Non Alcoholic Beers

Strumms

Folks,

here is the deal... recovering from a physical LTI... because of medication that I’ll probably be on until next summer as has been intimated by my docs.. I cannot drink alcohol until then...it and they don’t mix..

i have a weekly outdoor dining meet with family and I’m just a bit bored of the usual soft drinks... Diet Coke, Mountain Dew etc...

I’m looking for views on quality alcohol free beers... specifically...

Guinness Zero...Heineken Zero...Brooklyn Hoppy Amber..and any others out there...

i have tried a Becks non alcoholic on work trips if my start next day was early but found it absolutely fuckîn revolting.....like drinking dirty sock juice...it kind of poisoned me (almost literally) away from non alcoholic beers... but here I am...

so if any kind soul(s) has an opinion as regards whats tasty and drinkable in the world of non alcoholic beverages... like bugs bunny.. I’m all ears and grateful for the pointers.. thanks.

tomfoolery60

BrewDog's Punk IPA AF and Nanny State are two of the best and are widely available in Tesco SuperValu etc. Guinness Zero is surprisingly good, unlike the now retired Guinness PureBrew.

If you are in a speciality off licence you will get To Øl's Implosion, Lervig's No Worries and Mikkillers seasonal non alcoholic beers, all of which are excellent.

I think Heineken Zero, Carlsberg Zero, Pernoni Zero etc are all very poor, rather like their alcoholic siblings.

Suckler

Paulaner, found it's stocked in a lot more bars & restaurants.

Macy0161

Guinness Zero is pretty good, as someone who doesn't really rate normal Guinness! It seems to be hard to get at the moment though. Punk AF and Nanny State, as mentioned - I personally prefer the latter. Often on deal in Dunnes, and I think they carry the Levig no worries too.

I like Wicklow Wolf's Moonlight. Best bang for your taste buck is Roadworks "Early Start" in Aldi though - it's the best of the roadworks beers for me (alcoholic included).

The flavoured erdinger n/a can be quite refreshing too, kinda like a radler. I had them regularly in the summer, but I'd be less inclined this weather.

Poorside

Guinness open gate NA (blue label) is the nicest one I've had, most can become a bit too sweet if you're having a couple, this one holds up better.

black & white

Guinness and Heineken have already been mentioned but my favourite in Birra Moretti, absolutely lovely

Strumms

Thanks folks, I’ll get sampling....

pleasant Co.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118283772#Comment_118283772

Conclusions @Strumms?

Black Sheep

I'm doing dry January and generally my go-to would have been Brewdog Punk AF (Although quality seems to have dipped somewhat from the very first batch, which felt exceptional).

Lately I've also tried NA cider from Stonewell and McIvors and enjoyed both. The Stonewell is sweeter, the McIvors is paler and drier. Neither could be confused with cider really, however, more like the Cidona of my youth.

Last night I tried my first ever can of NA Guinness and I have to say I was impressed. As promised by various people online, this really is incredibly close to the consistency and taste of regular Guinness, it's quite remarkable. After a few sups you start to be really strict and the illusion doesn't last, but to be honest this is the best facsimile of a can of alcohol I've tried so far.

Macy0161

The Guinness Zero is also probably the easiest to get, at a decent price, of the N/A options - my local centra has it. I've been doing it with the surger since I got it too, just for the extra creamy head.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118420082#Comment_118420082

Haven’t gotten around to getting any as yet but will post..

pleasant Co.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118421497#Comment_118421497

I picked up a 4 pack of Brewdog Punk AF yesterday, to me it tasted like elderflower tonic water with a hit of grapefruit, it's not one I'll be buying again unless I specifically want that taste.

Macy0161

I far prefer Nanny State out of the two BrewDog options.

ablelocks

standard erdinger would be my pick and added bonus is that it is good for you.

"a study* shows that ERDINGER Alkoholfrei promotes the health of athletes. As a recovery drink after sports, it normalises inflammation levels in the body – which shoot up during physical exertion – and also supports the immune system. An isotonic, non-alcoholic wheat beer is therefore perfect during the open window, when the body is particularly susceptible to infections."*can't find the study now, but it was possibly paid for by Erdinger 😁

German winter olympic team took 3,500 litres of the stuff to the last olympics - think it was Krombacher. As far as i know, any n/a weizen (wheat) beer would be similar

pleasant Co.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118457130#Comment_118457130

funnily enough I had one last night, meant to add to this thread - it's excellent, a tad sweet but not enough to turn me off, will be buying it from now on

AxelF84

+1 for Birra Moretti but can be expensive depending on where u get it. lidl/aldi have some tasty ones at a good price also

ablelocks

was thinking last night that if the govt were actually serious about reducing alcohol consumption through mup, they'd remove the VAT from non alcoholic drinks for a start & allow below cost selling (maybe that's already possible, but supermarkets not bothering?).

there's no excise duty on non-alcoholic drinks either, so it does make you wonder why it is priced near or at the same prices of alcoholic beers.

there are probably higher costs in its production, and lower volumes sold - but if there was a bigger price difference between non alcoholic and alcoholic beers there would be higher sales.

L1011

Below cost selling is legal. Supermarkets would need to get a benefit from selling something below cost to do so. People are unlikely to change supermarket to get a cheap slab of NA Guinness, basically - whereas plenty of the cheap beer slabs were sold with entire Christmas shops etc.

BeerNut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118460698#Comment_118460698

Excise duty and production costs don't really have much of an effect on the retail price of a beer. The price is set by what the customer will pay for it. N/A beer looks to be a very tough market to break into so is largely controlled by the big brands, and it's of vital imporance to the big brands that they maintain their premium price position, whether there's alcohol in the product or not.

spakman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118457228#Comment_118457228

Tried it at the weekend and wasn't all that impressed, although I wouldn't be a Moretti drinker anyway. just found it a bit watery, no bite to it.

Guinness zero is very good, must try it with the surger!

Will keep an eye out for brew dogs, hopefully they have more flavour than moretti

Editman

What's behind the Guinness Zero shoartage, does anyone know?

Macy0161

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118460828#Comment_118460828

Demand as I understand it. Although I thought that was somewhat sorted now?

Thelonious Monk

Guinness Zero is very good. Heineken, Carlsberg, all those main brand ones taste awful to me, they all taste like tomatoes, pasta sauce or something.

Nanny State is ok but I hate small cans.

Your best bet price and tastewise for me are the Aldi brown bear lager and especially the IPA they do, Roadworks or something. 500mk for 1.20 or something and is pretty delicious. Their fake Peroni non alcoholic beer is quite good too. Aldi is your best bet.

Strumms

fair play… I’m up the supermarket later, I’ll try the Guinness.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118460828#Comment_118460828

Demand, and production/packaging issues.

Quackster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118462803#Comment_118462803

Good luck finding any!

Picked up some in Dunnes last week. 20% off all N/A beer at the mo plus the extra discount of the spend & save voucher brought it down to under €1 a can for me.

Alas, out of stock this week.

Hotblack Desiato

Guinness Zero hasn't been seen in my local Dunnes in two months now, and I'm in there every week.

I've been in the local Molloys 3 or 4 times during that time and they've been out of stock each time as well.

Best I've tried is definitely Brewdog Nanny State, and it's much lower in calories than most other AF beers too

Strumms

Had to put that trip off till tomorrow but it be Dunnes Charlestown, I’ll report back on stock..

DenMan

Hey guys! Do Smithwick's do a non-alcoholic version of their ale? I couldn't see anything online.

billyhead

Can you get Guinness zero on tap now in pubs?

listermint

Wicklow Wolk moonlight is delightful.

I've a fridge of Guinness Zero out there. Needs to be good and cold.