Alcohol free booze...

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tomtom

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Jun 5, 2008
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Please forgive the contradictory title...

Having mostly given up the pop over the last year or so (and with many people doing likewise in January) I've developed a bit of a taste for zero or low alcohol beer (e.g 0.5% etc..)... In case anyone else has an interest/recommendations..

So far my favorite is BrewDogs Nanny State - which is unusual for me as I hate hoppy IPA style beers (with alcohol in them..).. Budweiser new offering is largely insipid. I had a very nice 0.5% Weiss-bier from Tesco's over Xmas too..
 
Good shout Tom, I had a month off this time last year in anticipation of Clem's arrival, and am experimenting with going teetotal for the foreseeable.

I think your findings are largely in line with mine. Nanny State was by far the best, and I seem to recall that one of the better lager-style ones was the Sainsburys Czech Lager.

I've tried the non-alcohol versions of San Miguel, Heineken, Bavaria and Budweiser and think they're all much of a muchness flavour-wise, i.e. lager-esque but a) a bit too sweet and b) not quite hoppy/bitter enough. They all need a lot of chilling to be bearable.

I didn't like the Cobra one, or Erdinger but have friends who rate the latter.
 
Good thread.
I agree re Nanny State.
I've got a bottle of the St Peters stuff which gets good reviews on Tesco but haven't tried it yet.
Anyone tried any of the wines ? There was an article in the Times on Saturday which recommended a few
 
While my wife was breast-feeding our little-un, we tried a lot of the options of no/low alcohol beers. The nanny state was the best non-alcoholic (0.5% or lower). Adnams Sole Star (0.9%) was also good. I found the Erdinger weiss bier OK. Apparently M&S do a Czech lager that is good, but they've never had it in stock when we've tried to get some. The St. Peter's low alcohol was disappointing. My wife thought the Becks Blue was OK. I'd happily drink Nanny State or Sole Star, but wouldn't bother with the others really.
 
I quite like Becks blue, but not massively exciting. I actually much prefer the Heiniekien for a 0%, but agree that Nanny State is way better.

I tried another, think was erdinger that I thought was disgustingly sweet. Pretty sure was that.

Has anyone tried Seedlip the non alcoholic 'spirit'? I've seen it advertised a bit around but no idea what it's like.
 
Just realised I put San Miguel above, when I meant Estrella.

Again, not a bad one if you're looking for a lager-y example but needs to be out-of-the-freezer cold.
 
Looked into these just before Christmas for when I fancy a drink without having a drink. Found an article somewhere reviewing them. It went something like this.
Nanny State 4/5
Everything else 1/5 (don't remember Sole Star being mentioned)

I pretty much agree with the article. It didn't include the newer ones like Bud.

Ont radio t'other day some drinks expert reckoned non alcoholic drinks were this years big thing so hopefully range and quality will improve and more places start stocking Nanny State.
 
A couple of Christmas' ago I bought my now teetotal Dad a mixed case from these guys...

https://www.alcoholfree.co.uk/mixed-cases-c-2_65_74.html

Really good service, fast delivery, paid delivery but still pretty good value overall and a good way to try lots of different types. I tried a few but can't remember my favourites. They have a 'real' shop/warehouse based in Manchester where you can collect for free if your passing.
 
Cool - some great replies here... glad it wasn't just me too :)

I've not tried the non weiss Erdinger, but it amused me how they put 'isotonic refreshment' (or words to that effect) on the label :)

From previous visits to Oz, light beers (which can be from 1-3% IIRC) were pretty popular and available in many places on tap... I'll be back there in a couple of weeks so see if anythings changed...

I'm no brewer, but wonder if there is something in the process of getting from a 0.5% to a 0% (which is probably 0.05%.. not zero) that saps all life from the brew? Or is that last 0.5% prohibitavely expensive? I know that becks 0% has some alcohol in it, as when one of my friends was in Lybia (pre Arab spring) some members of the expat community would prize the lid off a becks zero and pop half a stick of spaghetti in and replace the lid. 2-4 days later back up to strength :)
 
Currently on the Heineken 0%, it’s pallatable enough if very cold (think this applies to most)

I quite like the Erdinger “isotonic” one, but they’re stretching it a bit there really!

Will try the Brewdog one, for some reason I’ve not had chance yet.
 
Bought some Eisberg alcohol free Cabernet Sauvignon from Sainsbury's this afternoon.
Kin Ribena. Don't waste any money on it.
I also bought a bottle of alcohol free fizz on the recommendation of the bloke in the wine aisle but haven't tried it yet
 
Mike Tyson said:
Will try the Brewdog one, for some reason I’ve not had chance yet.

Works fine without being super chilled.. also it seems to be miles cheaper at Tesco's than anywhere else for some reason...
 
Another vote for Nanny State as my tipple of choice these days. Also, a friend introduced me to Pistonhead Flat True, a 0.5% lager. Which was nice.
 
+1 to the alcoholfree website above. My favourite was the super bock stout when I bought a mixed crate. Much preferred to nanny state, but I do like dark beers. If you prefer wheat beers, I thought Maisels Weisse was better than Erdinger.
 
Plattsy said:
Ont radio t'other day some drinks expert reckoned non alcoholic drinks were this years big thing so hopefully range and quality will improve and more places start stocking Nanny State.

One of my bugbears is that pubs and bars only really seem to reliably stock Becks Blue, which is often a) full price, same a real bottled ale and b) one of the rankest low/non-alcohol beers. I just end up drinking lime and soda instead.

Hopefully more will get with the program and start stocking some of the better ones.
 
I'm actually enjoying Erdinger alkoholfrei at the moment. Keep meaning to try the Nanny State when I come across it.
 
http://fiendophobia.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/00.html

Been on this for years.

Further to that list I'd say the Franzikaner ones are great, St Peter's are okay, and in contrast to the rest of you bile-loving freaks, Nanny State is bloody horrible, I'm sure it's authentic but it's so bitterly hoppy it tastes like regurgitated engine coolant.
 
tommytwotone said:
I just end up drinking lime and soda instead.

Try adding a dash slosh of Angostura bitters. Makes a quite paletable soft drink.
 
Having spent 9 months pregnant then nearly 3 year breastfeeding I became a bit of an expert on non-alcoholic stuff...

I have yet to find any non-alcoholic wine (white, red or fizz) that isn't ridiculously sweet, the reds do make good mulled wine and the white is OK ice cold with soda water in it in the summer.

The best beers I found were in France surprisingly enough. 1664 or export 66. Although I think one of them is just low alcohol, 1-2 %
 


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