Alcohol Free Beer Explorers

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  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 alcohol free retailers.  A link to the product pages

  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 did drink it it tended to be those shots at the end of the n

 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 pack is brewed wi

Fruh  Kölsch  is an alcohol free German Pilsner.  This beer is 0.0% .  It is brewed in Cologne and in fact the name Kolsch is protected by law and only beers brewed in the city can be given the name. This beer is brewed to it's noprmal strength and then has the alcohol removed so keeps much of the flavour of its 4.8% cousin. Brewery: Fruh                   Beer: Kolsch 0.0 Style:  Kölsch                                            Country: Germany A  Kölsch Beer is a beer brewed in the City of Cologne and is rarely seen outside the city The beer is Top-fermented and more like an ale than a traditional Pilsner.  The  Kölsch is best drunk from tap and it is said that when it is bottled and pasteurised  a lot of the original flavour can be los t. AF Beer Explorers Thoughts This beer pours incredibly clear with a light yellow colour.  There is a very malty sort of hop smell to it.  Im not a big fan of pilsners but as they go this one is pretty decent.  It has a good malty flavour too it

Mikkeller - Racing Beer        Another beer from mikkeller this time their Racing beer This beer has been brewed in association with Danish running club Hechmann Running.  It is an hypotonic drink which are ideal for after exercise as it is taken up more quickly by the body than water.  It also provides Vitamin B2, B5 & B12 Which assists in keeping the nervous system healthy and boosts production of red blood cells. It is a wheat beer with a fruity apricot Finnish Brewery:        Mikkeler                Beer:      Running Beer Style:               Wheat                       Hops:              ? Country:        Denmark        Other:            Vegan, Hypotonic    AF Beer Explorers Thoughts The beer pours with a light yellow colour has a very sour smell to it.  I think grapefruit. The taste is initially sour but then broadens and Tropical fruit flavours come through with Apricot on Pineapple coming first to mind.  There is a sour finish but not overpowering.  I'm not one for run

      Mikkeler are a world renowned Danish brewery based in Coppenhagen.  They started in 2003 when  Mikkel Borg Bjergsø started brewing beers in his kitchen and now export to over 50 Countries.  They like to experiment with all different styles of beers and use a variety of ingredients in their beers.  As well as their full strength beers Mikkeler now offers a variety of Alcohol free beers including the highly rated Drinkin in the sun, weird weather and the Limbo Series. Henry gose Lightly is their attempt at the gose style.  They describe it as an absolute thirst quencher with a hint of corriander.   It comes in a 500ml Can which is great to see in the alcohol free world lets just hope the beer inside is good to go with it Brewery:       Mikkeler                Beer:      Henry Gose Lightly Style:               Gose                        Hops:              ? Country:        Denmark        Other:            Vegan         AF Beer Explorers Thoughts This beer pours with a slightly clou

    Lowtide is a new alcohol free brewery on the scene it started out as crafty af in 2019.  Crafty af was a website who's aim was to source all the best alcohol free beers they could find and make them available for others to buy.  But while running this site they decided they wanted more more, they didn't want to just sell other people beers but instead they wanted to brew their own,  So Lowtide was born with the aim to bring true craft beer to the world of alcohol free. The 4 beers that LowTide has entered the market with are Who Let the Bees Stout? For who let the bees Stout they teamed up with C84 brew co from yorkshire.To create a stout combining  the sweetness from both the honeycomb and chocolate with the thick mouthfeel of a traditional stout. Style:               Stout                                Hops:              Columbus, Goldings   Other:            Vegan              AF Beer Explorers Thoughts The pour:  This pours with a very black colour as you'd expect

     This is my 2nd beer from Lowtide who are a new alcohol free brewery on the scene it started out as crafty af in 2019.  Crafty af was a website who's aim was to source all the best alcohol free beers they could find and make them available for others to buy.  But while running this site they decided they wanted more more, they didn't want to just sell other people beers but instead they wanted to brew thier own,  So Lowtide was born with the aim to bring true craft beer to the world of alcohol free. DIPA toes in as the name suggest tries to replicate the flavours of a DIPA.  It uses Ale Yeast which is unusual in the alcohol free world.  It combines mango and passionfruit to give a Sweet flavour. Brewery:        Lowtide Brewing Co                 Beer:      DIPA TOE IN Style:               DIPA                           Hops:              Idahop 7 ,Mozart & Moutere Country:        England         Other:            Vegan, uses Ale Yeast         AF Beer Explorers Thoughts

    Lowtide is a new alcohol free brewery on the scene it started out as crafty af in 2019.  Crafty af was a website who's aim was to source all the best alcohol free beers they could find and make them available for others to buy.  But while running this site they decided they wanted more more, they didn't want to just sell other people beers but instead they wanted to brew thier own,  So Lowtide was born with the aim to bring true craft beer to the world of alcohol free. For who let the bees Stout they teamed up with C84 brew co from yorkshire.To create a stout combining  the sweetness from both the honeycomb and chocolate with the thick mouthfeel of a traditional stout. Brewery:       Lowtide Brewing Co                Beer:      Who Let the Bees Stout?? Style:               Stout                                Hops:              Columbus, Goldings Country:        England         Other:            Vegan             AF Beer Explorers Thoughts The pour:  This pours with a very

   Flying Colours is the 2nd beer from Jumpship Brewing.  A small Scottish brewery that only brews No/Low Alcohol beers.  Jumpship was set up by Sonja Mitchell in 2019 after she left her job in marketing . In Sonjas own words  “I love beer. I love sailing. I don’t like hangovers.”. Sonja gets to combine her 2 passions through Jumpship, with the beer they brew and the nautical flag themed art of the cans. After the success of their first beer Yardarm lager Jumpship decided to brew a 2nd beer. This first went out to a lucky selection of 100 people to get their feedback and after the great feedback and a little refining of the recipe Flying colours was born. Flying colours is described as "quite punchy with a kick of lime and luscious tropical fruit aromas" Brewery:       Jump Ship Brewing                Beer:      Flying Colours Style:              Pale Ale                                   Hops:            Armarillo,    El Dorado Country:        Scotland               

  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