Alcohol free beer - Estrella Free-Dam

WiresDreamDisasters

Probably the only alcohol free beer I've tried that didn't taste like absolute arse. A cautious recommendation to anyone who likes the taste but wants to bring down their carb intake and their boozin'

DefaultM

I don't drink, but sometimes have alcohol free and that blue erdinger one is interesting. Think it says isotonic on the bottle or something like that. 
I like the alcohol free pear Kopparberg too. It tastes like pear drops and I don't start shouting and swearing at people after I've had one.

munckee

My dad and brother like becks blue but it doesn’t taste like a beer to me. Cobra alcohol free is the worst I’ve tasted. 

When I worked in a pub many years ago there was a chap used to drink half a lager in a pint glass topped up with a bottle of kaliber., always thought that was a good idea as shandy is the devils brew. 

Philly_Q

Are they low carb as well as low alcohol?  I was never a big beer drinker but I haven't drunk it at all for the last 10 years because I'm diabetic.  It would be nice to have one occasionally.

WezV

munckee said:

 shandy is the devils brew. 

Bavaria Lager shandy is awesome stuff.  

WiresDreamDisasters

Bout 66kcals per can.

Nutritional Values Per 100ml

energy (kcal) 20kcal

fat 0g

carbohydrate 4.7g

sugars 1.7g

protein 0.2g

kaypeejay

I'm a massive fan of Adnam's Ghost ship and tried their 0.5 % version which I thought was OK. However, last time I tried it, it was awful so I am not sure if they have changed something.

DefaultM

kaypeejay said:

I'm a massive fan of Adnam's Ghost ship and tried their 0.5 % version which I thought was OK. However, last time I tried it, it was awful so I am not sure if they have changed something.

That's what I had and I thought it tasted just like real IPA. Though I couldn't finish it as I can't stand IPA and I'm not sure why I bought it.

springhead

I like these. 

https://theoriginalsmallbeer.com/

Not alcohol free but low. You can buy the 4 pack of all their brews and then buy a mixed 24 of the one(s) you like with a case discount. They've put a lot of thought into minimising their energy, water and packing useage too.  My favourite is the Steam:

2.7% ABV

88 calories per 350ml bottle

0.9 UK unites per 350ml bottle

8.4g carbs per 350ml bottle

  Vegan

Ingredients: water, malted barley, rye, oats, hops and yeast

Nice to have a good tasting beer you can have one or two of on a school night without feeling twatted.

scrumhalf

In terms of zero alcohol beers I find Heineken zero the least awful. The Peroni one is unbelievably bad, like a talcum powder suspension in fizzy water.

I tried one the flavoured zero ciders but it struck me that it was just expensive near-Tizer. 

Bennyboy-UK

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Probably the only alcohol free beer I've tried that didn't taste like absolute arse. A cautious recommendation to anyone who likes the taste but wants to bring down their carb intake and their boozin'

Totally second this recommendation - it's the best one I've tried - the Heineken 0% is decent too - for a change - I;ve notmally got both in the fridge.

For Cider - there is a sub 1% ABV Cider made by Westons, which is sold by Sainsbury, and a slightly different tasting one again made by Westons sold by Marks and Spencers - both cost about the same £1.50 I think. These are tasty.

west

Philly_Q said:

Are they low carb as well as low alcohol?  I was never a big beer drinker but I haven't drunk it at all for the last 10 years because I'm diabetic.  It would be nice to have one occasionally.

Phill , theres a brand called skinny lager , its 4 %  but only 3grams of carbs a bottle 330ml , its gluten free also , it tastes just like a average lager ...  ive never tasted an alcohol free beer that tastes acceptable ... might try the estrella in case ...

Jalapeno

Heineken 00 and San Miguel Zero are pretty good (as in I can tolerate 2 or 3 bottles)

Moleman

Tried a few alcohol free beers over lockdown:

Lucky Saint (Unfiltered Lager)
Freestyle Premium (Alcohol Free Beer)
Nirvana Brewery (Stout, Classic IPA and Traditional Pale Ale)

Best by far was Nirvana Brewery, especially the Classic IPA - in fact the only one that I’d reorder. Lucky Saint was okay and Freestyle Premium practically undrinkable (some of these alcohol free beers have a somewhat strong aftertaste)...

Lebarque

Good tip, thanks. Will try it. Agree that Heineken is the best of the rest.

Philly_Q

west said:

Philly_Q said:

Are they low carb as well as low alcohol?  I was never a big beer drinker but I haven't drunk it at all for the last 10 years because I'm diabetic.  It would be nice to have one occasionally.

Phill , theres a brand called skinny lager , its 4 %  but only 3grams of carbs a bottle 330ml , its gluten free also , it tastes just like a average lager ...  ive never tasted an alcohol free beer that tastes acceptable ... might try the estrella in case ...

That sounds pretty good, I'm not trying to avoid alcohol as such!

A couple of the others mentioned are lower carb than I expected, it was so difficult to find that kind of info about drinks (as opposed to food) a few years ago that I just gave up trying.

lasermonkey

kaypeejay said:

I'm a massive fan of Adnam's Ghost ship and tried their 0.5 % version which I thought was OK. However, last time I tried it, it was awful so I am not sure if they have changed something.

Nothing's changed as far as I know, but it's flavour seems to be very dependent on what you've previously tasted.

west

Philly_Q said:

west said:

Philly_Q said:

Are they low carb as well as low alcohol?  I was never a big beer drinker but I haven't drunk it at all for the last 10 years because I'm diabetic.  It would be nice to have one occasionally.

Phill , theres a brand called skinny lager , its 4 %  but only 3grams of carbs a bottle 330ml , its gluten free also , it tastes just like a average lager ...  ive never tasted an alcohol free beer that tastes acceptable ... might try the estrella in case ...

That sounds pretty good, I'm not trying to avoid alcohol as such!

A couple of the others mentioned are lower carb than I expected, it was so difficult to find that kind of info about drinks (as opposed to food) a few years ago that I just gave up trying.

michelob ultra is even lower in carbs at 2gs a bottle if memory serves but its about 3.5% and tastes watered down and has gluten  ... i think the skinny is a better bet at the cost of an extra .o5 g ...

Tex Mexico

The Bavaria stuff I got in Morrisons wasn't bad. I do prefer quite weak lagers though.

Kittyfrisk

^ Skinny brand isn't too bad at all for a low carb lager. Michelob etc are vile.
Also pretty good is Marstons Resolution premium low carb beer  3.5g carbs/88 calories per 275ml bottle, and Cisk Excel (Maltese but available via uk online stores) 1.5g of carbohydrates and 35 calories per 100ml.

Bennyboy-UK

It's really pleasantly surprising to see how many people have had a look into this whole thing.