Beers & Ciders

Does non-alcoholic beer cause the same bloating/weight gain as regular beer?

Bloating during or after drinking beer is mostly caused by carbon dioxide being introduced to your stomach. It can irritate your stomach, causing gas, burping, and pressure that leads to distension.

Beer is also made from grains, usually barley or wheat, both of which can exacerbate bloating if you have a sensitivity or intolerance to them.

Lastly, beer, with or without alcohol, does contain calories. How many depends on the type of beer you drink, but the average 4.5% ABV pint contains around 180-215kcal (about the same as a glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut), and a pint of AF beer contains around 120kcal.

All that to say, the bloating and weight gain from your full-strength beer is only partially down to the alcohol, so switching to low/no will help, but it won’t be a magic wand to drop you down the size chart.

Is alcohol-free cider just apple juice or is it actually cider?

Apple juice is a non-fermented pressing of apples. Cider, on the other hand, goes through a host of other processes. Fermentation, the process of turning sugars into alcohol, is the key differentiator, and alcohol-free ciders that have been fermented and then dealcoholised, or blended with other apple-based liquids, present an extremely different flavour profile than the apple juice in your kids’ juice box.

Some unfermented cider drinks rely on other elements, such as dryness, a longer finish, and finer carbonation, to give their beverages a more grown-up feel.

The choice is yours if they still qualify in your mind as ciders, but remember, when you’re drinking differently, the most important thing is how the drinks make you feel, not whether they tick the right boxes.

Does drinking alcohol-free beer make moderating easier, or does it just keep the habit alive?

Alcohol-free drinkers tend to fall into two categories – those who want something as close as possible to “the real thing”, and those who do not want to be reminded of alcohol at all.

This is all about personal preference. If you find these drinks to be good alternatives that address a desire for the taste of a beer without the alcohol, then they’ll work perfectly.

If, however, you find them to be triggering while you’re trying to stay away from alcohol and they lead to an urge for stronger drinks, then give them a miss, and instead try the wealth of adult drinks that are not made to replicate alcohol at all.

Don’t overcomplicate this for yourself. Trial and error is the only way to get the answers you need.

What’s the best alcohol-free beer style to start with?

Lager is the world’s most popular beer style, and alcohol-free versions have been in production for decades. Today’s iterations, however, are the best they’ve ever been. If you’re new to low/no beer, lager is the easy first step.

If you’re more of a craft ale drinker, there are some brands that prefer to focus on bold, ale flavours championing hops and malts above carbonation and sweetness. In the UK, explore brands like Big Drop* and Jump Ship*; in the US, Athletic Brewing is a great starting point for all types of beer drinkers.

And if you’re a cider drinker, look for brands like Chance Clean Cider* that use traditional cider-making processes rather than simply creating a posh apple drink.

Can a 0.5% beer get me drunk?

The short answer: No.

You would have to drink more 0.5% beer than is likely possible in an incredibly short amount of time to be able to produce any intoxicating effect before your body could process it.

In fact, your body is well practised at managing these small amounts, as there can be as much alcohol in many innocent foods in your kitchen right now as there is in a 0.5% beer.

Why is alcohol-free beer the same price as a regular pint?

Alcohol does so much more in your drink than just get you drunk. It adds flavour, texture and finish. It preserves the drink, allowing flavours to mature without the risk of spoiling.

Alcohol-free beer, on the other hand, needs to go through many more processes to make it to your glass. It has to be brewed and then dealcoholised, or it requires arrested fermentation using modified equipment and specialised yeasts.

Production scales are also smaller, so makers don’t benefit from price breaks at the same time as having a more vulnerable product with a shorter shelf life.

But perhaps most interestingly, alcohol is actually one of the cheapest ingredients in your beer. It’s a by-product of the fermentation process, which all beers have to go through whether you’re keeping the booze or not.

All in all, the cost of producing a quality drink in this space has little to do with its final ABV.