Alcohol Free Beer Explorers

 So today I am comparing Tiny Rebels  Rhubarb and Custard Sour Non-Alc With its 4% Equivalent. I'm going to look at these on 3 Categories Look, Smell & Taste. Looks The Non Alcoholic drink Pours with a fairly pale Colour with a slight Pink tint to it where as it's alcoholic cousin has a much darker Red look to it. Smell Both of these drinks have very similar smell to them.  As you can probably expect they smell quite strongly of Rhubarb and Custard sweets.  The non alcoholic one is probably a little more on the authentic side of what the sweets smell like.  Where as the 4% has a more sour smell and you get a slight whiff of the alcohol it contains. Taste Now the important factor taste.  I have had both these in the past and very much enjoyed them both for what the are.  The non alcoholic one starts with a Rhubarb taste and then as you swallow you get the custard More or less exactly like the sweets..  The 4% you get a much sourer taste not so much the actual Rhubarb and Cus

This is my 2nd beer from West Berkshire Breweries Solo range.  The 1st being the standard pale ale which came across as a nice fruity pale ale.  Now to see what their with Peach pale ale is like. It pours with a nice orangey colour very clear lots of small bubbles.  On the nose you get a fruity aroma not overly peachy but you definitely get a small amount.  The taste is different to what I was expecting a lot more of a malty biscuit base to this beer than I thought it would have.  There is a little something else there on the finish but I wouldn't pick it out as peach.  Decent thickness in the mouth feel.   Not a bad little beer but nothing really jumps out at me.  Certainly if you are looking for something with a lot of peach flavour this isn't it. 5/10 This was purchased from Sober Sauce but also available from most good online alcohol free retailers.

  After the success of their 1st Colab series Big Drop have now released their second collaboration series.  This time they have teamed up with 4 Nordic Breweries.  Each of the 4 beers in this series are no more than 0.5% ABV and are Gluten free. Having tried all 4 beers this is a great example of what can be done with different styles in the Alcohol free world.  All 4 beers have unique tastes and are great examples of their styles.  I enjoyed all 4 beers especially the Coconut Stout.  If you like trying different beers I would highly recommend getting a pack. The 4 Breweries they have teamed up with are  Einstök Ölgerð who are Icelands Number 1 brewery and are located just 60 miles south of the Artic Circle in the fishing port of Akureyri, Iceland.  They bring us the Artic Beach Coconut Stout . Amundsen Bryggeri is an Norweigen Brewery based in Oslo-focuse on producing craft beers of the highest quality for the non-conformists out there.  They bring us the Rush Rider Pastry Sour. Fat

Last week Nirvana Brewery hosted a virtual beer tasting and brewery tour, with special guest Natalya Watson. Nat loves beer. She is one of only a handful of advanced cicerones in the world. She's is an author, hosts a podcast and during 2020 started a Virtual Beer School.  The evening was hosted at the Nirvana Brewery, located in the heat of East London. They are an independent, family-run brewery dedicated to producing quality craft ales. They started producing low alcohol beers in 2017 thanks to Becky supporting her dad. Jim was looking to go teetotal and she wanted to help him feeling at home when socialising. They use 100% natural ingredients and since 2017 have brewed various styles of beer such as stout, IPA and pale ales - as well as experimenting recipes like a kombucha beer.   The evening saw about 65 participants on the virtual tour. Some of these were solo callers, like myself, and others joined with members of the household. I would say there were at least 80 people inv

The 4th and final beer from Tinys rebels Non Alcoholic offering for Dry January is the Party Hard Pale ale.  This pale ale as expected pours with a very pale colour.  On the nose you get Citrus fruits,  The taste is again slight citrus fruits with a tropical finish possible Mango and leaves a very slight bitterness. It is quite thin but a very pleasant taste.  It reminds me of one of thier beers I have had in the past but I can't quite place exactly which one.   7/10 Review by Tim Jenkins Purchased from Sober Sauce  and also available at all good non alcoholic beer shops online and also as the mixed 4 pack direct from Tiny Rebel

Another beer from the Tiny Rebel  2021 Dry January pack.  This time the Rhubarb and Custard Sour.  This pours with a fairly pale colour with a slight pinkish tinge.  On the nose you get a nice smell exactly like the Rhubarb and custard sweets of old.  The taste as well hits you with Rhubarb taste at first then the custard as you swallow.  It is a great take on a traditional sweet in a drink.  There is no real sourness to this.  But a great tasting drink.  8/10.  At the start of February I will be doing another review of this drink and be drinking it alongside its Alcoholic Cousin to compare them.   Review by Tim Jenkins Beer Purchased from Sober Sauce  Also available from all good AF online stores.  Also available direct from Tiny Rebel in a mixed 4 pack .

The 6th Beer in the Nothing but the rain beer from Ridgeside  is a pale ale with Sabro and chinnok Hops.  It pours with  a very pale colour with quite a lot of bubbles to it.  On the nose you get a bit of a tropical smell with a hint of coconut.  It has a nice tropical juice flavour to it with hints of citrus fruits similar to what I have tasted in other beers using Sabro.  The taste is very Subtle though and feels like it needs to be brought out a bit more.   6/10 Review by Tim Jenkins This beer was purchased from SoberSauce  but is also available from all good Alcohol Free Beer suppliers.  

What is SoberSauce SoberSauce is an  online alcohol free beer retailer.  Set up by Adam Uttley, Adam set up sober sauce as he was having difficulty finding good alcohol free beers in the shops.  He set up sobersauce to help people who like him wanted to try good quality alcohol free beers but were having difficulty finding them.  Adam has now tried over 200 alcohol free beers and has a very good knowledge of what is out there.   This is where the Latest Beers box comes in.   The Discovery Box In the Discovery box Adam personally select 8 alcohol free beers a month to send to the members.  Most these beers will be new to the market so likely be ones you haven't tried elsewhere. There will be a variety of different styles that gives the end customer a good selection to find out what ones they like.   You can also add extra beers to be delivered with your box which saves on extra postage and packaging. The box costs £19.99 + P&P and is available direct from the sobersauce website.

  This is a great Brown ale from Samuel Smith and very much unique in flavour in the alcohol free world.   Best served at room temperature this pours with a nice dark colour and creamy looking head.   Has a nice sweet smell to it.    Tastes like a good brown ale with nice malty taste with a caramel finish to it. 8/10 Written by Tim Jenkins 

  I’ve treated myself to a discovery mixed case from CoastBeer Co. I was lucky enough to pick this up when they were running 25% off, but if you’ve missed out on that they currently [at the time of writing] have 15% off on their website if you use the code ‘15OFF’ – and if you miss that too you can sign up to their ‘community’ and you’ll get 15% off your first order.   A little bit about Coast Beer Co. Coast Beer Co. started in 2019. Like many breweries who are breaking out to specialise in alcohol free beers, they are relatively new. However, that doesn’t mean they are lagging behind. Their website tells us that they are “ on a mission to shake up the tasteless, mass-produced alcohol free beer of the past” , and from what I’ve experienced they are doing a fine job at it. They started with just two beers and have quickly expanded that range. Each time they have kept true to their mission, after all “ it’s about taste, quality and creativity”. You will notice that all of their b

Drop Bear Beer Company For anyone who doesn't know Drop Bear Beer are a brewery from Swansea in South Wales who specialise in alcohol free beers.  Their range consists of 4 Beers which I'll go into a little more in this blog post.  They are currently available in 6 global markets and have sold over 160,000 Bottles since their Launch in 2019.    All of their beers are Gluten free and Suitable for Vegans They are also currently looking to build a brewery in the UK which will be only the 2nd one in the UK that is dedicated to Alcohol free Brewing.  If you are interested in investing take a look here . The Pub in a Box Drop Bear are currently selling a pub in a box  for £35.  This consists of merchandise, 4 Packets of Gourmet popcorn from The British Popcorn Company , and 12 of their Beers.  You can choose from the Bonfire Stout, Tropical IPA, Yuzu Pale Ale, New World Larger or a mixed pack.  The one I have is the mixed pack which consists of 3 of each of their 4 beers. The Mercha

On Saturday 16th January 2021 Nirvana Brewery will be holding a Virtual tasting event. This comprises of a tasting session hosted by the founders of Nirvana Brewery and also  professional Beer Sommelier and Advanced Cicerone, Natalya Watson ( @beerwithnat ).   Natalya will lead us through each of the 6 beers, with information on the styles and Tasting tips to help you taste each beer like a Pro.  There will also be an Introduction and tour of the nirvana brewery which is currently the only Brewery in the UK dedicated to Alcohol free Beers. The box is still available from here  for £20.  But be quick if you want to get it in time for next Saturday. After the event I will post some comments on how the night went and we can see if my opinion of any of the beers have been changed with the tasting tips. The 6 Beers that are in the Box are Bavarian Helles Lager 0.3% This is Nirvanas Flagship Lager.  Described as a Crisp, Clean and immaculately Balanced, Standing head and shoulders above th