Low-alcohol craft beers are just what they sound like delicious, expertly brewed beers with a lower alcohol by volume (ABV). Typically, these beers range from 0.5% to 3.5% ABV. They pack all the punch in flavour you’d expect from a craft beer but won’t leave you feeling sluggish or woozy, making them ideal for daytime drinking. All these beers are vegan.
Fauna Brewing makes Cheeky Chimp, a low-alcohol beer to help endangered species.
Some supermarkets have now banned the sale of beers wrapped in plastic rings. Please don’t buy them as they suffocate and injure birds and wildlife, as they are invisible in water. If you see any, just rip the holes and put them in the nearest litter bin. Or ideally place them in local supermarket bag bins, where they can be recycled.
Changing Tides is a 0.5% lager from Toast Ale, which replaces some of the brewing yeast with leftover bread, to save on food waste. Profits go to help a food waste charity. It’s made with English hops and malted barley.
German-Inspired Low-Alcohol Beer
Lucky Saint is available in pubs on draught (and sold in tins in most supermarkets). Made with 4 ingredients, this German-inspired beer is not filtered, so flavours are kept from letting the sediment drop from the beer over several weeks. The range includes Superior Hazy IPA with notes of tropical and stone fruits.
Low-Alcohol Craft Beer in Illustrated Cans
Below Brew Co is an independent low-alcohol brewing company, offering a small range of drinks in beautifully designed cans. The range includes pale ale, brown ale, IPA and stout. You can also buy mixed cases and taster packs.
A Low-Alcohol Artisan Beer from London
Small Beer Brew Co (London) offers beer with half the alcohol and fewer calories, sold in cans or bottles or in kegs for parties, pubs, hotels and restaurants. Sustainably-crafted in a B-corp brewery, this is made with the finest British barley. Low-alcohol beers are classed as drinks with APV of 1.2% (compared to conventional beers that are around 4.4%).
Their brewing kit uses around an eighth of the water typically used and the brewery is cleaned with recovered heat and water, and all packaging is recycled. Spent grain is delivered to a local farm. The range includes:
- Pale ale (tropical fruits)
- Lager (citrus nose)
- Hazy (apricot & tropical fruits)
- IPA (bitter orange & biscuit)
- Stout (roasted barley & chocolate)
The company also offers beers in mini-kegs, which can be stored cold and consumed within a month of delivery. Once opened, drink within a couple of days. Storing up to 9 pints, these are ideal for parties etc, and can be recycled along with beer cans, once empty. The site has full info on how to use kegs.
Low Alcohol Artisan Shandy from Hampshire
Shandy Shack (Hampshire) make wonderful low-alcohol shandies, created by some guys who liked to have fun, but were getting a bit too old to deal with the hangovers of beer nights the morning after! Low-alcohol beers are classed as drinks with APV of 1.2% (compared to conventional beers that are around 4.4%). These vegan-friendly shandies are sold in a few flavours, so buy one or a variety pack. Choose from conventional shandy or other versions like an elderflower top or even rhubarb and ginger shandies (check medication).
A Vegan Stout from Birmingham
Birmingham Brewing Company makes a good vegan stout, if you prefer a local artisan alternative to Guinness (milk stouts are not vegan, neither is Belhaven Brewery). This blends hops alongside wholesome oatmeal, then carbonates with nitrogen for a silky smooth beer with heartwarming richness.
An Organic Pale Ale from Suffolk
St Peter’s Without Organic Pale Ale is an alcohol-free beer, brewed in the Suffolk countryside. This beer is pale straw in colour, with zingy citrus and biscuit flavours, brewed using organic malted barley and hops.
Organic Low-Alcohol Beer from Scotland
Black Isle Brewery is makes organic beer in the beautiful Scottish Highlands. It also has a range of low-alcohol beer (you can’t really say beer is no-alcohol, as even bread and bananas contain a little booze). All these beers are vegan. The range includes:
- Oat stout – espresso, licquorice and chocolate notes
- IPA with pineapple and tangerine notes
- Lager with herbal biscuit notes
This brewery is situated on an organic farm. As well as helping local wildlife to thrive, the Hebridean sheep and a few local cattle are fed spent grain from the brewery, known as ‘draff’, with extra going to their compost heap. The brewery also works with local schools, for children to visit and ‘get their hands dirty’ and even harvest vegetables, that they’ve grown.
If you prefer some ‘real booze’, the brand also makes a range of normal alcohol-strength beers, which can be found in stores or bought online at Abel & Cole.
