The best non-alcoholic beers in the UK (2023 update)

Lockdown was a shock for many people, and it's no wonder that alcohol consumption skyrocketed during this period. I know this too well myself - the first week of lockdown was basically a non-stop bender for me. I was drinking every day, and because I was stressed and on my own, I had no reason or desire to stay sober.

Non-alcoholic beer has been really useful for me as I've cut down my alcohol consumption over the past few years. Alcohol free beer has exploded in popularity in recent years, as people become more health-conscious and companies get better at making great-tasting alcohol-free beer. In the first half of 2021, sales of non-alcoholic beer increased by almost 60%. What was once a niche category on a tiny shelf in supermarkets is now a massive market with a pretty overwhelming amount of options. I've made it my mission to try as many of these non-alcoholic beers as I can, and I feel well-placed to recommend some of the best you can buy. Here are my top picks:

Days Brewing Co. 0.0% lager and pale ale
San Miguel 0.0%
Brewdog Nanny State 0.5%
Heineken 0%
Budweiser Zero
Lucky Saint
Beavertown Lazer Crush IPA
Stella Artois alcohol-free
Tiny Rebel Clwb Tropica Non-Alc
Guinness 0.0
Birra Moretti Zero
Beck's Blue

Days Lager and Pale Ale 0.0% alcohol

We think that the overall winner for best taste and closest to a great normal beer is the beer we tried from Days Brewing Co. Their lager was great and wouldn't feel out of place on the tap of any pub, but the Pale Ale really knocked our socks off. We also love the branding and love that the brand gives 2% of their profits to mental health charities.

You can explore the Days Brewing Co. website here - daysbrewing.com

San Miguel 0.0%

For many people, the main thing they're looking for is a taste of the real thing, even if the real thing isn't that special to begin with. That's exactly how we feel about the San Miguel 0% alcohol beer - it tastes pretty much like real San Miguel beer, but we're not the biggest fan of that beer in the first place. This won't be one for any craft beer hipsters, but for anyone who simply wants something that tastes like a generic beer, this is a great choice. Learn more and buy it here - tesco.com

Brewdog Nanny State 0.5%

If you want your non-alcoholic beer to taste a bit better than a standard lager, then Nanny State from Brewdog is probably more up your street. It's by no means a taste sensation, but it is much more interesting than most of the non-alcoholic beers that we tried. Learn more and buy it here - amazon.co.uk

Heineken 0%

If you're heading on a night out but want to stay alcohol-free, you need a non-alcoholic beer that you can drink all night. We'd probably give that award to the 0% alcohol beer from Heineken, because it tastes smooth and we managed to drink a six-pack of these cans very easily. Learn more and buy it here - sainsburys.co.uk

Budweiser Zero

Despite having zero alcohol in them, some non-alcoholic beers actually have quite high levels of sugar. Sometimes the sugar has been added to enhance the taste, and sometimes this is just naturally occurring. What we love about Budweiser Zero is that it is totally sugar-free but still tastes pretty good. Learn more and buy it here - tesco.com

Lucky Saint

We have to admit, it was an absolute joy to drink the non-alcoholic beer from Lucky Saint. Not only did it taste great, but it also felt great - the bottle design is classy, and we just enjoyed the experience of it. Now, despite how pretentious that might sound, we think these things matter (particularly when you've got a case of proper beer in the fridge that you're trying desperately to avoid).

Get your own case here - luckysaint.co

Beavertown Brewery Lazer Crush

Beavertown makes great beers, and we're big fans of their standard range. But we also really enjoyed their alcohol-free Lazer Crush IPA. We managed to pick up a case at a cost of about £1 per can which was really reasonable. The flavour is described as peach and mango, which is an accurate description. However, it still has the distinct taste of beer that every good non-alcoholic alternative should have.

You can pick up a case here - beavertownbrewery.co.uk

Stella Artois alcohol-free

This alcohol-free Stella Artois really surprised us - we're not even massive fans of normal Stella Artois beer, so we were shocked at how much we enjoyed this. Firstly, it was a great pour. The beer had a lovely frothy head and it had the sort of fizz you'd expect from a normal lager. Secondly, the taste was very similar to a normal Stella, and didn't have the sweetness that some of the other non-alcoholic beers we've tried tend to have (and that's a positive for us). Overall, very pleasantly surprised with this one.

You can buy the alcohol-free Stella Artois from Sainsbury's for less than £1 pound per bottle here - sainsburys.co.uk

Tiny Rebel Clwb Tropica Non-Alc

This is a non-alcoholic IPA from Tiny Rebel, a beer brand based in Newport, South Wales. Not only is their branding really exciting, but so are their flavour combinations, and this Tiny Rebel Clwb Tropica is no exception. Flavours that you'll pick up include mangoes, peaches, pineapples and passionfruit - a nice mix!

You can grab yourself a can of this IPA here - tinyrebel.co.uk

Clausthaler non-alcoholic beer

The team at Clausthaler have been perfecting their non-alcoholic recipes for more than 20 years. They used craft beer methods and add special savoury hops after fermentation in a process called dry-hopping. This helps to recreate the bitter characteristics of a normal beer. It's this process and the mastery within the team that really sets this apart in the alcohol-free beer sector.

You can buy a bottle from here - drydrinker.com

Guinness 0.0

We'd put this non-alcohol option as our first choice if Guinness wasn't such a love/hate beer. We happen to love it, and we think the Guinness 0.0 is absolutely brilliant. It has the iconic black look and the creamy head, and it tastes alcoholic. It's probably the best we've tried in terms of similarity to the real thing. We also wrote a post about how good this Guinness is for you.

Getting your hands on this can be hard (we visited a few shops and found only empty aisles), but we eventually got some from Tesco. You might be best buying it online, which you can do here - tesco.com

Brooklyn Special Effects Alcohol-Free Lager

Brooklyn Lager is a well-known brand here in the UK, and we're not surprised to see them launching a non-alcoholic version of their popular lager. What did surprise us was how great it tasted - this seriously tastes like a craft beer, and every sip ends with the bitter taste you'd expect from a real beer. We highly recommend you check this one out, learn more and buy it here - waitrose.com

Beck's Blue alcohol-free

Definitely not the sexiest choice in this list, but certainly one of the safest - you'll be able to find Beck's Blue in most places, and it'll usually be pretty cheap. Beck's gets a bad rap but we're actually pretty fond of this beer, especially given how cheap it is (usually under £2 for a bottle even in pubs). Definitely a safe bet when you're looking for a non-nonsense alcohol-free beer. Learn more and buy it here - ocado.com

We hope this guide helps you to find an excellent alcohol free beer! Let us know if you've tried any of these or if you have any other suggestions for us to try. If you want to read something similar, we have a guide to the best alcohol free cider you can buy. If you're happy with a bit of alcohol but you want to make healthier choices, we have a guide to the best low carb beer you can buy.

The best non-alcoholic & alcohol-free beer you can buy in the UK (2023 update)