Alcohol-free beers

Graeme Harvie

Graeme Harvie

Location
London
Bill Marks said:
I agree that the Heineken 0% is surprisingly drinkable.
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I had this yesterday. I agree but with a caveat that applies whenever drinking the 0% beers....

Don't drink a regular beer (e.g. Heineken) and follow it up with the 0% as the 0% really does seem to lack something (which I think is perhaps my brain asking for the inebriating sensation from the alcohol to heighten and complaining that it does not).

The time and place to drink the 0%ers is when you are going absolutely drink free, e.g. when one is driving or working, and then I do think they are or can be delicious. I wonder if anyone else has had the same finding?
 
Neil Holland

Neil Holland

Location
London, England
Recently returned from the low countries with a lot of beer...
Whilst there sampled out of interest:

Leffe 0% (perfectly acceptable)
Hoegaarden 0% (really quite good and more pleasurable than even the Nanny State)
Vedett 2.8% Session IPA (could drink at length if I could find any here and wanted a large night without getting merry)

Keep 'em coming!
 
T

Tom Grande

Location
UK
Bill Marks said:
I agree that the Heineken 0% is surprisingly drinkable.
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I had it the other day and it has that slightly malty flavour that a lot of the brewers use to substitute for conventional beer taste. No better or worse than any of the other ones. I've heard that the big brewers are ploughing resources into non-alcoholic beers so sooner or later that will bear fruit
 
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Robert Hodge

Location
London
I've been trying a few of these recently. I was lucky enough to have Adnams Ghost Ship on draught in north Norfolk (The Pigs restaurant) and was surprised how good it was. It's now my go to low alcohol beer - would love to see low alcohol beers on draught in more pubs!
 
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GuyD'nis

Location
London
Think it works well the other way... If I have an alcohol free beer, my desire for a glass of wine disappears. And the plainest alcohol free lagers work well with a curry. The Danish non alcoholic wine that TWS sells is good - is it Mikeller or something similar? Good way to make up a 12 bottle case, too.
 
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Thom Blach

Location
London
The addition of a little vodka can greatly improve these brews, which are certainly much better than they used to be.
Ah, I see I made that excellent suggestion earlier in the thread.
 
Ian Sutton

Ian Sutton

Location
Norwich, Norfolk
Robert Hodge said:
I've been trying a few of these recently. I was lucky enough to have Adnams Ghost Ship on draught in north Norfolk (The Pigs restaurant) and was surprised how good it was. It's now my go to low alcohol beer - would love to see low alcohol beers on draught in more pubs!
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Hi Robert
What did you think to it?

Our last visit disappointed, it having the feel more of a family pub restaurant, than the place that used to barter with locals for their home grown veg, and where on a prior visit, the barman pointed to a chap over the other side of the room and said "he's the fella that shot the pheasant you'll be eating". IIRC it was previously called the 3 pigs, but changed to the current name a decade or so ago

In terms of B&B, the private sauna and fire-pit equipped patio felt lovely, though the room rate was fully priced IYKWIM

Regards
Ian
 
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Robert Hodge

Location
London
Yes definitely more of a family pub than anything smarter/idiosyncratic. I don't remember specifically what we ate or the menu though. Think I was just happy to be able to drink a decent beer while driving!
 
K

Krishan Roopun

Location
Sunningdale
Big Drop Brewing Co. Pale Ale if I was served this blind no way would I guess it is only 0.5%, great flavour and no nasty aftertaste, doesn't really taste empty - widely available.
 
Daniel Brown

Daniel Brown

Location
Toronto, Canada
I ordered a lockdown selection of alcohol free beers from Brewdog, and was really impressed.

Punk AF is excellent if a bit fizzy (but true to their style) and i would defy most people to realise it's alcohol free. Nanny State noted above is quite enjoyable. They had two other styles available when i ordered (now out of stock) - a hazy New England IPA (Hazy AF) and a coffee stout (Wake Up Call). These were both very enjoyable in the sense that it's impressive that they worked at all, let alone worked well. The stout certainly lacked body, but was balanced and surprisingly drinkable. The hazy was again very close in character to the full strength equivalent, if you like the style which i'm a bit ambivalent about.

Any of the above knocked any lager style I've tried into a cocked hat, and I'm firmly convinced that IPA styles in particular suit AF beers perfectly in masking what they naturally lack. The Punk AF in particular I was really surprisingly impressed by.
 
Charles Muttar

Charles Muttar

Location
St Albans
Having decided that the October WIMPS will mark the end of a month off the sauce...
I've really enjoyed Punk AF.
Dolden Null from Riedenburger (Abel & Cole sell it) is also delicious especially with food
Nanny State and Ghost Ship not bad at all.
Just opened my first Harvey's Sussex Best 0.5 - with some trepidation as the proper version is one of my very favourite beers. The nose is wrong, with some cideriness (a bit like when my dad got his home-brew a bit wrong) but the taste isn't far off. Not on the level of the others though.
Also - Aecorn Dry makes an extremely satisfying not-G&T!
 
Gavin Davies

Gavin Davies

Location
Edinburgh
Julian Seers-Martin said:
I am also a fan of Ghost Ship.

Guinness released a NA version earlier this year but the product was recalled due to a canning issue I think. I did try it once and thought it excellent. It has recently been re-released. If you like Guiness, it'll be another good option.
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It's taken several weeks to locate the AF Guiness as it's been consistently sold out everywhere. We tried it against a standard 440ml Guiness can and they were almost impossible to tell apart. The most impressive alcohol free beer i've tried by a huge margin. Almost good enough to make one look forward to dry January with a few cases in tow!
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Ian Russell

Ian Russell

Location
Birmingham
Thom Blach said:
In what way is alcohol-free beer more enjoyable than sparkling water, which I like very much?
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Not necessarily more enjoyable but simply different. Sparkling water is great, I enjoy Dash, Virgin Mary, Seedlip with Fevertree, coffee, Green and Oolong tea, fruit teas. It all depends on my mood but as I’m currently AF it is good to have a diverse choice.
 
Alex Lake

Alex Lake

Location
Deep South of Cambridgeshire
Mmm. I quite enjoyed Seedlip, but it does seem somewhat overpriced. I've had a go at making my own herbal concoctions, and while not as good as Seedlip, are somewhat less expensive, and can provide a bit of fun to some sparkling water.
 
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