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I seem to have defaulted to Nanny State
Oh dear. I think there are far better options. Most of the Big Drop range for example.
[i]Most of the Big Drop range for example.[/i]
I tried a Paradiso Citra in the first mix I bought. Ok but not stand out. Nanny State may not be the best but it has a nicely bitter with citrus flavours.
The Big Drop wasn't better enough to be £38 for 24 cans as opposed to £35 for 48. Also the Big Drop has over 3 times the calories which is also relevant when I am trying to lose weight as well.
Tried Free Damm 0.0% recently - not bad at all. A bit sweet, little bit hoppy.
Had 60 cans of AF Brewdog - Punk, Nanny State & Hazy - delivered the other day, despite me vowing never to buy from them again. It's cheap and should keep me going for a while.
Paradiso Citra isn’t their strongest. The Pine Trail mentioned earlier is excellent, Wildtrack is one on my wife’s favourites (I find it ok), and their Galactic is really nice. Quite like Waterslide too.
The Brewdog Coffee Stout was superb - but they stopped making it as only I liked it. Punk AF is passable but a bit weak, Nanny State just rough. The Hazy AF is ok too - but none of them are that good.
Brooklyn Special Effects is good, Infinite Session (whoever makes that) is nice.
Basically I find stouts and IPAs tend to work better than bitters and brown ales that can taste a bit thin and metallic.
Of course if stouts and IPAs aren’t your thing my advice will be worse than useless.
I guess I like rough but then I also eat lemons as fruit and don't like chocolate, buscuits or cake. Each to their own I guess
🙂
Agreed
Tried some of the Aldi AF pilsner last week. Quite liked it, especially for the price. The citric acid gives it a bit of bite.
I finally managed to track down the 0% Guinness locally. It's actually quite nice, fills the desire for a beer nicely. Handy as I've had a couple of late-night mercy dashes to hospital recently so drinking even less than usual.
I love a beer but under no circumstances do I drink and drive. Was persuaded in a pub to have an 'AF' Ghost Ship and was a bit put out when I discovered it was 0.5% as I'm sure I could feel it taking the edge off my reactions. Fizzy water next time.
I picked up a four pack of what I though was their own brand IPA in Sainsbury t'other day. Turned out to be AF, which I wasn't expecting! It's called 'Infinite Session IPA', I should have guessed. Anyhow, following my initial disappointment after expecting a full fat IPA, I was pleasantly surprised as it's the nearest thing to a drinkable AF beer I've found, and I've tried a few. Well, low alcohol, not AF it's 0.5% ABV.
I did recommend it.
Tried some of the Aldi AF pilsner last week. Quite liked it, especially for the price. The citric acid gives it a bit of bite.
This is my standard AF lageresque style beverage. Cheap too.
The ones that have the alcohol removed are def the best ones- like Adam's Ghost Ship
Guinness AF for the win! Otherwise it's Lucky Saint for something lighter
I love a beer but under no circumstances do I drink and drive. Was persuaded in a pub to have an ‘AF’ Ghost Ship and was a bit put out when I discovered it was 0.5% as I’m sure I could feel it taking the edge off my reactions. Fizzy water next time.
Everyone is different but I'd be surprised if it had that much of an effect on you. A surprising amount of everyday items e.g. fruit juice, white bread, yogurt etc. have alcohol in them, so if you're that affected don't have a burger bun.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5421578/
Not sure if it is on sale yet in the UK but Athletic Brewing Company makes some very tasty beer in a wide variety of styles - think sour to stouts and all between. Out of about 25-30 beers only had a couple that were not that great for my flavor preference. Not sure how they manage such a good job, suspect they have messed with yeast strains that brew the beer without creating alcohol as a by product. I'm willing to ignore the Lance as ambassador/part of their team!!!!
This seemed a sensible place to do this since it's already got a number of reviews up there but I ordered a DIY mixed case from Dry drinker and thought I'd give them a bit of a write up. (Probably about 10 minutes later than I should, sorry for the photo!)
So far as the shop goes they've a (very for low/no) good range of styles and breweries but I want keen on any of the set mixed cases so did a DIY one instead.
Mostly it's be dark with the odd other one thrown in for good my measure which is about how I fill my beer supply when I'm not deliberately avoiding alcohol.
My case contained:
Lowtide BRUNE DMC 0.5%
Nethergate Venture Point Five 0.5%
HOEGAARDEN Belgian Beer 0.0%
Force Majeure Tripel 0.0%
Ollenaut Kaineken smoked Porter 0.5%
Mikkeller Limbo Series Raspberry 0.3%
Nirvana Kosmic Stout 0.0% – 330ml
uNN Road Runner Coffee Stout 0.5%
Samuel Smiths Brown Ale 0.5%
Drop Bear Bonfire Stout 0.4%
Nogne Milk Stout Alcohol Free 0.0%
Athletic Brewing All Out Stout 0.5%
I've dipped into the hoegaarden this evening so in the spirit of the thread, here's a pocket review:
Colour is a little more yellow than I recall for hoegaarden but it's certainly got a reasonable appearance for a witbeer
Mouth feel it's ok, it's got some body to it rather than the very thin feel you often get with af beer, not to syrupy but definitely feels like it's got a fair bit of sugar in.
No legs to speak of though.
Flavour isn't too bad, it's very sweet - it's been a long time since I drank the real one so maybe no more so than that - but with a good bitterness from the peel to the back and a bit of spice from the coriander.
Overall 6.5/10
On an aside I also tried some clean co, clean R golden spiced which is an af rum-alike. Quite drinkable but very little body and tastes very much like you've let too much ice melt in your rum. I'll finish it but I'm unlikely to buy another, it might mix well but I'm the wrong person to comment on that.
Free Dam is not horrible. Everyone I've given it to agreed. It does need a slice of orange in it though.
See second post for my rather less eloquent review of the Hoegarden.
Another 0.5 that saved my seasonal chores/driving duties from being entirely beer-less has been Brewdog Nanny State.
Nice discovery. Spied it on offer (?) £1 a (small) bottle @ local Co-op.
Turned out that I prefer it slightly to the Ghost Ship 0.5 (which to date had been the only other very low-alcohol beer I’ve found to be palatable)
Nanny State made a cheese and onion sarnie go down much better than without any beer. I swear I could even taste hoppiness.
OK, after slagging off AF beer earlier in the thread, I've actually found one that I can drink and not get depressed. The Nøgne Milk Stout is very drinkable.
Ironically enough, here in Norway the only place I've found that sells it is the Vinmonopolet (the government run booze shop that is the only place you can buy booze over 4.5%).
The supermarkets have a big range of AF beer but they are all either undrinkable lager or IPAs. Recently this has been expanded further to include fruity lagers and IPAs which I hate even more than the normal ones.
For me, stouts are the obvious choice for AF beer since the stronger flavours mean that removing the alcohol doesn't affect the taste nearly as much. I guess IPAs do the same thing but I find it quite seldom these days I'm in the mood for something with that much bitterness.
Still, finding one AF beer I like and have (somewhat restricted) access to is progress.
Guinness zero is remarkably good. Pop it into the freezer for ten minutes to get it ice cold and you'd struggle to tell the difference to the full fat version.
See second post for my rather less eloquent review of the Hoegarden.
Ha, yes, I can see it would definitely be possible to hate it but I've had much much worse at stuff in my time.
Of the stuff I’ve drunk over the last year or so, I’ve struggled to get anything anywhere near as foul tasting. But back in the day (Kaliber!) you’re probably right.
I’ve struggled to get anything anywhere near as foul tasting
I give you Beck's blue and a panoply of similar lager things, st Peter's something so horrible I've scrubbed the name from my mind, brewdog nanny state...
Taste is a personal thing of course but there is a long list for me.
I've these to try this weekend after finally making my way through a case of canned Free Star (the bottled were great the canned had that metallic tinge to them).....
I ordered a mixed case from Wise Bartender:
Adnams Ghost Ship
Big Drop Pine Trail
Infinite Session Alcohol Free Best Bitter
Nirvana Classic IPA
Beavertown Lazer Crush Alcohol Free IPA
Drop Bear Tropical Alcohol Free IPA
All good so far. The best bitter was much nicer than I expected, given that AF beers I enjoy tend to be hoppy.
After some 'research' throughout this month, I'd recommend Beavertown Lazer Crush. Bitberger by far the worst! Tonight I'm going to try (a very cold), AF Guiness. It's a bit of a cop out but a slice of lime or a lemonade top can help some of the more gutless lagers a bit.
I know it's an alcohol free beer thread, but if you are looking for something to drink, try the Kombucha for Holland & Barret
Linky
The ginger & lemon linked is particularly nice, reminiscent of a citrus IPA without the horrible after taste.
After some ‘research’ throughout this month, I’d recommend Beavertown Lazer Crush
+1. A residual hint of sweetness I thought it could do without, but overall, pretty good.
Bristol Beer Factory Clear Head also good, and it supports a mental health group.
Laser crush was too lemonade like for me, and I like their Nanobot 2.8 beer.
I tried the Lucky Saint lager a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised, would have again especially properly cold.
The Mikkeler Drinking in the Sun was pretty good as well I thought.
Quite like leffe blond 0.0 and the hazy IPA by Coast brewery in Edinburgh.
The Aldi standard 6 pack pilsner is not bad too. Usually have it with lemonade as a non cheeky wee shandy
Mikkeller Limbo Series Raspberry 0.3%
Colour is a little paler than I'd expected but entirely in keeping with a raspberry beer, a soft pink and develops a reasonable head.
Mouth feel is quite thin, very clearly low alcoholic, but very clean, not laced with sugar or in anyway feeling like it's bulked with lactose or the like. Light effervescence.
Taste is very good, I'm not normally a mikkeller fan but this is very drinkable. Fruit forward and discernably raspberry rather than raspberry flavour. Plenty of fruit sugar but with a good tang rather than just pure sweetness. The base net is obviously a bit lacking so it's not got the sharpness of a proper lambic but it's still well balanced and tastes "adult" enough not to just be fizzy pop. Crisp and refreshing.
Would happily drink several in the sunshine in place of real beer. Might even put a few in the fridge for post "ride" beer come summer in place of a nice cold lager.
8/10
Athletic Brewing All Out Stout 0.5%
The colour and general appearance are good, the head has a good body to it without being foam and not too pale.
The nose was good, some spice, sweetness, chocolate, hops and malt. Out of the tin, lots of promise.
Oh how it disappointed.
Mouth feel was thin and watery, no body, no richness, I imagine this is what week old diet Coke feels like.
The flavour had none of the depth or strength of the nose, it was like playing olfactory hide and seek for the stout. You know its there, every so often you catch a glimpse, get excited then it disappears again.
What flavour there is it's good but overall it's just a memory of what stout tastes like.
A thoroughly disappointed 3/10. I had to wait after drinking it yesterday to give it a fair score as I was actually cross that something which had excited me when I poured it could be so drab when drunk.
Samuel Smiths Brown Ale 0.5%
So full disclosure, I have a bit of a soft spot for Sam's, mainly off the back of three awesome stingo, but generally their bottled beers I do enjoy.
In the pour it's got a darker colour than some browns, head is pale but not white so far so normal.
Nose is reminiscent of a good best bitter.
Mouth feel isn't bad, you'd never confuse it for real beer but it's not flavoured Easter either.
Taste is much stronger than I expected for an AF, reminded me of a winter dark beer. Rich and spicy with notes of clove and all spice. Very good if you like that sort of thing.
In all not something of drink a lot of but not bad for that, just not entirely my taste in beer.
7/10
days larger - a bit unimpressed tbh not tried the pale ale yet. But the large was expensive for what it is and no better than an equivalent bud or peroni
Ah yes, that is very drinkable
^^^ Came here to post about that Brooklyn Special Effects Hoppy Lager after having my first one last night. Lovely stuff and up there with Adnams Ghost Ship 0.5% for me. It just tasted like a nice lagery beer without too strong citrus or artificial tastes.
Moretti Zero I though tasted much better than other 'common' beers/lagers usually available in normal drinking establishments. Better than the likes of Peroni, etc.
Bavaria 0% though - horrific. Smell alone was bad enough but the taste was awful. Immediately poured down the sink: sweet, sickly, just rank. The worst I've tried.
My tastes are on the lager rather than beer end of the spectrum and still looking for more options.
Got a sample can of Lucky Saint with the Gousto box this week. It was pretty good.
Special Effects is one of the best.
There's an offer on the Vocation (not Vocation) one at the moment... 98p a can...
Tonight Im trying a Big Drop Brewing Co Paradise citra IPA... No quite no alcohol, but cirtainly low at 0.5%
First impressions are it's very heavy on the citrus.....almost unpleasantly so.
Just recently started experimenting with alcohol free too- in principle I should be getting gluten free AF but there's not many of those, and lagers tend to be vanishingly low gluten anyway so...
First was San Miguel 0.0%. I like a standard san miguel, this doesn't really taste like that- much sharper and more chemically, but not horrible. I think if it had its own name rather than just being san miguel 0.0% I'd have enjoyed it more since I wouldn't have had that dissonance thing. But it's not brilliant, won't be getting it again.
Next I got some Big Drop Uptime craft lager, because it was good value and their brewer is a genius. And their AF/GF options are impressive. And it's absolutely amazing stuff- pours like lager, looks like lager, even has the perfect mouthfeel of a good lager. Tastes like camelbak water. There's barely even a hint of lager taste and what there is, is a bit like when you water down whisky so much that the tiny remaining whiskyishness tastes completely wrong and unpleasant because it's so diluted. Properly shite. But I'll try some of their other ones I think.
Funnily, my dad swore by the Bavaria. I kept getting him different AF options and he always went back to that.