10 x good and tasty non-alcoholic beer
Alcohol-free and tasty beer, what an invention. Because sometimes you want beer, but you have to drive. Maybe you are pregnant or you just don't want any (or very little) alcohol. Sparkling water is not an option, because you are craving beer. Alcohol-free (or low) then, but hey, that doesn't taste good, does it? Wrong!
Alcohol-free (or low-alcohol) beer is on the rise and how. It's tricky, because alcohol itself has no taste, but it is an important flavor carrier. How nice that there are now so many breweries that can brew a good and tasty alcohol-free beer in multiple styles. No more cardboard-like malt water or a radler 0.0%, but good IPAs and fresh pilsner with (almost) no alcohol. Team Bart knows which one you want, of course. Eins, two, three, beer we go with a list of personal favorites.
Would you rather have something other than a beer? Then take a look at these lists of non-alcoholic drinks wines en liqueurs.
Beer nerds, pay attention, because we're going to get a little technical here. In Germany, a beer can already be called alcohol-free if it contains less than 0,5% alcohol. The Netherlands is stricter and a beer can only be called alcohol-free if it contains a maximum of 0,1% alcohol. Before you get scared (who knows, maybe you're pregnant and just took a sip of 'alcohol-free' beer): a banana also contains something like 0,1% alcohol and orange juice can contain 0,5%. That's even legal. Like your grandma said, everything in moderation and you'll go a long way. Where sugar and yeast can come together, a (tiny) tiny bit of alcohol can eventually be created. So there's nothing wrong with that and just keep enjoying.
Northern Monk Super Stredge 0,5% low alcohol IPA
We'll start off with the favorite of the bunch, the Northern Monk Super Stredge. Northern Monk is a brewery in Leeds, Yorkshire (if you're in the area, definitely stop by!) and those guys can brew. A no-nonsense, hoppy and fruity IPA that you don't notice has almost no alcohol in it. A great option for a long afternoon of drinking. A great example of how alcohol-free doesn't mean a reduction in flavor.
Jever Fun, 0,3% Pilsner
Where you used to only get alcohol-free pilsner, you now fortunately have a lot more choice. That doesn't mean that sometimes you just want a pilsner. No problemo, because then you go for the Jever Fun from the German Jever. Of course, Germans have a reputation to uphold when it comes to pilsner and they do so with this low-alcohol version. Refreshing, even that crispiness from the hops and oh so thirst quenching.
Weihenstephaner Original Helles Alkoholfrei 0.5%
Another star player from Germany, the Helles 0.5%. The Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan from Freising is the oldest brewery in the world (over a thousand years old), so you can assume that they know what they are doing. Almost completely alcohol-free, fresh, a bit spicy and just a little less worty than the Jever Fun above, this is the favorite in the category of slurping. No, don't start drooling over your couch. We mean delicious drinking without getting bored.
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Alkoholfrei 0,5%
You can hardly taste the difference between the Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier with or without alcohol, which is impressive. As you would expect from a wheat beer, the Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Alcoholfrei is a bit creamy, fresh and has a real bite. You have to love the banana – which is characteristic of the Hefeweiss style. Do you like it? Then this is your go to when you don't want to drink so much alcohol for a while.
Summer in your glass too? Good idea! Lowlander also has a great 0,0 white beer. And above all, they have a good story. You can read that here.
vandeStreek Playground IPA <0,5%
A very fine low-alcohol IPA from our own soil. By throwing enough hops at it and using special yeast, the guys at vandeStreek in Utrecht have managed to create a solid IPA with a nice hop balance. Nice citrus fruit in the nose too.
Jopen NONnetje IPA 0,3%
Nicely fruity with a firm bitterness. Another incredibly fine alcohol-free IPA and now from the brewers of Jopen in Haarlem. The first low-alcohol beer from Jopen and you can really be proud of such a result. As they say themselves: 'free from all sins'. Well, it is not completely alcohol-free, but with only 0,3% you can get a long way. Fun fact: in the Middle Ages, every beer that was brewed in Haarlem had to consist of three grains, namely barley, wheat and oats. They did that with NONnetje IPA too, so extra malty to give all those hops some counterbalance.
BrewDog Punk AF 0,5%
You've probably heard of the BrewDog Punk IPA, right? If not, shame on you. The Punk AF (AF stands for alcohol free, but of course we all read that as As F*ck, which is exactly how BrewDog means it). With no less than eight different hop varieties from North America, New Zealand and Europe, this is an IPA that stands on its own two feet, even though it 'only' has 0,5% alcohol. Full of tropical notes, just like its big brother Punk IPA.
Brouwers Pils AH 0.0%
We love fine products, and therefore fine beers, but you can definitely not call us snobs. That is why we are also in this list of Brouwers Pils 0,0% from Albert Heijn. The price-quality ratio is great and the beer is fresh and hoppy enough to drink on a nice evening. Not the best from this list, but for a 0,0% pils that is on the shelves at every Albert Heijn, it certainly deserves a mention. The only disadvantage is that Albert Heijn's house pils sometimes changes brewer and therefore also the taste. It is a matter of keeping an eye on it and keep tasting.
Warsteiner Premium Alcohol Free 0,5%
Nice and fresh and almost no malt water 'case', that is the Warsteiner Premium Alkoholfrei. Nice and fresh, the hops still come through nicely and we can't really say anything about this beer that we don't like. Those Germans know what they are doing. Recommended!
BrewDog Nanny State 0,5%
With no less than five types of hops, BrewDog Nanny State is a beer full of flavour and therefore with virtually no alcohol. A hoppy ale to be reckoned with (but not with that hangover). Nanny State is best from a can, because no (sun)light or oxygen is added. This ultimately applies to all beers, but is extra important for beers with a lot of hops. Cheers, my dears.
Without getting super technical, there are three ways to brew alcohol-free beer: you can distill the alcohol out, the alcohol can be filtered out, or you can use a yeast that produces almost no alcohol. There you have it.
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