last night and 4 'pints' of Guinness 0.0. A first for me an, oh my - that's good.
But.......and it must be psychological......at the end of the night I was questioning myself if I was fit to drive. I swear my brain thought I'd had a few and 'thought' my reactions were impaired- a sort of Pavlovian response to 35 years of 4 pints having that impact. It was definitely the 0.0 as I watched it being opened and poured.
Is this a known thing?
edit - read that back. It sounds like I know what it's like to drive on 4 pints! For the avoidance of doubt, that's not what I meant!
This might be a stupid question but is there any such thing as super-low abv beers? i.e. like 2 or 2.5 or 3%? I see lots of AF beers and lots of strong/standard ones but not much in-between.
Sometimes if I don't want too much alcohol I'll pour a bottle of NA lager in a pint glass and top up with normal lager (usually on a Sunday night when I have work the next day). Takes the edge off the aftertaste of NA lager alone.
1
Duggan
Full Member
This might be a stupid question but is there any such thing as super-low abv beers? i.e. like 2 or 2.5 or 3%? I see lots of AF beers and lots of strong/standard ones but not much in-between.
yes, have a google at ‘Small Beer’
https://theoriginalsmallbeer.com/
I have it in the fridge at all times and it’s my go to if I want an alternative to the AF stuff.
Another fan of the Guinness 0%
best other ones I’ve tried is the aldi Pilsner or lucky Saint lager
Theres a grapefruit 2peecenter i forget the name of. Its like a lilty beer.
Totally tropicaal
Something you can already see on this thread is - one persons nice AF beer is another persons poison. Some of the worst (to me) AF beers I've had have been recommendations on threads like this. It seems one of the hardest things to take on someone else's reccomendation for some reason.
Guiness Zero seems to be the outlier, seems to be the most universally agreed on good AF beer
Generally I think if you need to exclude something from your diet its better to go into new territory than have alternative versions of your favourites as you're more attuned to the differences with things you're familiar with. So perhaps try alcohol free versions of the kinds of beers you don't normally drink (or alcohol free versions of drinks you don't normally drink like cider maybe).
but sometimes leads to devastating, for others olfactory sensitivity, trouser trumpets.
I can't see any down sides
At a gig last night and 4 ‘pints’ of Guinness 0.0. A first for me an, oh my – that’s good.
But…….and it must be psychological……at the end of the night I was questioning myself if I was fit to drive.
I had the same thoughts at wake a few weeks back where I was designated driver. I think when I've had AF beers in pubs in the past the selection has tended to been quite light, quite small bottled AF beers like Becks. I think becuase the Guiness is so weighty and sold in proper pints sized portions you feel very 'full' after a few of them in a way that a night in a pub drinking beer usually feels - and it is odd in that while you're not drunk you do 'feel' in every other sense like you've been drinking
Is this a known thing
Yes, I've had the same experience. It's a bit weird isn't it?
It's a combination of light headiness and mouth taste, I'm sure it's the association with being a bit pissed. I've had the same with zero and 0.5 beers, not with the wines although they seem so un winely I'm not surprised.
Tempted to try an alcohol free lager top. Or an af shandy!
I'll be honest though, I can't imagine drinking more than a pint of af beer, let alone more. Would love to be proved wrong though
Black Isle brewery Halo is very good, they also did an af oat stout which was excellent
Cloudwater, brewed in Manchester, delicious, but I've only had it on draught, can't speak for cans or bottles.
Becks Blue has got to be the worst NA Lager out there
It's not my fav but maybe I've got used to it. It does tend to be the 'last one to be picked" but £7 for 12 bottles in Morrisons had it in the trolley last time. Worse ones for me are the Aldi versions like FireDam. Ugh.
Point made ^^^ that version of what you like would be a good start makes sense. On that note Corona 0.0% I quite like as well.
Corona 0.0% I quite like as well.
Had this too and was surprised it was actually an ok drink
None of them are great IMO, and are best considered an alternative to Coke, fruit juice, tonic etc rather than as a choice vs actual beer.
Peroni is my usual, or Lucky Saint, though that's usually too spendy. I'd happily pay more for something actually good but I think we're dealing in "least worst" choices here! Peroni has less of an aftertaste than most others but it's greatly helped by having it chilled to within an inch of its life - something I'd never do with actual beer.
I like a Ghost Ship, and the AF Doom Bar isn't bad.
Not strictly for this thread, but if you're a cider drinker on a quest for an AF stick that doesn't just taste like overly sweet apple juice, Hogan's High Sobriety is really nice. It's still not exactly dry, but way better than anything else I've tried.
On the "phantom" alcohol sensation it could also be your blood sugar/carbs.
AIUI many of the AF beers have a notably higher sugar and carb content as the sugar hasn't converted to alcohol.
As for proper AF bitters someone asked about it does seem (Guiness aside) that the market is dominated by pales and lagers. Even Ghost Ship mentioned above has more of a pale ale feel.
Mash Gang make some very good 0.5% beers, Stoop is a favourite of mine when it's on.
Not strictly for this thread, but if you’re a cider drinker on a quest for an AF stick that doesn’t just taste like overly sweet apple juice, Hogan’s High Sobriety is really nice
If I see it around I'll give it a try, I like a cider. Conversely, give Thatchers Zero a massive swerve. It doesn't manage to even taste like apple juice, it's just downright weird.
Another good one in the low not no alcohol category is Kernel's Table Beer. 3% iirc
A few to contemplate.
Re the phantom drunk sensation. I had it at a friend's leaving do. Definitely 0.0 drinking. He questioned why I was driving, pointed out the 0.0 then turned and tripped over the kerb. Didn't do much for my sobriety score.
Really enjoyed the free Damm in Andorra alongside San Miguel's.
I just got some Leffe 0% today. Tastes great. Never had a zero alcohol beer before. The bottles are bloody tiny though! 250ml.
I guess I'll know later whether it's just the alcohol I'm intolerant to in normal beer, or the grains too...
Yeah I think I prefer leffe 0.0 to the full fat version.
