Zero alcohol drinking, beer especially is on the rise, especially amongst young people. Except 16 year olds will struggle to buy it in the UK from supermarkets and convenience stores. Shops hold a common law right to refuse service to anyone they choose, whilst Legally, you can buy 0.0% beer at age 16 in the UK.
In practice, most supermarkets and shops will still refuse to sell it to you. Under the Licensing Act 2003, drinks with an alcohol content of 0.5% ABV or lower are not classified as alcohol, meaning there is no official legal age limit for purchasing them, but retailers say their strict rules are to try to prevent beer drinking habits being established and avoid normalising the branding and taste of beers for minors.
It’s a contradiction especially for young people 16 years and older. When anyone is making a zero alcohol choice they are legally entitled to drink, isn’t that a good thing? It feels like a nonsense when you can work full time from 16 but cannot buy a 0.0% beer in the supermarket.
Gen Z are way more health conscious than their parents, as getting legless becomes less and less fashionable and being in recovery is less like something to be ashamed of and more like an enviable achievement.
Young adults increasingly prefer zero-alcohol and low-alcohol beer as part of a broader cultural shift toward wellness, moderation, and mindful drinking. Data shows that nearly half of young adults actively choose no or low-alcohol alternatives (under 0.5%), driven heavily by health consciousness and less rigid social norms around alcohol.
I shifted to no alcohol beer a few years back. I’ve have enjoyed a bottle of beer, for years before switching over to alcohol free and I don’t think many beer drinkers would actually know which is which on a taste test.
Here are my favourites in order.
Stella Artois Alcohol Free is top of my list. 0.0% abv, (alcohol by volume) it’s a low calorie light beer that you can really taste the malted barley and hops flavours Stella Artois has built it’s name reputation on. They are a budget friendly choice too at only £3.00 for a packet of 4 x 330ml bottles. The larger 440ml cans cost a little more at £5.99
Becks Blue, 0.05% but marketed as 0.0% it’s like a pilsner lager, if you enjoy a stronger Holsten Pils or Red Stripe type brew. This was the first zero I tried and if nothing else is available I am happy to be served this. 6 x 275ml bottles will cost you between £4.75 and £5.00
Two I’ve tried on holiday are a Spanish beer, Estrella Galicia, and a Greek option Mythos, and I enjoyed both although their pilsner light version is darker than a lager. Estrella Galicia 0.0% Negra is also available from the same Spanish brewery. A zero-alcohol dark beer featuring rich notes of caramel, burnt sugar, and toasted almonds less like a lager or pilsner this brew is both darker in colour and closer to a pale ale or a brown ale from a micro brewery in flavour.
I haven’t been able to any of these three beers to buy to go in the supermarket but have found them available in bars and restaurants, for around £3.50 a bottle.
If you are in search of vacation feels you cannot beat the light and crispy flavour of Corona zero. I haven’t seen any snooped about this zero choice before and there’s nothing better to compliment a taco or burrito, if you love Mexican street food like me. Don’t forget to serve with a wedge of lime. I just picked up a pack of four from Waitrose for £4.75 which felt like a pretty good deal.
I am not a Guinness drinker but friends have told me for anyone who loves a Guinness their zero alcohol option, is the best choice for tasting exactly the same as the alcoholic version. It is explicitly brewed using the exact same ingredients as traditional draught Guinness with the alcohol gently removed afterward via a cold filtration system. 4 x 440ml cans are priced at £4.80.
The least exciting of the zero beers I’ve tried is Heineken Zero, a good deal at £4 for 4 bottle but reminds me of Budweiser, that sort of watered down American beer flavour. I bought a few four packs as I asked my local convenience store owner to get Stella Zero alcohol in for me, I like to support local and he invested in Heineken instead. He did sell them in a matter of weeks and not all to me. I am giving myself a pat on the back that some local people have opted for zero beer too since he got them in. He’s buying me Stella Artois Zero next.
There are a few fruity ciders available in 0.0% options. Galipette Rosé 0.0% is a premium French cider and Hogan's High Sobriety Raspberry, a real fermented cider with a tart raspberry flavour. Both are lower in sugar than less expensive choices like Rekorderlig and Kopparberg.
If you love a cider, the one I’d recommend is Thatchers, zero served over ice. They also do a delicious blood orange version Thatchers Blood Orange Zero 0.0%. An individual 500ml bottle generally costs between £1.85 and £2.00, whilst a 4 x 440ml multi-pack of cans ranges from £3.50 to £4.25 at major UK supermarkets so a slightly cheaper option than the beers listed above.
A few of my friends have turned their noses up to a zero alcohol beer when offered, like I’d offered something totally unpalatable and weird. We’ve all got bad memories of grape juice pretending to be wine but the beer (and cider) has come a long way.
Why not get down with the kids and pop a zero.
The bonus, enjoying life and remembering every single bit of it.