Anyone who’s ever suffered a hangover in their entire life knows it well: The Fear.
That creeping sense of doom and bouts of existential crisis as you recover from a big night out, fixating on fleeting scenes at the periphery of your memory until they build into mountains of shame, regret and guilt - or hey, if you’re really lucky, a screeching megamix of all three.
“I’ll never drink again”, you mutter to yourself disgusted by your life choices, exactly at the moment someone suggests going for a ‘hair of the dog’ Bloody Mary.
But there is a way to sidestep becoming this wretched hot mess of a human, Sliding Doors-style.
Choose a no-alcohol beer instead and enjoy all the social elements of a sesh without the head-splitting consequences and self-flagellation the morning after.
Beer without the booze is increasingly becoming the first choice for a huge swathe of Brits as more brands launch alcohol-free alternatives purporting to have the same great taste as their full-strength brothers.
According to UBS’ food and beverage analysts, the no-alcohol beer category is set to exceed €17bn in sales globally by 2025, with Heineken front and centre. Meanwhile, in its British craft beer report, the Society of Independent Brewers (Siba) found more young people favour low-alcohol beer, while 23 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds abstain completely.
There are myriad reasons why having a booze break is a good idea, for both your waistline and your bank balance, not to mention your quality of sleep. Perhaps it’s a weeknight, or you’re the designated driver - alcohol-free beer can help you feel like you’re part of the party without compromising your safety or focus.
Whether you fancy a break or just want to try mindful drinking by alternating a booze-free beer with a regular strength one, there are plenty of cans and bottles ready and waiting to wet your whistle.
We’ve listed our favourite low and no-ABV beers below. Crack open a cold one, and feel smug glugging down painless pints.
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Athletic Brewing Company Run Wild IPA multipack
American no-alcohol brewery Athletic Brewing Company is well stocked for anyone considering joining Sober October and Dry January. The brand offers a small but delicious menu of options from stout and lager to award-winning IPAs. Run Wild is a great IPA to get you started, crafted with a blend of five Northwest hops with a malty body balancing an initial bitterness. Oh, and it's only 65cals a pop. We're in.
Buy now £35.00, Amazon
Beavertown - Lazer Crush Alcohol Free IPA 0.0 per cent
Staying sober is easy to keep thanks to this alcohol-free IPA. It’s made the same way as Beavertown’s full strength beers, but using a new strain of yeast that creates almost no alcohol during the fermentation process.
It’s crisp with notes of peach, mango and a hint of pine. Or, as Beavertown says, ‘Heavyweight flavour, featherweight ABV’ - we challenge you to tell the difference.
Buy now £1.65, Sainsbury’s
Lucky Saint Unfiltered Alcohol Free Lager 330ml
Booze-free and low in cals at just 53 calories per bottle, Lucky Saint is the beer you can enjoy on your lunch hour, before the gym - whenever you want. Biscuity with full-throttle flavour, only four ingredients are used in its creation: Pilsner Malt, Hallertau hops, water and yeast.
You’ll find the beer on the drinks menu at The Ivy, Pizza Pilgrims and Dishoom, showing that it pairs well with a variety of dishes and cuisines - you needn’t go without a pint with your next curry.
Buy now £29.98, Amazon
Infinite Session Alcohol Free Beer India Pale Ale - 12 x 330ml cans
With double dry hops and notes of tangy, citrus flavour, Infinite Sessions presents its booze-free IPA to thirsty customers, which many claim give Brewdog’s Punk IPA a run for its money.
There’s slim chance of a beer belly with this; each 330ml can contains just 39 calories (compare that to around 150 cals in regular beer cans) and it’s vegan to boot. With a craft beer-like quality, it’s crisp and refreshing.
Buy now £17.50, Amazon
Days Brewing Co.
Hops without the hangover: not a dream, but a reality at Days, which makes all-natural alcohol-free lager using plant-based ingredients. Ideal for having inbetween regular bottles to regulate drinking, or replacing if you’re off the sauce for a bit, the brand offers lager as well as pale ale.
Buy now £5.50, Waitrose
Brewdog Alcohol-Free Mixed Pack
Say hello to 48 cans of Brewdogs (almost) alcohol-free beer: the juicy and tropical Hazy Jane, light and balanced Punk IPA and slightly bitter Nanny State contain a miniscule 0.5 per cent ABV, while crisp Lost comes in at a firm 0.0 per cent ABV. Full of flavour, appropriate levels of fizz and at around 99p a go, there’s enough to see you through a couple of parties at least.
Buy now £7.60, Amazon
Beer Hunter The Low and No Alcohol Mixed Case
A selection pack of 15 guilt-free beers to work your way through - surely enough to brighten anyone’s day. The hamper contains a choice selection of bottles and cans from British and EU producers, allowing you to sample lots of varieties with just a click of a mouse.
Buy now £26.95, Beer Hunter
Budweiser Zero Alcohol Free Lager 4 Pack
The ‘King of Beers’ has a booze-free option designed to wet the whistles of anyone thinking about reining in their drink units. Expect the same iconic full flavour and crisp finish, all at zero per cent - and ony 46 calories per serving, so no need to worry about nursing a beer belly. Cheers!
Buy now £3.00, Asda
Birra Moretti Zero Alcohol Free Beer 4 x 330ml
Italians are not known for doing things by halves, including, it seems, zero per cent alcohol beer. Quintessential Italian beer brand Birra Moretti, which has been serving pints since 1859, has answered the prayers of mindful drinkers with a no-booze iteration of its much-loved lager.
Keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to luxuriate in the experience. Best with some aperitivo and only 66 calories a bottle. Salut!
Buy now £5.25, Amazon
Estrella Galicia 0.0 per cent - 12 x 330ml Bottles
Sit back and sip without worry by investing in a fridge full of Estrella Galicia which now comes in a 0.0 per cent version. The smooth, light light lager is virtually indistinguishable from the taste of full-strength OG beer - expect smooth, refreshing flavour with a pleasant slightly bitter aftertaste. It pairs well with everything from comfort food to BBQ bites and when alternated with regular lager, is a great way to practise mindful drinking.
Buy now £9.60, Majestic
Corona Cero 0.0% Alcohol Free Lager Bottles 4 x 330ml
Make afterwork or weekend drinks feel like a palm-fringed holiday with the help of this special alcohol-free pack of Corona, which has 0.0 per cent ABV.
Refreshing and made with all-natural ingredients, have it the way you would a regular Corona - ice cold with a freshly cut wedge of lime. Contains 56 calories a bottle (the alcohol alternative is 139).
Buy now £4.35, Amazon
San Miguel 0.0% Alcohol 4 x 330ml
A pilsner-style beer made for designated drivers, moderate drinkers and teetotalers, Spain's San Miguel now comes in 0.0 per cent ABV. It's made with the same ingredients as standard San Miguel but the mashing parameters have been tweaked so that San Miguel 0.0 contains no more than 0.04 per cent ABV - virtually non-existent and certainly not enough to have an effect on the body.
We tried it against the full-strength beer as well as a gluten-free version and found they all carried the same full, thirst-quenching flavour - which means you can raise a glass, whatever your requirements.
Buy now £4.25, Tesco
Peroni Libera 0.0 per cent Alcohol Free Lager 12 x 330ml
The Italian producer has gone to great lengths to replicate the taste of its world-famous beer with a booze-free twist. Pair it with your next takeaway and try to tell the difference between this and the real thing. Best experienced ice cold.
Buy now £19.79, Amazon
Heineken 0.0 Alcohol Free Beer
All the fruity, malty notes with none of the boozy effects. Heineken has formulated a 0.0 per cent beer that could be the twin of the original 1873 recipe. This pack comes in 330ml bottles with a cardboard carton holder for maximum recyclability.
Buy now £11.50, Tesco
Leffe Blonde 0.0% 6 x 250ml
Fans of Belgian beer brand Leffe no longer have to feel locked out of the party - this is the first alcohol-free beer, and in terms of flavour and body, it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Perfect on a hot summer’s day, expect hints of clove and vanilla with plenty of smokey notes that’ll make you forget you’re not sipping the real thing.
Buy now £4.50, Sainsbury’s
Stella Artois Alcohol Free Lager 4 Pack
The same great taste of the iconic lager, just with 0.0 per cent ABV. Not a drop of alcohol is in Stella's alcohol-free alternative, making it a perfect choice for anyone who wants to cut back. Just like its stronger brother, it tastes light and sweet with a dry hop-filled finish.
Buy now £3.50, ASDA
Kopparberg Alc-Free Mixed Fruit Tropical
Launched last summer, Kopparberg’s alcohol-free mixed fruit cider proved so popular, it’s been added to the line-up on a permanent basis.
Packed with all the punchy notes of its regular strength sister, the cider proves you can have all the flavour and fun without any of the alcohol units.
Buy now £3.00, Tesco
