You like the sound of clinking glasses and relaxed conversation but too often the next morning you don’t feel so good. If this occurrence is one you want to avoid, you aren’t alone. Increasingly, people are embracing “sober curious” lifestyles and not turning back .
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic forced us to pay more attention to our habits, the Drinks Retailing News Mindful Drinking Guide from 2019 saw a sales growth of £22.4 million in the no and low alcohol category in the UK. This is no bad thing: the reality is that the less alcohol we drink the better. A recent study found that any amount of alcohol, no matter how small, is bad for the brain.
Straight-edge might be in fashion, but low alcohol beer is not just an expensive hipster novelty. In medieval Europe low-alcohol “small beer” was drunk as a substitute for unsanitary water and was often part of a worker’s pay. Nowadays, it doesn’t have to be the last-ditch option. The sober stuff can be flavoursome, inexpensive, and the taste might even con your mind into feeling jolly.
We tried six non-alcoholic beers to help you decide which one does the trick:
Big Drop Brewing Co. Alcohol Free Galactic Milk Stout (0.5%) £1.79
A stout that tastes like Guinness but better: it is warming with notes of coffee and chocolate. If you want something light, this is not it, but it is ideal for lovers of the decadent and thick. Perfect for a rainy day, but maybe not a sunny one – which makes it worth having in your fridge all year round in the UK.
Set up by a lawyer and a designer in 2016, Big Drop Brewing Co. specialise in producing beers that are naturally less than 0.5%. They have a wide range of delicious flavours in pretty packaging: sours, pale ales, lagers and IPAs as well as stouts. However, like too many beautiful things, they come with a hefty price.
£1.79 for a 330ml eliminates the money-saving aspect of non-alcoholic beer. Therefore Big Drop Brewing Co’s Galactic Milk Stout sits firmly in the “treat” category. What is certain is that if you must have a stout but you are trying to be sober, you need it. Fully recommended if you are having an intense conversation, because you can nurse this creamy drink for as long as you need.
BrewDog Alcohol Free Punk IPA (0.5%) £1.89
This tastes exactly the same as Punk IPA, and like the alcoholic version it’s something you get if there is no other decent option available.
The problem is that it is £1.89 for a 330 ml can, which is far too expensive for a sober version of something that has become ubiquitous in all the most annoying parts of Hackney.
Buying low-alcohol beer from big brands often means that you are paying more for the label than the actual product, and BrewDog is no different. Still, it is reasonably refreshing and isn’t disgusting, which makes it a semi-solid option overall.
FreeDamm, Cerveza sin Alcohol (0%) £1.00
This lager is light, airy and delicious enough to make you feel like you are outside enjoying the Spanish sun. It’s perfect if your friends have planned a day-drinking picnic extravaganza and you have things to do in the evening. You will get the buzz provided by a refreshing caña (Spanish beer measurement) but without the headache.
Priced at £1.00 a can it isn’t the cheapest out there, but the quality makes it well worth it. For the summer months it is the option that will make you feel that happy buzz.
Erdinger AlkoholFrei (0.5%) £1.30
Erdinger’s alcohol free option Erdinger AlkoholFrei is malty but refreshing; perfect for an average evening. Brewed according to Bavarian purity laws, it will satisfy any beer snobs among you, whilst also not making you drunk (which is the aim). The best thing about Erdinger is that it also doesn’t make you feel bloated at all; so if you want to have a relaxing drink but feel healthy this really is the best option out there.
It is £1.30 in Morrisons and the bottle is fairly big at 500 ml so it is a decent price, and the quality is next to none.
Sainte Etienne (0%) £0.89
Sainte Etienne 0% feels like a good old bog-standard San Miguel without the alcohol. At just 89p for a 330 ml bottle in ALDI it is a complete bargain. It’s brilliant for activities such as watching football with your mates (the smell will certainly make you feel like you are). They’ll all be drunk and none the wiser to the fact you are stone-cold sober.
DoomBar Pale Ale Alcohol Free (0%) £1.35
Being alcohol-free is not an excuse for a pint to taste like a packet of stale Quavers; alas unfortunately that is exactly what alcohol free DoomBar pale ale tastes like. For those who like a hoppy flavour and are used to drinking ales it might work, but if you want something even remotely refreshing this quite simply does not meet the remit. At £1.35 for a 500ml bottle, it isn’t worth it.
Sometimes we all need to exercise some self-control and consume cleverly like Gretel. It might be a hard no to DoomBar Alcohol Free but that does not mean you shouldn’t embrace a lager with low or no alcohol content. If you find yourself habitually reaching for the booze to wind down at the end of the day or if you struggle to socialise without a pint or two, you might just find that adding alcohol-free beer into your routine is your saving grace.