What’s the best alcohol-free lager?
If you’re thinking of exploring the market for your ideal alcohol-free lager, check out our rundown of some of the best around.
If you’re thinking about trying non-alcoholic beer, what took you so long?
Alcohol-free alternatives to your regular drinks order are becoming increasingly popular in bars and supermarkets all over the world and the trend looks set to continue.
There are plenty of reasons for this growing popularity, but there is one big factor driving this shift. Because non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beers contain significantly less alcohol (ABV) than regular beers, they’re a much healthier option for drinkers.
They’re also usually lower in calories, so if you’re looking to make healthier choices this year (Dry January, perhaps?) then swapping your regular order at the bar for an alcoholic-free alternative can be a good place to start.
Spoilt for choice
Spurred on by brewing heavyweights like Heineken, BrewDog, and others, the market – in both Europe and America – is also being driven forward by the inspiration and creativity of a whole host of smaller, independent and craft brewers.
Together, they’re all churning out plenty of quality, alcohol-free drinks to be enjoyed, and customers have more choice than ever before.
So, how do you pick the right non-alcoholic drink for you? Fortunately, we’ve put in the legwork for you. We’ve offered up a host of delicious non-alcoholic recipes before, but perhaps you prefer the crisp, refreshing taste of cool beer.
If you’re looking to freshen up your drink order, read on to discover some of the best alcohol-free lagers around.
Lucky Saint ‘Unfiltered Lager’ (0.5% ABV)
The Lucky Saint origin story should leave customers with little doubt as to the quality of the product.
The company’s founder recognised that creating a quality non-alcoholic alternative required time, dedication, and expertise. This, presumably, is what prompted them to cut ties with four different brewers before settling on a fifth which they felt would help them realise their vision.
In the end, this UK company settled on a German brewer. They also innovated, developing their own yeast strain to best pair with their other ingredients (the usual line-up: water, hops, and barley malt).
The alcohol is removed from Lucky Saint after fermentation. The brewing process also testifies to the truth that good things come to those who wait. The non-alcoholic lager is left to condition for 42 days. This allows the drink to settle without the need for filtering. Because filtering can lead to thinner beverages, the end result is a boisterous, full-bodied lager from the moment it's first poured.
A hazy-amber colouring fills the glass with a thick, creamy head reminiscent of an IPA. The effect is helped by the drink’s light carbonation. There’s a deliciously sweet aroma from a bottle of Lucky Saint, coupled with a lush and creamy mouthfeel.
Despite this, Lucky Saint packs another pleasant surprise: weighing in at just 16 calories per bottle) and 0.1 grams of sugar per 100ml). For a well-developed, tasty and weighty non-alcoholic lager, this is a remarkably low-calorie option too.
Insel ‘Skippers Pilsner’ (0.5% ABV)
A real connoisseurs’ choice served up by Germany’s Insel brewery. Named after the island of Rügen where the brewery is based (‘Insel’ is German for ‘Island’, trivia fans), this is a delicious NA craft lager.
Made using traditional brewing methods, Skippers undergoes three stages of fermentation. Crucially, the alcohol is burned off at a very low temperature during the brewing process. This means that none of the beer’s flavours or aromas are compromised.
When poured, Skippers fills the glass with a glorious amber colour and a decent head. A delicate note of cloves characterises the aroma, while the mouthfeel is every bit as smooth and creamy as the wonderful colour would have you think. A pleasant bitterness grows with each sip, but it’s never overpowering.
We also need to address the elephant in the room: the looks. We know it's wrong to judge a book by its cover, but the design and branding team at Insel have excelled themselves – this is a fantastic looking bottle of alcohol-free lager.
The bottle is wrapped in branded paper. Not only is this a cool design twist that helps the drink stand out from the colourful (and often rather zany) designs favoured by other craft brewing brands, but it's practical too. The paper keeps the drink protected from the light. It’s the small touches that show that this was a drink made with care by people who know what they’re doing.
Peroni ‘Libera’ (0.0% ABV)
A brand that continues to grow from strength to strength in terms of its popularity, it’s no surprise that Peroni have launched their own non-alcoholic option too. The Libera is their 0.0% ABV offering for those of us looking to reduce our alcohol intake.
Like many of the biggest manufacturers, the makers of Peroni Libera keep their brewing techniques a closely-guarded secret. What we do know is that the brewers remove the alcohol content from the drink after fermentation and they rely on natural flavourings.
We also know that Peroni Libera uses the same maize that the brewers use in their standard lagers (the Nostrano dell’Isola, if you were curious). This means that the brewer’s NA offering has the same hoppy taste and smooth finish you’d expect if you’re a fan of the regular Peroni Nastro Azzuro.
When you open a 330ml bottle you’ll pour out a light, golden lager, with strong cereal aromas. There’s a decent amount of carbonation in the drink to give just the right amount of life to the drink. Combined with a slightly dry and malty finish to the drink, cracking open one of these lagers will have you longing for a break in the warm Italian sun.
Guinness Open Gate Brewery ‘Pure Brew’ (0.5% ABV)
For many people, when we think of Guinness we think of a tall, cold pint of their legendary stout porter. With its deep, dark colour and creamy top, there are few pints anywhere in the world that are quite so iconic.
But, did you know that Guinness also has an experimental side to accompany the traditional? The Open Gate Brewery – also located in Dublin – is where the brewing wizards get to experiment with new recipes and techniques. You might already have tried some of their lagers, such as the Hop House 13.
The team at the Open Gate Brewery have also created an excellent 0.5% ABV non-alcoholic lager: the Pure Brew. We already know that the guys at Guinness are capable of conjuring up excellent non-alcoholic alternatives: the Guinness 0.0% is a delicious alcohol-free version of the traditional stout, which still delivers the rich and creamy taste you expect.
The Pure Brew continues this commitment to excellence. Unlike other non-alcoholic alternatives, the brewers have created a unique strain of yeast to create a low-alcohol beer from the start of the brewing process. This means that they can avoid any intensive processes such as distillation or reverse osmosis to remove alcohol.
When poured, the drink is rich, golden-amber colour. A decent amount of head doesn’t disappear as you drink, and a clean, malty aroma gives way to some punchy yet pleasant fruity notes. As you’d expect from Guinness, the body of the beer is wonderfully weighty, and a smooth finish makes this an easy drinker.
Corona ‘Cero’ (0.0% ABV)
A staple of backyard BBQs everywhere and just as popular in the pub, the standard Corona beer is one of the world’s best sellers. Made by Modelo, a Mexican brewery, it’s actually owned by one of the giants of the brewing world: AB-Inbev.
Now, there’s a non-alcoholic offering from the team at Corona. Cero is the non-alcoholic version of the iconic Corona Extra beer that we’re all so familiar with.
The drink itself displays all the hallmarks of being a go-to crowd pleaser. A classic light golden colour once poured, there’s a perky fizz to the drink. The aroma is clean and simple, with just a little sweetness; some might call it a little basic, especially compared to some of craft offerings, but we think there’s no harm in trying to find something that appeals to everyone.
The branding and design are still instantly recognisable – the darker blue details on the instantly-recognisable Coronoa label have simply been replaced by a lighter sky blue. This is appropriate, seeing as Corona Cero contains just 17 calories per 100ml (compared to 42 per 100ml in the regular Corona).
Drop Bear Beer Co. ‘New World Lager’ (0.5% ABV)
There’s a good chance you were already familiar with the excellent range of beverages being produced by the team at Drop Bear brewery. They already excelled at delicious and exciting ale offerings, including the Yuzu Pale Ale and Tropical IPA, but they’ve since expanded to cater to more tastes, including with a stout.
Their lager offering, the New World lager was presented to the market as the first alcohol-free India Pale Lager. The technicalities of this probably aren’t worth going into here (most experts still can’t decide amongst themselves what exactly to make of IPLs), but basically this means you should expect a darker, more complex drink – think more IPA than typical lager or pilsner. Here, you can enjoy a creamy mouthfeel with fruity flavours and bitterness that builds gently from the first sip.
Despite this, Drop Bear’s New World Lager is not suffering from any sort of identity crisis. This is a serious NA lager, stripped back of anything excessive: it’s just water, yeast, malts, and hops. Better yet, its also gluten-free option and suitable for vegans.
Really, we can’t stress how no-frills this beer is. It’s even much lower in calories than other NA beers and lagers. A bottle of New World weighs in at just 7.5 calories per 100ml and just 0.1g of sugar! It probably helps that the brewers us an ultra-low-alcohol to begin with instead of looking to remove alcohol after. As we know, when this happens (by burning it off, for instance), some brewers look to reintroduce flavour with sugars.
Nirvana Brewery ‘Bavarian Helles Lager’ (0.3% ABV)
Whether you’re looking for the alcoholic or non-alcoholic variety, we’re sure that most beer drinkers have encountered those drinks that seem to show brewers treading the fine-line between genius and madness (we’re looking at you, Birthday Cake beer).
That’s why it’s always reassuring to see something classic on offer. Take a Helles for example. These classic German lagers are pale golden with a rounder body to make for a more interesting drink than a typical pale lager.
Crack open a cold bottle of Nirvana Brewery’s Bavarian Helles and you’ll see immediately that this is a drink that respects its heritage. Silky, liquid gold pours out of the bottle and maintains a decent head in the glass. There are subtle aromas of clove and caramel too, but this isn’t a sweet treat: there’s only 66 calories per 330ml bottle.
This might be because Nirvana Brewery is from the same brain that bought us Fitbeer. As well as the low-calorie count, the brewers haven’t meddled with the recipe or brewing process. Look at the label and you’ll spy only water, yeast, hops, and barley. This means that this low-cal, no-alcohol beer is also vegan-friendly.
Alcoholic-free and low-alcohol alternatives to your usual beer order are now so popular that this list could be updated on a weekly basis. Picking the best non-alcoholic lager is pretty much impossible at this point - plus, we all have our personal favourites!
Your reason for making the switch to NA beers doesn’t matter – it could be to make healthier choices or simply to see what the hype is about – but there’s plenty of variety out there for explore and enjoy. Get out there and get tasting!
