Recommend me a low alcohol (1% or less) commercial brew

[Horners]

Presumably there’s no duty on these…?

Don't think so. Despite this they are typically same price as regular beer. Totally justifiable for smaller batch craft producers who use innovative methods to reduce alcohol but for say Heineken zero tge saved duty is basically additional profit margin.

Guinness is due to enter the market imminently.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Don't think so. Despite this they are typically same price as regular beer. Totally justifiable for smaller batch craft producers who use innovative methods to reduce alcohol but for say Heineken zero tge saved duty is basically additional profit margin.

Guinness is due to enter the market imminently.

Sorry for veering slightly off topic but it does annoy me that my local charges the same price for a pint of shandy as for a full strength beer.
The Guinness offering will be interesting... I do hope that can make it drinkable

 

[Mash Monster]

Adams do a .05% Ghostship which is remarkably drinkable, best of its type.

Not much of a Brewdog fan anymore but their Nanny state is ok too.

Ghost ship is one of my favourite beers So I decided to buy 4 of the 0.5% having read such rave reviews It might just be me but I’ve got 3 left and can’t see me ever drinking them !!!!
I totally dislike the taste and the beer is so thin it might just be me but I was really disappointed

 

[Random Badger]

Ghost ship is one of my favourite beers So I decided to buy 4 of the 0.5% having read such rave reviews It might just be me but I’ve got 3 left and can’t see me ever drinking them !!!!
I totally dislike the taste and the beer is so thin it might just be me but I was really disappointed

I had one of these bought for me by accident - my other half saw it on offer whilst shopping and misread it as 5%! Gave it a go and must admit that I also found it to be thin and not very nice.

 

[Pennine]

That's the issue with NA's they are either thin hop water like nanny state and ghost ship or they taste like unfermented wort like OSH or heineken. Hopefully they will keep progressing till it's a close substitute.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I am absolutely certain that it is not within the wit of humankind to produce a decent-tasting low alcohol beer, but we aren't there yet.

There's been £££ thrown at the problem to get as far as we have - the trouble is that alcohol is a pretty fundamental part of the flavour of most beers. Most of the macro breweries are still not great but there's some decent stuff among the smaller guys. It's a lot easier to make AF/low lagers, and Europe is way ahead of us on low-alcohol stuff, in Spain it's about 15% of the beer market. So lager from the Continent (excluding the big boys) is generally a fairly safe bet, Estrella is probably the best of the better-known ones.

Ale is rather more difficult, the Bernard Amber lager is a good substitute if your preferences lie with traditional British bitter. AF Speckled Hen is particularly grim.

Some of the hoppy stuff isn't bad - Ghost Ship is a reasonable mainstream option, although I'd slightly prefer the blue Brooklyn Special Effects (which seems to have been rebranded from a lager to an amber...). Punk AF is better than Nanny State. In Sainsbury's I've seen a NA version of Clwb Tropica which sounds interesting, and which has a rather better score on Untappd (3.23) than Punk AF (2.92) or Nanny State (2.71). Sainsbury's also have Mikeller Drink'in The Sun (3.25).

I've had a sour (I think from London Beer Project but it doesn't show up on Untappd) which worked really well, and there's definitely potential in that area, which could appeal to people who "don't drink beer".

 

[Pennine]

The best one I have ever had was Athletic Brewing's Free Wave. I don't think you can find it over the pond though. It's also comparable price wise to a very expensive 6 pack so I am not sure it's worth it. One other thing with hoppy NA beers they tend to give me a minor allergic reaction that I only get from very heavily dry hopped beers. So even though you don't actually get a buzz they still give a buzz like histamine affect. I wonder if fermenting beer takes away some of this affect.

I am pretty sure they are just carbonating unfermented wort as that seems to be the trend over here for fuller body ale's.

 

[jamow]

I like Pistonhead Flat Tire. It’s mosaic hopped. Easy to drink 3 in a row but that’s about my limit on AF.
Budvar Nealko is acceptable

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

There's been £££ thrown at the problem to get as far as we have - the trouble is that alcohol is a pretty fundamental part of the flavour of most beers. Most of the macro breweries are still not great but there's some decent stuff among the smaller guys. It's a lot easier to make AF/low lagers, and Europe is way ahead of us on low-alcohol stuff, in Spain it's about 15% of the beer market. So lager from the Continent (excluding the big boys) is generally a fairly safe bet, Estrella is probably the best of the better-known ones.

Ale is rather more difficult, the Bernard Amber lager is a good substitute if your preferences lie with traditional British bitter. AF Speckled Hen is particularly grim.

Some of the hoppy stuff isn't bad - Ghost Ship is a reasonable mainstream option, although I'd slightly prefer the blue Brooklyn Special Effects (which seems to have been rebranded from a lager to an amber...). Punk AF is better than Nanny State. In Sainsbury's I've seen a NA version of Clwb Tropica which sounds interesting, and which has a rather better score on Untappd (3.23) than Punk AF (2.92) or Nanny State (2.71). Sainsbury's also have Mikeller Drink'in The Sun (3.25).

I've had a sour (I think from London Beer Project but it doesn't show up on Untappd) which worked really well, and there's definitely potential in that area, which could appeal to people who "don't drink beer".

Thanks! Yes I’ve tried the Special Effects and it’s not too unpleasant but tastes rather sudsy and a bit like pine flavoured cleaning products :-)

 

[Brew_DD2]

I've quite enjoyed the non-alcoholic Hefeweizens that are out there. They are all definitely lacking, but the AF market has definitely come on leaps and bounds.

 

[RichK]

I'll have the occasional Punk AF if/when I have to. Sainsbury's do a reasonable la Cider too.

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

In my opinion, Becks Blue is about the best if I suspend my disbelief. There is one other , I think from Belgium, but for the life of me can't remember what it's called. I've got a bottle of Palm AF which I need to try soon.

The AF hefeweizens I thought were OK, but went off them. A friend couldn't tell the Franziskaner AF was AF.

AF and LA beer I think has an image problem among 'older' people that probably stems from hundreds of years ago when 'small beer'was given to children and the perception that, among a certain type of man at least, that beer must be strong and that you must get drunk from it.

Personally, I'd really like a great AF beer. After all, who wouldn't like to drink several pints of nice beer a night without dealing with the inevitable consequences?

AF beer has two further problems. The first is price, which I'm led to believe is due to duty being applied at point of production rather than point of sale. If the government was serious about wanting to lower problems associated with alcohol, surely this should be changed? After all, the cost to the NHS of dealing with the effects of over consumption of alcohol may reduce.

If you're going to spend, say £2.00 on an AF Ghost Ship, why not spend £2.00 on a bottle of regular Ghost Ship?

Second, AF beer is always going to taste like AF beer and the way it's marketed by the big breweries is that it's at least similar to the regular beer and I don't think it does.

If AF beer was marketed as somethung completely different, more people might be less disappointed.

 

[Tanglefoot]

Ghost ship is one of my favourite beers So I decided to buy 4 of the 0.5% having read such rave reviews It might just be me but I’ve got 3 left and can’t see me ever drinking them !!!!
I totally dislike the taste and the beer is so thin it might just be me but I was really disappointed

As the French say ; "chacun a son gout "

I find any AF beer is only drinkable if it's chilled within an inch of it's life !

 

[Mash Monster]

As the French say ; "chacun a son gout "

I find any AF beer is only drinkable if it's chilled within an inch of it's life !

That’s called an ice lolly !!! Now there’s a thought

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Personally, I'd really like a great AF beer.

Amen.
However I suspect that in reality the 'buzz' I get from the alcohol is a significant part of the experience. After all, decent decaf coffee is available but I persist in ordering the full-on stuff...

 

[Random Badger]

Amen.
However I suspect that in reality the 'buzz' I get from the alcohol is a significant part of the experience. After all, decent decaf coffee is available but I persist in ordering the full-on stuff...

Caffeinated low alcohol beer? Now there's an idea...

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Caffeinated low alcohol beer? Now there's an idea...

.. .or decaf coffee with a shot ....

 

[andypatt]

Not less than 1% but I think small beer co. beers are great. They usually come in at 2-3% so if you drank enough of them you would still get drunk, but good for mid-week.

There lowest ABV at 1%, the Dark Lager, is very good.

The Original Small Beer

Buy Small Beer Lager, Session Pale, Steam, Dark Lager to enjoy at home or send as a gift!

theoriginalsmallbeer.com

 

[Regfixit]

I quite often do dry January and last year even did dry September as well to add to the misery - mainly for weight control and to rest my liver from the rest of the year when I drink to excess most of the time.
During these periods of abstinence I have tried many alcohol free beers. The best lager I find is Becks blue - I can easily drink this and have a curry and feel not too short changed.
For ales, I've tried all 3 Brewdog alcohol free ones and they are quite palatable. I think Nanny state is my favourite although partly could be that's how I feel the government have been and increasingly are being about all our pleasures in life.

 

[gyurmaember]

Elvis AF is great, but unfortunately it's not available at the moment.