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Last year was a busy one for alcohol-free beers. In North America, consumption volumes were up 23 per cent, and are expected to grow another 129 per cent by 2029, according to IWSR. The UK is another n/a beer hotspot. (It’s worth noting, though, that n/a beer accounts for only two per cent of beer sales worldwide.)
And we’re not just talking wishy-washy 0.0 per cent lagers – n/a beer now encompasses stouts, weissbiers, IPAs and fruit-spiked goses, as well as functional brews. Thanks to improvements in brewing technology, these beers taste increasingly impressive. So much so that I’ve lately found myself taking non-alc beer to parties along with (or sometimes even instead of) spirits or wine.
The US’s bestselling brand, Athletic Brewing, believes that the key lies in presenting n/a beer as part of the mix. “We deliberately avoid sobriety-centric messaging,” says Bill Shufelt, co-founder and CEO. Athletic positions itself as sporty but 80 per cent of its customers actually still drink alcohol.
The habit of so-called “zebra-striping” – or alternating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks on a night out – is on the rise. And that’s created a whole host of opportunities for enterprising brands. Some bars now offer Boilerfakers (as opposed to Boilermakers), which pair a shot of full-strength whisky with a non-alc beer. A recent “Guinness 60/40” campaign encouraged pubs to serve Guinness 0.0 mixed with regular stout, to create a 1.7 per cent abv pint.
N/a beer is also succeeding in tapping occasions formerly owned by soft drinks. ‘‘You can now have a Lucky Saint on a British Airways flight, at the end of the Great Manchester Run or even as part of your supermarket lunchtime meal deal,” says Luke Boase, founder of Lucky Saint. The UK bestseller saw sales of its Free Hazy Pale Ale up 84 per cent at Waitrose last year. One in three pub visits in the UK is now alcohol-free, according to research by the brand. “[And] we are seeing more n/a beer going on draught, now that venues know that it boosts lunchtime spend and does not affect overall beer sales,” says the founder of mindful drinking campaign group Club Soda, Laura Willoughby.
In October, the British non-alc brewer Mash Gang hosted the UK’s first sober Oktoberfest, featuring Bavarian food, live music and steins of 0.5 per cent abv Chug beer. The Danish brewer Mikkeller (which makes alcoholic and n/a), meanwhile, has a running club with 200 chapters in more than 40 cities, and makes a non-alc wheat beer, Energibajer, that’s billed as an isotonic drink.
Sober celebrities have also been jumping on the n/a bandwagon. Heaps Normal – a bestselling Australian brand – recently named Robbie Williams as its new “creative collaborator and investor”. The brand’s citrussy Heaps Normal Half Day Hazy pale ale, which won World’s Best No & Low Pale at the World Beer Awards 2025, was one of the best n/a beers I tasted last year. Spiderman actor Tom Holland also has his own brand, Bero (despite the heroic associations, though I must say I found the range a bit insipid).
The general consensus among brewers and retailers is that the next frontier will be functional beers – n/a brews that offer something more than simple refreshment or taste. First-movers include Impossibrew, a beer enhanced with a “social blend” of adaptogens that includes L-Theanine (responsible for the “restful” buzz in tea) and ashwagandha, a root used in ayurveda to promote relaxation and wellbeing. It was developed with Durham University’s chair of pharmacology, which sounds impressive, although I have to say I drank more than a pint and felt absolutely nothing. There’s also NuWave, which contains ashwagandha, maca root and lion’s mane (an adaptogen that claims to promote focus). A pint of its nicely fruity Hazy Pale ale did seem to promote a mildly jolly mood.
Gabyr is the brainchild of the well-known British neuropsychopharmacologist Professor David Nutt, and uses botanicals to “[support] the body’s own GABA systems – those responsible for feelings of ease, connection and conviviality”. The stout and pale ale I tried were a bit watery, but I possibly did feel some effects – my notes from the night say: “Feel better?? Mellow, maybe a bit kinder.”
@alicelascelles
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