Non-alcoholic beer - test of 14 different varieties

Non-alcoholic beer can be a good option if you like beer but want to cut down on alcohol for one reason or another. During this motorhome trip, we've been drinking almost exclusively non-alcoholic drinks - both beer and wine - and here's our test of non-alcoholic beer.

Non-alcoholic beer - why?

There can be several different reasons for wanting to cut down on, or exclude, alcohol. For us, it's mainly because we need to reduce our calorie intake, and alcohol, as we all know, is a calorie killer.

The best and healthiest mealtime drink is of course water, but in the long run it gets a bit boring just drinking water. We love both beer and wine, and since the non-alcoholic alternatives are much lower in calories, we thought we'd give them a try.

Test of non-alcoholic beer

During this motorhome trip, we've made it a point to try non-alcoholic beer and wine, and we've tried new varieties almost every night. We've been browsing the System and the grocery stores, tasting and rating them. Really fun!

In general, we have to say that we think non-alcoholic beer tastes really good. It's been a little harder to find good wine without alcohol, but we'll come back to that!

Here are our ratings for the beers we tested. Please note that these are our highly personal opinions and that we are not are some experts in the field. Prices are from Systembolaget (unless otherwise stated), and may be different in the supermarket.

A Ship Full of IPA

• Country: Sweden
• Type of beer: India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Price: 12:95 kr (Coop)
• Calories20 kcal/100 ml
• Description: A yellow-brown beer from Brutal Brewing. Tastes like an IPA should taste.
• Rating: 4 of 5

Brooklyn Special Effects

• Country: International trade mark
• Type of beer: Modern Lager / India Pale Lager
• Price: 15:90 kr
• Calories: 29 kcal/100 ml
• Description: Hoppy Lager with a nice dark colour. Full-bodied and very tasty, with a slightly "malty" flavour. As good as a beer with alcohol.
• Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Carlsberg Alcohol Free

• Country: International trade mark
• Type of beer: Light layer
• Price: 11:90 kr
• Calories: 20 kcal/100 ml
• Description: A good non-alcoholic beer from Carlsberg. Good and above all very affordable. Also organic!
• Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Easy Rider Bulldog

• Country: Sweden
• Type of beer: India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Price: 15:90 kr
• Calories: 20 kcal/100 ml
• Description: A nice IPA from Gotland's brewery. Bright and a bit cloudy in appearance. Lots of flavour and clear bitterness.
• Rating: 4 of 5

Eriksberg Hovmästarlager

• Country: Sweden
• Type of beer: Warehouse
• Price: 11:90 kr
• Calories: 20 kcal/100 ml
• Description: A dark brownish yellow beer with a 'malty' flavour.
• Rating: 4 of 5

Grolsch

• Country: The Netherlands
• Type of beer: Warehouse
• Price: 12:20 kr
• Calories: 23 kcal/100 ml
• Description: A yellow and easy drinking beer. A bit thin in flavour and not as good as "real" Grolsch.
• Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Mariestads

• Country: Sweden
• Type of beer: Light layer
• Price: 11:90 kr
• Calories: 20 kcal/100 ml
• Description: A yellow beer with a "malty" flavour. Not as good as "real" Mariestad.
• Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Mikkeller Drink'in The Sun

• Country: International trade mark
• Type of beer: American Pale Ale (APA)
• Price: 19:90 kr
• Calories: 16 kcal/100 ml
• Description: A pale and slightly cloudy beer. A non-alcoholic beer with a lot of flavour and clear bitterness.
• Rating: 4 of 5

N.A.P.A.

• Country: Sweden
• Type of beer: American Pale Ale (APA)
• Price: 15:90 kr
• Calories: 21 kcal/100 ml
• DescriptionA nice Pale Ale from Sigtuna. Relatively flavourful, with clear bitterness, but a little thinner than desired.
• Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Nils Oscar God Lager

• Country: Sweden
• Type of beer: Light layer
• Price: 13:10 kr
• Calories: 21 kcal/100 ml
• Description: A yellowish beer with a lot of flavour. Also organic!
• Rating: 4 of 5

Strong lager

• Country: Sweden
• Type of beer: Light layer
• Price: Cannot find price information
• Calories: Cannot find data
• Description: Very light and a little 'colourless'. Relatively thin in flavour. Organic!
• Rating: 2 of 5

Staropramen

• Country: Czech Republic
• Type of beer: Lager, pilsner
• Price: 12:90
• Calories: 16 kcal/100 ml
• Description: A light golden yellow beer. Like a regular Staropramen, but slightly thinner in flavour.
• Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Sturgeon cup 1402

• Country: Germany
• Type of beer: Warehouse
• Price: 8:90 kr
• Calories: 20 kcal/100 ml
• Description: A yellow and easy drinking beer. A little thin in flavour. Organic!
• Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Wisby Lager

• Country: Sweden
• Type of beer: Modern Lager / India Pale Lager
• Price: 15:50 kr
• Calories: 30 kcal/100 ml
• Description: Nice dark colour. Good and tasty, with a "malty" flavour.
• Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Non-alcoholic beer test - winner of the "tastiest" category

Our absolute winner, in terms of taste alone, is Brooklyn Special Effects. This is incredibly flavourful, and if we were to do a blind test, we wouldn't be able to tell if it contains alcohol or not. We will definitely keep buying this one!

The only downside to this beer is that it is slightly higher in calories than many other non-alcoholic options. It contains 29 kcal/100 ml. This is less than a strong beer (around 45 kcal/100 ml), but more than an average non-alcoholic beer (around 20 kcal/100 ml).

Non-alcoholic beer test - winner of the "affordable" category

Non-alcoholic beer is sometimes quite expensive, and if you want to drink non-alcoholic beer on a daily basis, the price can come into play. At least it does for us! We think Carlsberg's non-alcoholic beer is good, and it wins the value-for-money award. At Systembolaget it costs 11:90 SEK, but we have often found it much cheaper in supermarkets. On one occasion we bought it for 8:90 SEK.

Do you like beer and non-alcoholic beer?

Do you like beer, and if so, what do you think of non-alcoholic beer? Do you have any favourites that you can recommend?