With Dry January now very much a 'thing', many of us will be looking back on particularly festive period and wondering whether it’s time to cut back on the booze. According to a YouGov poll, 4.2m people have already pledged to take part in the month-long abstinence this January.
It’s not just the new year that's prompting the nation to change its drinking habits. In fact, we chugged 43 millions pints of non-alcoholic beer between the summers of 2017 and 2018 — a year-on-year increase of 58 per cent.
So, what’s behind our newfound thirst for the zero-percenters? It could be a generational shift in attitude towards drinking. A recent study by University College London found the proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds who abstain from any type of boozing has increased to 29 per cent, up from 18 per cent in 2005.
Perhaps this is partly due to how much better alcohol-free beer has got during that time. Breweries, both craft and mainstream, are cottoning on to the trend and improving their selection, both in terms of range and quality. No longer is a zero-percent beer a bland bottle of nothingness — instead, the very best ones rival many of their alcoholic counterparts for depth of flavour, only differing in one aspect: they won’t get you absolutely sozzled.
London has seen an increase in the number of pubs stocking beers that are either low on alcohol (around 0.5%) or completely free of it. It means you can wander into most of the capital’s pubs and have a fair expectation of finding a boozeless bottle. We've picked our favourites, as well as the most readily available, below.
Brewdog, the all-conquering Scottish craft brewery, is a good place to start. Its Nanny State creation is widely regarded as one of the best alcohol-free beers and can be drunk in any of Brewdog’s London bars — there are branches in Camden, Shoreditch, Soho, Angel, Clapham Junction, Brixton, Shepherd’s Bush, Clerkenwell and Canary Wharf.
Another brewery doing the booze-free thing well is St Peter’s. Its ‘Without’ range of beers is excellent, mostly comprised of flavoursome, refreshing ales, which can be found at the brewery’s London pub, the Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell. It’s a cosy place, perfect for catching up with friends — and if those pals are drinking alcohol, they’ll have a blast perusing the menu of St Peter’s boozy options, too.
Big Drop Brewing Co only produces 0.5 per cent beers, with enough flavour packed into each of their bottles to make even the most ardent refuseniks reconsider their drinking habits. Its stout is a particular favourite, but there’s a pale ale, spiced ale and lager also in the range — and they can all be found in a surprisingly wide range of pubs. Castle Pubs, a group which counts the Angel in Highgate and The Eagle in Hoxton among its boozers, stocks the bottles, as do a large number of All Bar One, Draft House and Barworks venues.
Over in Leyton, Nirvana Brewery is also dedicated to liver-friendly libations, focusing solely on beers that are either low-alcohol or entirely free from it. It’s been open for less than two years, but has already made a glowing name for itself, with six delicious beers in its repertoire, ranging from IPAs to ‘buchabeer’ (made with kombucha, of course). Head to its taproom in E10 to sample the drinks direct from the source.
The Germans love a stein or two, but they also do superb alcohol-free beers. Luckily, you don’t have to catch a plane to Bavaria to sample them, as there are plenty of great German beer halls in London. Bierschenke, near Liverpool Street station, stocks Paulaner Alkoholfrei, while Octoberfest Pub offers the 0.05% Bitburger Drive and Erdinger Alkoholfrei. The latter can also be found at Katzenjammers in Borough Market, alongside Becks’ alcohol-free beer.
If all else fails, there’s only one place for it: Spoons. The ever-reliable pub chain has a small alcohol-free range, usually comprised of Beck’s Blue and Adnams Ghost Ship. Often there’s a zero-percent cider from Kopparberg too, for anyone fancying a fruity change of pace.
