I’ve tested all the best alcohol free beers from Heineken to BrewDog – one is so good you’d never know it wasn’t booze
DRINKERS are taking the hangover out of having a beer, with sales of low and no-alcohol tipples 25 per cent higher last month than in Dry January.
Drinks expert Joe Wadsack tested the alcohol-free versions of some of our favourite beers in the market to find the best of the bevs.
Here he rates them out of ten on taste and how similar they are to the original. . .
Budweiser
4 x 330ml, £3.25
IF Budweiser wasn’t tasteless enough, Bud Zero is even lighter on flavour.
To be fair, making something this neutral is quite difficult, and it is still thirst-quenching and mildly malty.
TASTE 3
SIMILARITY 8
Leffe Blonde
6 x 250ml, £4.50
THE original Leffe Blonde is a big beer with quite a sweet, bold flavour.
The zero per cent version has some nice Belgian beer notes but you do miss the alcohol and richness quite a lot here.
TASTE 4
SIMILARITY 6
Adnams Ghost Ship 500ml, £1.40
AS an Adnams fan, I must say this is rather disappointing.
There’s too much hop, which means it tastes very unbalanced and bitter, and it doesn’t remind me of Ghost Ship at all.
It really tastes alcohol-free.
TASTE 5
SIMILARITY 4
San Miguel
4 x 330ml, £3.75
A PERFECTLY acceptable alternative if you don’t fancy booze.
This really tastes like San Miguel.
It has got that malty, round flavour of the original, which I really enjoyed.
TASTE 7
SIMILARITY 8
Asahi
4 x 330ml, £4.50
WOW! This absolutely blew me away.
Asahi has managed to nail the creamy texture of lager, and this version is delicious.
You could easily sit at your desk at work drinking these all day – and there’s no alcohol, so no worries!
TASTE 9
SIMILARITY 10
Brewdog Punk IPA 4 x 330ml, £5
I MUST say this is a very good New World IPA.
It is well-balanced, doesn’t taste too bitter and you can really taste the cascades with Citra hops.
Overall, it’s pleasant, but just slightly not as robust as the original.
TASTE 8
SIMILARITY 7
Heineken
6 x 330ml, £4.45
I DO not like this as much as the alcoholic version.
It’s lacking the hoppy definition of Heineken, and is a bit too wishy-washy for my liking.
You can definitely taste that the beer is missing with this beverage.
TASTE 4
SIMILARITY 5
Erdinger
500ml, £1.60
ERDINGER is my beer of choice, and I’m delighted to say the alcohol-free version is just as delicious.
I reckon if I’d had three or four pints, and was then offered a non-alcoholic one, I don’t think I would be able to tell the difference.
TASTE 9
SIMILARITY 10