Alcohol Free Beer Explorers

  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  Who launched in 2019  Their range consists of 4 beers all of which  are Gluten free and Suitable for Vegans.  They are also now Bcorp certified which is a  certification of "social and environmental performance" Drop bear are currently in the process of building their own brewery and when this completes they will be the 2nd only dedicated alcohol free brewery in the UK. The beers can be purchased from all good online alcohol free retailers, Direct from Drop Bear and also now they are available in TK Maxx and Homesense stores.  The beers are all sold in 330ml cans.  Drop bear moved from bottles to cans in late 2021 they have also tweaked some of the recipes so if you have had them before and weren't too sure then why not grab some of their new cans to see what you think. The Beers YUZU PALE...

I have written a guest review on mash gang Transcendence for no lo beverages Check it out below Link to the site Sorry you do not have iframe working click here to go to the article

Are you looking at giving Sober October a try this year?  Worried you will miss out on the taste of your favourite beer?  Well did you know there are now loads of quality Alcohol free Options available that you could have instead.  There are now a vast amount of styles available in alcohol free.  Below I list just a few of them and links so you can buy them and try them yourself.   *- Affiliate links have been used in this article which earn me a small percentage of any sale made.  All the beers below are available from all good Alcohol free stockists. Let me know what you think of this list, what you thought of any of the beers you try, or others you'd like to see on this list either leave a comment here or drop me a message over on my twitter @afbeerexplorer To find out more about what Alcohol free drinks are available and where these can be purchased Download the Betterwithout App from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.  

  When Guinness had to recall their stout back at the end of 2020 Big Drop came out with an Irish stout of their own Good things .  At the time I said this was a very good stout and up there with the best alcohol free Stouts but how does it compare to the relaunched Guinness 0.0 . See my original Good things Review First off this is just a bit of fun.  I obviously can't get a new can of the Good things stout as it is no longer made and the one I am using to is very close to its Best before so may no longer be the stout it originally was. The Pour. Due to the nitro the Guinness pours with a Lovely surge effect and forms a lovely creamy looking head.   The Good things pours quite flat looking with a small head that disappears  very quickly.  Using my surge plate I could replicate the head although even then it dispersed quickly. Winner: Guinness 0.0 Aroma The Guinness has a nice roasted aroma with slight coffee notes. The Aroma on the Good things has a m...

 On Saturday 10th July I took a trip down to Wise bartenders wisefest  pop up bar.  Arriving at wisefest I was greeted by Tom the man behind Wise bartender and 5 Alcohol free beers on tap plus an alcohol free cider on tap.  As well as fridges full of other Alcohol free Beers/ciders Wines, Kombucha's and Alcohol free Spirits.  Never before had I seen so many Alchol free drinks being served in one place.     If your unsure what you like Tom and the other staff on on hand to point you in the right direction and very knowledgeable on all the drinks on offer. The event is very family friendly with a lot of room for you to let your kids run around and run off some energy while you enjoy the drinks.   Talking about the drinks here's  what they had on offer on the Saturday I visited.  These will change slightly each week.  There were great burgers being served too and I believe in future weeks will be loaded fries from Billy Chips...

On Saturday 19th June Me and a group of other Alcohol Free Beer drinkers took part in a trip around a few Cardiff pubs to see what Alcohol free beers were on offer.   Brewdog I started the evening off before meeting the main group at Brewdog Cardiff meeting up with Jonny Stevens founder of the BetterWithout App, and his partner Dean once he had finished navigating the streets of Cardiff and managed to find somewhere to Park his car.   Was great to finally meet up with Jonny after speaking to him online for a while.   As this was a last minute decision to meet up here we did not book a table the pub was full inside but managed to find one outside on the pavement.  The ordering process was straight forward although Jonny could not get the app working on his phone.  Once ordered the drinks came out nice and quickly. We enjoyed a pint of their Punk AF on draught. (£4.64 a pint)  This beer from the tap is very tropical and smooth.  It has a...

  For me, and many others, I've been on a journey. We're probably all at different places along many different journeys actually - but tonight I'm talking about a journey with alcohol free beer. I say tonight because I'm sat watching the Euros sipping one of my favourite findings on this journey; Brune-DMC from Lowtide Brewing Co. While I'm explaining stuff I should probably add a disclaimer to 'alcohol free'. For me I use this term as anything that is around 0.5 and below. I know for others this is unhelpful, as they are after truly alcohol free - but it's things like this that lead me to use this phrase 'journey'. We are all at different places and are looking for different things along the way. No two journey's will be the same. So, where am I going with all this. Well. With lockdown's easing, pubs re-opening and the sun shining a few of us have decided to car pool on our journey for an evening in Cardiff. Instigated by  @AFBeerExplore...

I was sorting out the old beer cupboard when I realised I had a few mango alcohol free beers. I wouldn't say I'm an evangelist of fruit beers, but here we are. I'm writing about them and you're reading about me writing about them. Shall we make a start? First up was something that I pre-ordered. Not something I've done before with beer and not a style I've ever had before - Mash Gang Death Mall, a mango milkshake IPA. This was living dangerously. Not just because of the new style but because it included an ingredient that is banned in the States. The Tonka been. Similar to vanilla but know to cause lover problems, and even death, if consumed in great quantity. This is a refreshing fruity beer. Lots going on, but you can definitely get that vanilla edge with a beer essence to it. Not a bad start on my mango journey. Loving the work from Mash Gang at the moment and keeping a close eye on anything new on the market from them. Next was an controversial beer, but not...

  Well this box was made for me to try how could the Alcohol beer Explorer resist a box called The Big Explorer box.  This box is from Big Drop and sold exclusively through Waitrose stores & Waitrose Online , it sells for the bargain price of £12.  The pack contains 8 beers from the big drop range each a different style giving you a chance to try various styles of alcohol free beer from the big drop range. Not all the beers in here will be for everyone and not all the beers in the box are the best examples of the style they represent but for me this box is a great starting point for anyone wanting to try a variety of alcohol free beers.  Working out at £1.50 a beer it is also at a great price point.  Hopefully this box or similar will be made available across other supermarkets too.   All the Beers except for Coba Maya which at time of writing is exclusive to the bog  are available direct from Big Drop    or from all good online alco...

  Encoder beers started back in 2013 by two brothers, Will and Tom, who grew up on the countryside. They have stayed to their roots and have continued brewing beer in the countryside. They set out on a mission "to produce great beer that is crafted to be at maximum altitude on flavour, yet perfects balanced and drinkable". They brew a range of 8 beers, which includes a, alcohol-free been in Doppler. I think it's great that for a small brewery, they have decided to add an alcohol-free option to their core range. Good for them.  Brewery:   Encoder Beers Beer: Doppler Style: IPA Country: UK @HoppyAF 's thoughts I was really pleased to stumble upon this brewery when scrolling through Twitter. it appears that not many others in the alcohol-free beer twitter world had heard o this one, so it's great to be showcasing it here. I'm always up for trying something new so needed to introduction to make an order and give it a try.  Firstly, I was totally made up to receiv...

  This is a very dark colour for a lager looks and smells more like a dark ale. I get a dark malty toffee sort of aroma none of the tropical fruits described on the can.  The taste is quite malty with a bitter finish.    To me the taste also comes across more of a dark ale than a lager.   Don't know if this is down to the Chaga mushrooms affecting the flavour or something.   For me this is a nice tasting beer but it doesn't really stand out from the crowd.  Although it does have the added benefits of the adaptogenic mushrooms going for it if you are someone into those. There is a great article available from the yada collective on these benefits I purchased this from wise bartender . Also available from the yada collective

  My 2nd beer from two roots this time an IPA combining new England and West Coast styles with bold juicy hops used to create a crisp finish with a hint of bitterness.  Like the straight drank this pours with a good thick head, although not quite as thick as straight drank. The aroma is lots of tropical fruits getting pineapple and a bit of grapefruit.  The taste is very fruity, I get apricot and some citrus fruits.  Decent mouth feel to this as well.   Once again a great beer that I can see becoming a regular in the fridge for me.   These guys certainly do great IPAs. This is currently only available from dry drinker in the UK 

  My first beer from the American brewery Two roots.  This IPA comes with eureka and comet hops which are not ones I am familiar with.  It poured with a thick head and had to pour very carefully to not be nd up with too much foam and an ice cream head   The drink looks quite thick in the glass.   There's a decent hop aroma.    Lots of flavour to this one and the thickness continues in the mouth feel.   Citrus fruits come through along with a little peach and a nice bitter finish.    This is an excellent beer and one I hope stays around in the UK for a while longer.  I will admit to being slightly sceptical about the hype of these American beers coming over but after this one I can't wait to try some more.  This has everything you could ask for in an IPA and I think will become a regular in my fridge Currently only place I have seen available is at dry drinker

  Back in the late 90's Heineken took over a small French brewerys project of a tequila flavoured beer.   The beer was unique at the time and tried to introduce the beer as a way to get parties going.   Now you could have something tequila flavoured at the start of your night and build up to end your night with some tequila slammers.   The product proved highly popular and is now sold worldwide with a variety of different flavours all based around the tequila theme and cocktails you would have with it. Mockingbird Quite a few years later in 2020 Fern McCoy launched her Mockingbird spirit.  This is an alcohol free tequila flavoured spirit.  This is made using the same blue agave that is used in Tequila.   Fern experimented a lot to try and replicate the traditional tequila flavour. They also use  Ashwagandha which is an adaptogen that helps your mind and body manage stress and anxiety.  I was never a big tequila fan when I ...

   have always been someone who has stored and enjoyed my beers at room temperature and as such my usual storage place for beers has been the cupboard with an occasional IPA or Lager going in the fridge. Until recently this hasn't been a problem but since switching to AF I have had multiple cans (different brands) expand on me.  I have seen this happen to others too in some cases it has been so bad that thier beer has actually exploded in the cupboard and taken the top off the can. Sometimes it has happened so badly that beers have had to be recalled by the brewery. Now I'm no expert on this but believe this is usually caused by leftover yeast getting into the cans and a secondary fermentation occurs causing a carbon dioxide billed up and this causing excess gas and eventually the can to be put under so much pressure it expands.  This doesn't tend to be a problem in beers that have been pasteurised as the pasteurisation process would kill off anything that would caus...

 This box is a bit of a change from usual and I realise it won't be for all readers however I feel its a great box to introduce alcohol free beers to alcohol drinkers.  Cloudwater Brewing have come up with a great idea for a colab box.  They have created a pack containing 3 modern Juicy IPA's and one alcohol free IPA each with a different Hop Combinations. The beers were brewed with the help of brewdog  and sold in Tesco stores.  I know not everyone will agree with this and will think it's pushing away the bottle shops who have supported breweries through the years but for me it's a great way for these breweries to get their name out there and to have an alcohol free brewer in the mix is even better.  Hopefully people who find this box will then seek out more of the breweries beers from their local bottle shops and whilst there discover other great breweries along the way. Cloudwater are committed to changing the alcohol industry for the better.  The...