They are billed as healthy alternatives to traditional beers, but some low- or no-alcohol versions of our favourite tipples contain far more sugar. Sophie Morris investigates
The great news this Sober October is that the range of alcoholfree products on sale is expanding - along with our unslakable thirst for them. Nearly all of the big alcohol manufacturers have moved into the no- and low-alcohol space because they want us to keep buying drinks in one way or another, while nearly all pubs - 87 per cent - have something on offer for the alcohol-free beer lovers, according to the British Beer and Pub Association.
The charity Drinkaware reports that a third of us are now buying the alcohol-free versions of popular drinks, with beer in particular selling incredibly well, sales of lowand no-alcohol brands doubling in 2023 to a value of £809.7m.
But alcohol-free does not necessarily mean that it is good for you, or healthy. When beer is made, the process of fermentation means that the sugars in a beer’s core ingredients are transformed into alcohol, leaving an alcoholic but low-sugar drink - typically less than 1g per pint, which is hardly a trace in a 100ml portion.
To make non-alcoholic beers 0 per cent or 0.5 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV), the alcohol is taken out after brewing. Unsurprisingly, this affects the taste and sometimes sugars such as lactose, fructose and glucose are then added to improve the flavour, which boosts both calories and carbohydrates - sugar content - in the finished product. Some of the biggest 0 per cent beers contain more sugar than you might expect.
And low doesn’t mean no. I enjoyed my first experience with non-alcoholic beer, but was six weeks into my alcohol-free stint when I realised that the Gadds No 11 Ultra Light Anytime Pale Ale that my husband had bought me - delicious as it was - wasn’t, in fact, a 0 per cent beer, but 1.2 per cent ABV. This makes it a low-alcohol beer - most lagers are around 4 to 6 per cent ABV - but in order to be considered alcohol-free, beers must contain no more than 0.5 per cent ABV.
Who knows how many cans I had before making this discovery. Luckily for me, the Gadds No 11 is also low in calories - 13 per 100ml serving - and sugar - 0.5g/100ml.
The alcohol-free products that are lower in calories have most likely been produced using a slow fermentation process and are unfiltered, which helps to maintain their flavour.
“When it comes to 0 per cent beers, the fact that they generally have fewer calories than their alcoholic counterparts makes them appealing for those looking to reduce calorie intake,” says Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a specialist dietitian and the author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed.
“However, the added sugars in some non-alcoholic beers do raise concerns, especially if consumed regularly.”
So how much do your favourites contain? I put them to the test.
Taste test Eight of the best
Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0% ABV, £5.50 for 4x330ml bottles 100ml serving: 23 calories, 0.8g sugar Peroni is a popular choice and, according to the consumer analyst Statista, 26 per cent of beer drinkers enjoy it. Curiously, it is one of a number of brands where the alcohol-free version, though slightly lower in calories than the regular beer, has a considerably higher sugar content. In this case, Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0 per cent contains 23 calories per 100ml compared with 32, but of that 5.4g is carbohydrates and 0.8g sugar, compared with 3.2g and 0g for the standard 5 per cent lager.
Lucky Saint, 0.5 ABV, £1.80 for 330ml 100ml serving: 16 calories, 0.1g sugar It was the glass bottle that first turned me on to Lucky Saint, which makes it feel like a real drink. It’s the biggest alcohol-free brand that did not come from a beer manufacturer, and you will find it on sale in 10,000 UK pubs, on draught in 1,000, and a new 500ml bottle has just joined the standard 330ml size in Sainsbury’s.
Lucky Saint tastes as much like a lager as any alcohol-free version you will find, with a satisfying fizz and gentle, non-chemical taste, which is apparently down to a long maturation time. The brand also owns a pub in central London where I recently tried its other product, Hazy IPA, which is also delicious.
BrewDog Punk AF IPA, 0.5% ABV, £5 for 4 x 330ml cans 100ml serving: 16 calories, 1.8g sugar Low in calories but fairly high in sugar, this is a beer that I discovered through an accidental purchase, as the can looks so similar to the BrewDog Punk AF original. Despite controversial headlines about the brewer’s leadership, BrewDog does well because its products hit a sweet spot between price and taste, and the same is true of its alcohol-free versions.
Its Nanny State alcohol-free hoppy ale led the way for today’s wealth of 0 per cent beers, and was the only drinkable one I could find on maternity leave in 2016. Maybe this is the only area in which expectant and new mothers have more choice and quality than a decade ago.
“This falls into a moderate range for sugar, but not alarmingly high, especially for a drink like this,” says Ludlam-Raine. “A 330ml can would contain just under 6g of sugar [around a teaspoon], which is reasonable if enjoyed occasionally.”
Birra Moretti Zero, 0.05% ABV, £5 for 4 x 330ml bottles 100ml serving: 20 calories, 1.2g sugar An easy-drinking crowdpleaser that is easy on the wallet too, just like its alcoholic predecessor. Birra Moretti Zero contains almost half the number of calories as the genuine article (20/100ml compared to 37/100ml) but 1.2g of sugar per 100ml compared to zero.
Free Damm, 0% ABV, £4.25 for 4 x 330ml bottles 100ml serving: 20 calories, 1.7g sugar Like Estrella Damm, Free Damm is brewed in Barcelona and is a favourite in the UK’s growing market of no or low drinkers.
It is produced with the same ingredients as the real thing - water, barley malt, rice, hops and maize - with the alcohol being removed afterwards. It contains half the calories of Estrella, but far more sugar - 1.7g compared with 0.5g. The flavour is uncomplicated, as sunny Spanish lagers should be, and this is a great choice price-wise.
“Similar to BrewDog, the sugar content here is moderate, and a 330ml bottle would contain just over 5.5g of sugar, so it’s not too concerning,” says Ludlam-Raine.
Firebrand Shorebreak Hazy Pale, 0.5 ABV, £3.20 for 440ml can 100ml serving: 8 calories, 0.86g sugar An instant hit on launch last year, Shorebreak Hazy Pale is a thirst-quenching tropical and citrussy 0 per cent IPA from independent Cornish brewery Firebrand.
It outperforms Firebrand’s flagship beer
Patchwork Rocket on sales as well as calories, with just 35 calories per 440ml can compared with 150 cals for the 4 per cent Patchwork Rocket.
This summer, Firebrand unveiled its alcohol-free lager, Little Wave, which tastes clean and fresh like its coastal roots and is sure to be another success.
Impossibrew Enhanced Lager, 0.5% ABV, £2.99 for 440ml can 100ml serving: 17 calories, 0.7g sugar I haven’t tried Impossibrew but it is an interesting concept and I hear good things. It’s an alcoholfree beer that is also low in sugar with the added bonus of being “enhanced” by Nootropics. So what on earth does that mean? Apparently, the clever amino acids, plant extracts and vitamins can bring on feelings of energy or relaxation, replacing the buzz we would hope to get from alcohol.
The Enhanced Hazy Pale Ale is even lower in sugar than the lager, at 0.1g/100ml.
Asahi Super Dry 0% ABV, £2.35 per 500ml bottle 100ml serving: 25 calories, 0.9g sugar This is the highest calorie alcohol-free beer that I look at, and contains 0.9g of sugar per 100ml compared with almost none in the Asahi Super Dry regular beer.
But Ludlam-Raine points out that we should always look at the serving size, and in this case 4.5g of sugar per 500ml isn’t too unhealthy.
“The key is to be mindful of your overall sugar intake across the day, and it’s great that non-alcoholic beers still offer a much lower calorie alternative for those looking to cut back on alcohol,” she says.”