Low Alcohol & Low Calorie

It's worth giving the Ghost Ship AF version a try, it was the only type I found reasonably close to the original.

I found most alcohol free beers aren't worth bothering with, I'd rather drink an alternative such as flavoured tonics or botanicals.
Another interesting low alcohol option you can make yourself is water kefir.
I've been making it for a few months now, the grains ( actually a culture of yeast and bacteria) are fermented in a weak sugar and water solution.
The drink is around 1-2% abv and can be flavoured with fresh fruit juice.
It has the added benefit of being a probiotic with multiple health benefits, mainly for your gut health.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibicos

Guinness and Brookyn Special Effects are the only ones if had recently, both ok. Northern Monk Holy Faith was pretty good, and the early Big Drop Brewing ones I had were promising and might be worth a try as they've been solely doing AF for a while now.

As this is a homebrew forum, it's worth having a crack at a 0.5-1% brew. It doesn't cost much in grain.

I am firmly in the camp beer without alcohol is not beer, if people want to drink it thats fine each to their own but i don't get the point

Alot of our friends are not drinking at all at the moment(past 6-12months) or doing dry Jan.

We had some Alcohol free drinkers over last night and they left a few samples in the fridge. Lowering Alcohol consumption aside as that's one reason, it's surprising how much 2 lager beers differed in carbs and calories per 330ml

Lucky saint lager - 0.5% Abv- 52.8 calories -11.5g carbs

Brooklyn Hoppy Lager- 0.4% Abv- 95.7 calories - 20.7g

I did some working out this morning based on diluting my Belgian pale with sparkling water or zero sprite for a table beer/radler type beer for a lower cal/low carb midweek option.

330 pour diluted with 45% water or zero cal lemonade.

2.9% abv - 78.3 calories - 6.3g carbs

Seems like a homebrew radler/table beer would be the better option for keeping the waistline in check and keeping the units down midweek.

Got the gym in the morning so may have a try at this tonight and compare it to the lucky saint lager

phildo79 said:

https://byo.com/article/hop-water/

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A local brewery had a hop water on keg, it wasn't for sale but more as a refreshment while he was brewing. It was nice enough

Hazelwood Brewery said:

The low alcohol Speckled Hen doesn’t quite stack up to the original I’m afraid. The aroma is quite promising at first but the flavour is quite different being thinner and having more berry notes than I remember for SH. It’s drinkable, and maybe you could get used to it, but it’s not the same beer in my view despite the label saying it’s been “brewed to deliver taste and aroma evocative of the original.”

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Thanks for reviewing it H doesn't sound so good i will stick to the real thing

Chippy_Tea said:

Thanks for reviewing it H doesn't sound so good i will stick to the real thing

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I think that’s for the best. I actually didn’t finish this one.

Rodcx500z said:

I am firmly in the camp beer without alcohol is not beer, if people want to drink it thats fine each to their own but i don't get the point

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I can see the appeal for drivers who want to go to an out of town pub for a meal but dont want to drink fizzy pop with it.

dave_77 said:

Alot of our friends are not drinking at all at the moment(past 6-12months) or doing dry Jan.

We had some Alcohol free drinkers over last night and they left a few samples in the fridge. Lowering Alcohol consumption aside as that's one reason, it's surprising how much 2 lager beers differed in carbs and calories per 330ml

Lucky saint lager - 0.5% Abv- 52.8 calories -11.5g carbs

Brooklyn Hoppy Lager- 0.4% Abv- 95.7 calories - 20.7g

I did some working out this morning based on diluting my Belgian pale with sparkling water or zero sprite for a table beer/radler type beer for a lower cal/low carb midweek option.

330 pour diluted with 45% water or zero cal lemonade.

2.9% abv - 78.3 calories - 6.3g carbs

Seems like a homebrew radler/table beer would be the better option for keeping the waistline in check and keeping the units down midweek.

Got the gym in the morning so may have a try at this tonight and compare it to the lucky saint lagerView attachment 94461View attachment 94462

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I think a shandy made using sugar-free lemonade is an excellent and more palatable option from my experience of alcohol-free so far.

Maybe also an Imperial Stout watered down with Vodka and cream for a version of White Russian!

It's all duck or no dinner for Me. If I am not drinking I will happily drink water or tea/coffee.

Leon103 said:

I have never ever drank a alcohol free beer/wine etc.

if i cant drink then i will just have squash. From reading this thread and others I still cant see the appeal.

I Do hear that Mash Gang do some good ones.

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Me neither until now. I’ve had people tell me they are getting much better so I thought I might give them a try while I’m cutting down on calories. Not very favourable so far, I can’t imagine what they were like before “getting better”!

AGAINST THE GRAIN – IS LOW AND ALCOHOL FREE BEER THE FUTURE FOR BREWING?​

It’s a fact that beer consumption – and indeed alcohol consumption in general – is in decline, even while the popularity of craft beer continues to increase.

So what’s behind the drop in boozing? And can low alcohol beer and alcohol free beer help turn the fortunes of the brewing industry around?

WHAT’S BEHIND THE BOOM IN ALCOHOL FREE AND LOW ALCOHOL BEER?​

While it’s undoubtedly health concerns that are driving sales of low and alcohol free beer, it would be wrong to presume people are simply giving up alcohol completely. The Guardian reported in 2018 that around a third of 16 to 24-year-olds now identify as tea total, but it seems many people are simply moderating their behaviour, opting for drink-free days or making the switch to low and no alcohol alternatives.

Beer writer Pete Brown believes that people still want the experience of meeting friends for a pint but are more mindful about when and how much alcohol they put away

Full article here

Hazelwood Brewery said:

The second beer is this Guinness Draft 0.0 and I have to say I’m very impressed with this one. It has good flavour and plenty of body. I expected it to be quite good having seen it on the forum a few times but it’s actually better than I expected.

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I'm also doing dry January plus a bit of a diet as I was having trouble fastening me trousers. Its a bit weird but drunk on its own I don't find Guinness zero very nice but, not this month obviously, when I'm driving I sometimes have a pint of the proper stuff and follow it with a zero - then I can barely tell the difference in taste. Perhaps because I've already got the alcohol component in my system?

I have one packet of Lallemand Farmhouse, tempted to brew a Grissete at 3%

Edit and link added - Low Alcohol & Low Calorie

Some years ago, I had surgery in which the Doctor and his team gutted me like a fish. I subsequently went on chemotherapy and was admonished that alcohol and chemo don't mix. I really felt like having a beer so I bought a 6-pack of Beck's N/A. It was much better than the other N/A beers I had tried at various earlier times but still not really up to par. I then tried the St. Pauli Girl N/A and it really tastes like beer.

I have no idea what the carb level is but if you worry about carbs, you should entertain other changes in your life too.

dave_77 said:

330 pour diluted with 45% water or zero cal lemonade.

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I would rather have the 45% back that all the ***** they put in zero lemo

crescent city Mike said:

I have no idea what the carb level is but if you worry about carbs, you should entertain other changes in your life too.

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Absolutely.

Just a bit of fun to see how a few blends to reduce alcohol compared to a alcohol free lager from Lucky Saint. Also my Belgian pale v 50/50 with sparkling water v 50/50 with sparkling lemon/lime water

German Pils diluted with sparkling water v lucky saint
The diluted Pils smelt more like a lager, but was a little watery. Lucky saint is ok, tastes a little odd on back end..not really synthetic but not overly pleasant. Doesn't have much of a lager type aroma to me.
Wouldn't want a night on either.


Belgian pale with plain sparkling water- still had a Belgian spice on the aroma, body of the beer was better than the lager equivalent. Body of the beer didn't feel watery like the lager, still had enough body. Flavours of the coriander and yeast still came through so had a bit more going on than the lagers. My beer is more bitter so some if this bitterness still came through.
Lime water version, similar body but the lime took over and tasted like a shandy, nice enough but apart from the bitterness it was just like a lager shandy with a little extra spice.

I'm really in the camp of squash, water or tea when at home over no alcohol. If your driving and out with friends at the pub then maybe I would go with alcohol free beer or a shandy.

Total waste of beer but I have a lot of beer and the alcohol free can in the fridge so I thought I would see what it's like.

Think I will just try and brew a table beer at 3%