Low / zero alcohol beers & lager

arclight

arclight

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Can anyone recommend some low/zero alc. beers with a flavour that comes close to the real McCoy.
I tried Erdinger and Bavaria at the weekend. Never, in all my life, have I experienced such sour foul tastes. I would pay money just to be sure that I never tasted anything like that again.
 
Brewdog Nanny State is pretty authentic
 
Agree with Brewdog Nanny State, only problem I have is getting hold of it
 
They all tend towards being a little sweeter than regular beer. We've had Lowenbrau and Fruh alkoholfrei versions in the house of late, I'm told they're quite drinkable.

At least there's plenty for you to try. I'd settle for just one alcohol-free gluten-free beer to be available in the UK, there's one available in Germany but no one imports it :(
 
munch said:
Agree with Brewdog Nanny State, only problem I have is getting hold of it
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I got two bottles in Asda today. They only had two on the shelf !
 
stupar said:
Becks blue.......tastes just as pish as real becks :D
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I got some of that to try today.

Sort of defeats the purpose, but it seems like you need to be pished to try these non alc. drinks.
 
Koppaberg pear cider tastes almost identical in the non/alcoholic versions if you're after a soft drink alternative but isn't beer obviously and is quite sweet. Also not stocked in a lot of pubs but in most supermarkets.
I've never had alcohol free beer that didn't taste like soda water. Yeeeuck.
 
Yelkrub said:
Koppaberg pear cider tastes almost identical in the non/alcoholic versions if you're after a soft drink alternative but isn't beer obviously and is quite sweet. Also not stocked in a lot of pubs but in most supermarkets.
I've never had alcohol free beer that didn't taste like soda water. Yeeeuck.
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I don't like sweet/fruit flavoured drinks.
I tried the Beck's Blue and Brewdog Nanny State last night. I could only tolerate a sip of each. I thought that they were appalling. I don't understand why they need to taste so bad. Better off with a bottle of water or a cup of tea.
 
arclight said:
I don't like sweet/fruit flavoured drinks.
I tried the Beck's Blue and Brewdog Nanny State last night. I could only tolerate a sip of each. I thought that they were appalling. I don't understand why they need to taste so bad. Better off with a bottle of water or a cup of tea.
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So what lager/beer do you drink when it's not non-alcoholic?
 
KitsuneAndy said:
Brewdog Nanny State is pretty authentic
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I tried that a couple of weeks ago. I would happily drink it in place of regular beer - unlike the stuff I remember from the 90s like Kaliber.

It is 0.5% though, so not fully alcohol free.


Steve.
 
Steve Smith said:
I tried that a couple of weeks ago. I would happily drink it in place of regular beer - unlike the stuff I remember from the 90s like Kaliber.

It is 0.5% though, so not fully alcohol free.


Steve.
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Same as most alcohol free beer I think, Bass Shandy is 0.5% too isn't it?
 
I had never tried non alc. beer/lager before. I have always drank lowish alc varieties - Asda Smart Price bitter which is only 2%. I quite like it, but thought that I'd try the non/almost no alcoholic stuff (very much dearer, BTW). Must admit my adventure has been a shock. I was not prepared to feel as if I had been licking a Sumo wrestler's jockstrap.
 
arclight said:
I had never tried non alc. beer/lager before. I have always drank lowish alc varieties - Asda Smart Price bitter which is only 2%. I quite like it, but thought that I'd try the non/almost no alcoholic stuff (very much dearer, BTW). Must admit my adventure has been a shock. I was not prepared to feel as if I had been licking a Sumo wrestler's jockstrap.
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How do you know what a sumo wrestlers jockstrap tastes like. or is this something we don't want to know about.;)
 
munch said:
How do you know what a sumo wrestlers jockstrap tastes like. or is this something we don't want to know about.;)
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It features strongly in the tasting notes for Asda Smart Price bitter..
 
Nannay State is IMO the only one that doesn't taste of soap. Well, apart from Becks Blue maybe but that tastes of Becks.....
 
I've never seen the point of alcohol free beer/cider etc.. If I want a soft drink, I'll have a pint of orange squash or a fruit juice or even plain tap water.
 
Nod said:
I've never seen the point of alcohol free beer/cider etc.. If I want a soft drink, I'll have a pint of orange squash or a fruit juice or even plain tap water.
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I always assumed it was about wanting to neck a liquid that tastes the same as regular beer or lager, but without getting alcohol in your blood. There are clear circumstances where folk may want that.

There also maybe folk that just want to swig alcohol without caring if it tastes of beer etc. They have loads of choice .......... meths., isopropyl etc.
 
That's the point though, the alcohol in alcoholic beverages is a large part of the taste so remove it and it'll always taste totally different.
 
Nod said:
That's the point though, the alcohol in alcoholic beverages is a large part of the taste so remove it and it'll always taste totally different.
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Totally agree.
Same with meat substitutes and artificial sweeteners.
Have them by all means, just don't expect the same taste.
 
Still like Becks blue, doesn't taste too bad and doesn't give me a bad head like some of the other none alcohol beers do. If I want a hangover I'd rather it be related to the alcohol not something else in beer.
 
Funnily enough, I quite like the Erdinger alc-free stuff - it's a totally different drink to Erdinger (and, in fact, any beer at all), but I don't find it objectionable. I'd put it into the same category as soda & lime, say - a drink if you can't have a beer, but let's not pretend it is actually beer.

I'd recommend Bitburger Drive. I'm a fan of Germany lagers and pilsners so that might be why it works for me, but I've even cracked one open when I haven't been needing to have alcohol free stuff... I think it's good enough to drink as & when!

If anyone ever finds a semi drinkable alc-free ale, please do let me know as that'd be a cracker...
 
Nod said:
That's the point though, the alcohol in alcoholic beverages is a large part of the taste so remove it and it'll always taste totally different.
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Yes, that seems to be the problem. I have tasted 4 non alc. beers now and they all seem to have the same underlying post swallowing sour aftertaste. Could be it is the removal of the alcohol that produces it. Perhaps some persevering is in order. Probably lots of folk thought ale was bloody awful when they first tasted it.
 
KitsuneAndy said:
I think I've found the problem.

You don't like beer.
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I don't! Being a Devonshireman I'm a cider drinker but I'm just as happy with apple juice (although I'm never sure why a natural, unfermented product is about twice the price of a less natural one that's taxed to b99ery and beyond!). Never tried alcohol free cider but don't particularly like AF wine, preferring straight grape juice instead.
 
I like Shandies.

There I've said it , Beer & lemonade for me :)

A few years back after having a few shandies I'd reached the driving limit (below it of course), I was still in the mood for a drink so asked for the alcohol free beer "shandied".... The barman nearly exploded in confusion :D
 
I don't drink for religious reasons but have always been keen to try non-alcoholic beers/wines etc. Partly for the taste but also because soft drink selections are pretty lame in most bars/restaurants.

When it comes to 0% beers, Ive tried a few and even though I have nothing to compare with most tasted pretty rank. The worst was San Miguel and my favourite was Cobra Zero. Erdinger and Clausthaler are both pretty acceptable.
 
mrgubby said:
I like Shandies.

There I've said it , Beer & lemonade for me :)

A few years back after having a few shandies I'd reached the driving limit (below it of course), I was still in the mood for a drink so asked for the alcohol free beer "shandied".... The barman nearly exploded in confusion :D
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My Mrs really likes Becks Blue, and also uses it in a shandy which she really enjoys too.
 
Phil V said:
My Mrs really likes Becks Blue, and also uses it in a shandy which she really enjoys too.
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Must be a women thing then as my wife is the exact same....loves a becks blue either with or without lemonade.
 
stupar said:
Must be a women thing then as my wife is the exact same....loves a becks blue either with or without lemonade.
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I find becks blue to be 'tolerable', but I admit to being a mardy git when it comes to going out and not drinking.

I don't like to take on loads of sugar, I don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners, so I tend to drink water if I'm not not having a drink. It's impossible to drink several coffees in a pub, a single fruit juice is ok, but the default is just water :(
 
Phil V said:
I find becks blue to be 'tolerable', but I admit to being a mardy git when it comes to going out and not drinking.

I don't like to take on loads of sugar, I don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners, so I tend to drink water if I'm not not having a drink. It's impossible to drink several coffees in a pub, a single fruit juice is ok, but the default is just water :(
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I'm the same, for my last Christmas do at work, I had soda water and lime the whole evening. Wasnt too bad to be honest
 
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I quite like Bavaria Wit (white, obviously) tastes infinitely better than the normal bavaria non alco one.
 
I've got a bottle of Brew Dog Nanny State in my hand right now and I must say I'm finding it pretty foul tasting. But then again I do like my sweet drinks
 
hsuffyan said:
I've got a bottle of Brew Dog Nanny State in my hand right now and I must say I'm finding it pretty foul tasting. But then again I do like my sweet drinks
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I tried that and thought it vile. If I had known about the sour aftertaste I'd have never swallowed it. Tried "St. Peter's Without" last night and found it to be worse.

My first try of Beck's Blue made me put it in the urine group. I have since tried it twice more and it seems less bad than at first.

Next to be tried is St. Miguel alc. free.

About 95% of what I have bought has gone down the kitchen sink. A rather expensive experiment.

If alcoholic beers were made to taste like the non alcoholic varieties the beer trade would rapidly go down the drain (literally).
 
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