I reckon it has too much taste for the effete lager/hopster types.

Nah, I like proper beer, not a fan of bland commercial lagers.
But that stuff just tastes like sh*t.

EDIT – what happened to the swear filter? Thought it was meant to auto *** stuff?

Interesting read, we have been pretty much alcohol free since June. Unlike other times when I’ve just avoided booze we have actually been drinking alcohol free versions of many drinks which has been interesting.

Things I’ve learned

I actually like alcohol free beer – but was never really a fan of the real stuff. Bavaria and erdinger are our favourites.

Alcohol free fruit ciders are just like pop

Red wine is the hardest to replace – Rawsons retreat is bearable, but not as good as their white of fizzy options.

Alcohol free gin is a surprising find. Seedlip spice and ceder are my favourites – Mr Wench prefers seedlip garden

Tescos seem to be at the head of the game for alcohol free options, the superstore near us has an amazing range.

I don’t think you have to be an alcoholic to want to avoid alcohol, it’s been a real eye opener to Mr Wench as he’s never really gone alcohol free in his entire life and is now a convert.

We have a few big celebrations next year so I imagine we will push the boat out – but if a recent celebratory trip to London was anything to go by, our ‘lets go mad and drink’ consisted of two glasses of champagne at st pancs and a bottle of red wine

Can’t say I miss it at all this time. Although the kids have said they don’t want us sober at Christmas as it won’t feel like a proper Christmas. 😮

Good post AW, it’s great to see the choices finally growing.

Agree re the not having to be an alcoholic bit, Having changed roles at work and starting uni day release at 43, I just don’t really have time to be having the drink-lethargy any more, I have little enough time to get biking etc, I don’t wanna waste that time.

The price of that alcohol free gin is a joke, more expensive than the real stuff.

Accoroding to brother-in-law who owns a pub the gin thing is because to make it alcohol free they have to make proper gin first then remove the alcohol afterwards, so it is an additional stage in production and therefore more expensive to make than alcoholic gin.

That’s technically true but there is no Excise Duty on alcohol free drinks (less than 0.5%)

Rawsons retreat is bearable

Thanks for the tip. I thought red wine was a lost cause, but will try this just in case.

We have also recently tried a couple from Waitrose which were nice.

Natureo a Spanish Syrah – which we both thought was one of the best so far

And Fre a Californian red blend – very fruity

Erdinger is very pleasant. They were giving it out at the end of the Manchester Marathon and the 2 pints I polished off didn’t touch the sides. It was very drinkable.

So I’ve come to the end of my quest for Alc Free beer.

Rawson’s retreat: Taste more like wine than I could ever have imagined, but somehow I’m not that keen. Not sure why.

Flat Tyre: Very nice.

But there’s a clear winner for me: Nanny State. Quite drinkable, maybe a bit too sharp. But jeeze, 19 calories a can. That makes it a clear winner in my book, a fraction of the calories of all the others.

My experience so far has been there hasn’t been an Alc free beer I didn’t like, except Ghost Ship. (Tragically Ghost Ship was the one I really wanted to like.)

Gonna be Bavaria 0.0s for me for now on and slash out a bit more £££ on Nanny State if I want a bit more flavour and a few less Calories.

Terrific thread, thanks OP.

If you like cider, Sheppys low alcohol is by far the best I’ve tried and I think I’ve tried most.

Isn’t low alcohol cider… apple juice?
Old Mout may as well be alcohol free – doesn’t matter how much I drink, there’s absolutely no alcohol effect whatsoever. might say 4% on the bottle, but I don’t believe it. 0.4% would get you tipsy quicker.

Bavaria 0.0 from Tesco, surprisingly good in a lagery way. In fact, takes like lager to me.

not sure if this is the most contemporary AF beer thread but I picked up a pack of Infinite Session pale ale at the weekend in Tesco:

I reckon it’s the nicest alcohol free beer I’ve sampled yet, obviously not the same as the real thing but nice for nights where I want something refreshing with tea but don’t want/can’t have alcohol. Previously I’ve drank Innes & None/Nanny State/Erdinger AF.

Mat, aye I’ve seen that, I’ll give it a go.

Brewdog PunkAF is very good.

i think i may have posted on another thread   but my two current faves are

weird Weather

https://www.beerhawk.co.uk/mikkeller-weird-weather-alcohol-free

and  Unn/ Kehrwieder.

https://steadydrinker.com/reviews/pale-ale/kehrwieder-u-nn/

I had a Nirvana Organic Pale Ale t’other day.

Avoid! 🤢🤢

Piston heads and lager is tripe though

If anyone was like me and struggling to find punk AF.

It’s in most sainsburys.

I dropped brewdog a line and asked when it was going mainstream as I could never find it in the usual places

Long-time Erdinger fan here, however I’ve recently found Patronus in Lidl and it’s a really nice alternative at only 69p per bottle!

cheers kaza, good shout.

Although, tbh I generally just drink soda water these days!

+1 for Infinite Session its really very good.

Morrisons seem to have plenty of Punk AF, but i still prefer Nanny State.

If you like the alcohol free Erdinger then try and find Franziskaner I think its much better

We had some clausthaler lager from Waitrose as a sun the other week. That was quite nice. Much better than the peroni 0% which was lame. It’s hard to find.on the Waitrose site as they haven’t title it as alc free. You have to read the description to discover that. https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/clausthaler-unfiltered-dry-hopped-lager/721672-692634-692635

Have been on AF for a few months. Infinite session and punk AF both work.

I go on them twice a year or so to lose weight and not get too many dodgy stares in pubs.
I can’t say I’ve found one I actually like – but I think that may be that I don’t actually like the taste of beer – let’s be honest, we drink beer because of the drug that is in it, not for the taste.
But I think no-alcohol/low alcohol beers are the future of the pub trade, but most landlords don’t get it – they are largely resentful towards the stuff as they know it means they can’t get people on the booze wagon which results in more cash.

let’s be honest, we drink beer because of the drug that is in it, not for the taste.

Sorry mate, I’m the polar opposite, love the taste, don’t like everything else that goes with it!.

Timely thread, just last week I hastily grabbed what I *thought* was a bottle of Shipyard IPA from the beer shelf of local supermarket. Was initially slightly disappointed* to later discover I’d mistaken a low alcohol ale for my regular IPA. Luckily it tasted good, and I buy beer for the taste/refreshment – not so much the booze content (that’s what red wine is for 🤪)

* Being old enough to remember the sad taste of Kaliber lager, I feared similar.

Same – all about the taste for me. Which is why I’ve yet to find an AF beer/lager I like as all I’ve tried taste rank.

I’ve tried quite a few of these mentioned lately due to my partner being pregnant and also just not fancying a hangover. I do find the poeple questioning why annoying though, as a grown up I’m sure I can make my own choices, but that’s just me lol.

The Lidl Patronus is the only one I really didn’t like and I’m not sure if erdinger gave me a bad stomach.

As far as tasting like real alcohol goes I find a lot of the drinks lack the mouth feel of the higher alcohol versions so taste a bit thin but on the whole a lot of the stuff coming out now is great.

Probably say the Free Damn was my favourite. Might pop out and get some now.

I really like the Erdinger, but after a couple of bottles on Thursday night, it felt rough on Friday morning. Obviously more research is required, but anyone else had a placebo hangover?

Yes, although not full on hangover but more just feeling a bit rough in the stomach after having about 4 bottles in one might (can’t remember what brand).
Don’t know if it’s placebo or just the reaction to drinking a load of wheat-based drinks relatively late at night.

if your on hols somewhere hot in the canaries/spain etc .

Look out for amstel radler .

Its not even CLOSE to fosters radler which is vile – and neither is it simply a shandy.

Im not a lager fan but i really enjoyed the amstel version in the heat , super refreshing

Its not alchol free at 2% but i suspect youll be 90% water by the time you get pissed – Great to refresh after a long hot bike ride.

Adnams do a Low Alcohol Ghost ship which I’ve found to be great when driving or wanting a low alcohol night.

Also, Dead Pony, ALL of the flavour at just 3.8%, which to me is a decent compromise when you fancy a beer or 3, but don’t want to get smashed!

Free Damn was my favourite

Have tried a few over the last year and agree the Free Damm is a good one, as is the Estrella Galicia 0,0 and also quite like the Heineken 0.0.

Not so much of a fan of Brew Dog Nanny State but going to give Punk AF a go.

Initially all AF beers tasted like a poor imitation to me. However, the longer I haven’t touched the real thing, the better AF beers seem to taste!

My current favourite is Brooklyn (Special Effects) Hoppy Lager.

Bottoms up!

Having some booze free time here, and sampling the range in Tesco. I’ve been avoiding 0.5% and sticking to those listed as 0.0%.

Warsteiner is reasonable. Free Damm is my favourite thus far. St Peters without tastes like one of our home brews that went wrong.

Our local Sainsbury now stocks Moretti Zero – it’s rather nice. Not a fan of the Brewdog stuff as I find all their beers far too hoppy for my taste.

Tempest brewing Drop kick is Brilliant!!!

St Peters without tastes like one of our home brews that went wrong.

Its absolutely vile. I poured it down the sink. Its not that it just taste like bad beer, it tastes wrong, like a chemistry experiment gone bad!

Just had a bottle of old speckled hen low alcohol. A bit thin but actually very good for what it is