Fancy a drink but want to keep your fitness routine booze-free? Then take a look at the best alcohol-free beers.

While low-calorie beers are a good choice for those looking to keep an eye on their waistline, alcohol-free beers make a lot of sense for a number of reasons. Not least to help kick-start any attempts at Dry January this year, as well as longer-term lower alcohol consumption.

The calorie count in alcohol-free beers tends to be low too. And there’s nothing more frustrating than losing a day’s training due to a hangover. Plus you’re more likely to make poor food choices if you wake up a little worse for wear.

Ten years ago you’d be hard-pushed to find an alcohol-free beer that was actually pleasant to drink. Nowadays, almost every brewery makes at least one decent zero percent beer. And often, they’re hard to tell apart from their alcoholic versions.

Choosing to substitute a 4% or 5% beer for an alcohol-free one means you can still get the satisfaction of rewarding yourself with a well-earned ‘beer’. You’ll also cut down on calories, are less likely to have a second and a third and so you’ll still be in shape for your workout the next day.

These are the best alcohol-free beers

  1. Guinness 0.0 – amazon.com
  2. Beavertown Lazer Crush – beavertownbrewery.com (not available in the US)
  3. Drynks Smashed Lager – drynks.store (not available in the US)
  4. Big Drop Poolside DDH IPA – amazon.co.uk (not available in the US)
  5. Lucky Saint – luckysaint.co (not available in the US)
  6. Adnams Ghost Ship 0.5% – amazon.co.uk (not available in the US)
  7. San Miguel 0.0 – tesco.com (not available in the US)
  8. Infinite IPA – infinitesession.com (not available in the US)

Product shot of Guinness 0.0 beer

Guinness 0.0

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£4.50 for 4 / amazon.com

Taste: 5/5
Low-kcals: 4.5/5
OVERALL: 5/5

With an uncanny resemblance in both look and taste, Guinness 0.0 is a convincing alcohol-free version of the famous stout. That’s because it’s made in exactly the same way as traditional Guinness before the alcohol is removed using cold filtration. That’s not all that’s removed though, with just 75 calories as opposed to 280 calories in a 440ml can.

Product shot of a can of Beavertown Lazer Crush alcohol-free beer

Beavertown Lazer Crush Alcohol Free IPA

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£18 for 12 / beavertownbrewery.com (not available in the US)

Taste: 5/5
Low-kcals: 4.5/5
OVERALL: 5/5

This is Beavertown’s only alcohol-free beverage, and for a first attempt they’ve certainly crushed it. This slightly hazy IPA has a grapefruit aroma followed by hints of lychee and mango fruitiness. It’s not overly carbonated and with just 82.5 calories per 330ml can, it’s a good choice for calorie watchers too.

A can of Drynks' low calorie Smashed lager

Drynks Smashed Lager

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£24 for 12 / drynks.store (not available in the US)

Taste: 5/5
Low-kcals: 4.5/5
OVERALL: 4.5/5

Rather than producing 0% versions of boozy beers, Drynks is dedicated exclusively to brewing alcohol-free beers and ciders. Its Smashed AF range includes a 0% lager, pale ale, cider, berry cider and shandy. We’re big fans of the 0% lager, which has a crisp, clean and very convincing lager taste – and just 55 calories per can or bottle.

Product shot of a can of Big Drop alcohol-free beer

Big Drop Poolside DDH IPA

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£24 for 12 / amazon.co.uk (not available in the US)

Taste: 5/5
Low-kcals: 4/5
OVERALL: 4.5/5

You don’t have to be poolside to drink one of Big Drop’s heavenly hoppy double IPAs, but you’ll definitely want to be. Pineapple, citrus and mango notes give this tropical pale ale a real zing. If you like the intense flavour of a double IPA, but can do without the usual headache-inducing alcohol content, you’ll be partial to a Poolside. It’s gluten free and has only 92 calories per can too.

A bottle of alcohol-free Lucky Saint beer

Lucky Saint 0.5% Lager

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£26 for 12 / luckysaint.co (not available in the US)

Taste: 4/5
Low-kcals: 4/5
OVERALL: 4/5

Lucky Saint is an alcohol-free lager that comes surprisingly close to the taste of a traditional German-style pilsner. With a subtly malty taste and satisfying crispness, you’ll be surprised to learn it comes in at just 0.5% ABV and with a paltry 53 calories. 

A bottle of Adnams Ghost Ship 0.5% alcohol-free beerAdnams Ghost Ship 0.5%

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£14.49 for 8 / amazon.co.uk (not available in the US)

Taste: 4.5/5
Low-kcals: 4/5
OVERALL: 4/5

Fans of Adnams’ original 4.5% Ghost Ship will be pleased to know there’s a 0.5% version that comes surprisingly close to the popular pale ale. Both are refreshing, tangy citrus ales that come in the larger 500ml bottles. This zero percent Ghost Ship has all the alcohol smuggled away and equates to just 70 calories per 330ml.

A bottle and four-pack of San Miguel 0.0

San Miguel 0.0

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£4 for 4 / tesco.com (not available in the US)

Taste: 4/5
Low-kcals: 5/5
OVERALL: 4/5

Most ‘alcohol-free’ beers have a small amount of residual alcohol due to the beer-making process, but San Miguel’s 0.0 is one of a handful of true 0.0% lagers. It has a crisp, clean finish and is the perfect zero percent beer to have ice cold on a hot day. At just 79 calories, it has almost half that of the alcoholic version and isn’t far off in terms of flavour.

Product shot of Infinite IPA beer

Infinite IPA

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£17.50 for 12 / infinitesession.com (not available in the US)

Taste: 4/5
Low-kcals: 5/5
OVERALL: 4/5

A relative newcomer to the alcohol-free scene but one worth taking note of. Smooth and full bodied, with a bold citrus flavour, Infinite’s IPA is a light, refreshing ale with a convincing taste but none of the alcohol. There are barely any calories either – just 35 per 330ml can. Infinite Session offers a 10%-off subscription service too.

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