Top ten alcohol-free drinks for the summer

If you’re aiming to slake your thirst without a hangover, here are ten of our favourite summer drinks – none with more than 0.5% alcohol.

Looking for a nice bottle of bubbly but keen to cut back on the alcohol? Lyre’s Classico Grande may be the one for you. It has the classic look and taste of a sparkling prosecco and a pleasant fruity flavour. It’s light and refreshing, and it’s no surprise that it was the Official Wine of Dry January 2023.

Lagers are another summer favourite, and one of our personal favourites is Bitburger 0.0. It’s a really nice German pilsner with plenty of life, plenty of flavour, and just a bit of a bitter aftertaste.

And if you like a lager with a bit more of a craft ale feel, try Lucky Saint unfiltered lager. It’s light but packed with flavour, and was the Official Beer of Dry January 2023.

Pale ales – or IPAs – are everywhere these days. Not everyone likes these bitter brews, but if IPA is your thing, one of the best is Butcome’s Goram IPA Zero – named after a legendary giant from the Bristol area. It’s a lively beer but not too fizzy; and full of hops but not too sharp. Lovely when chilled, maybe with a nice ploughman’s lunch in the garden!

Guinness has to be one of the most popular drinks on the planet. Does it work without alcohol? It certainly does. Obviously, if you don’t like Guinness normally you’re not going to like this one. But that’s kind of the point: you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between this 0% beer and an ordinary Guinness at just over 4%.

If you like your stout to be a bit more adventurous, try Big Drop’s Galactic Milk Stout. It’s got real depth of flavour and is made with dark roasted malt and coco nibs – crushed cocao beans – that make it strangely chocolaty, in a good way.

“Isn’t it just apple juice?” is some people’s first question about low-alcohol cider. But there’s a bit more to it than that. The first difference is the type of apples – traditional cider apples, not the sweet apples we buy for eating. The second difference is partial fermentation that takes out some of the sugar without pushing the alcohol content too high.

We have two favourites in this category: Sheppy’s Classic Low Alcohol Cider and Hogan’s High Sobriety, one from Somerset, the other from Warwickshire. They’ve both got the look, the aroma, and the flavour of a great cider. The Hogan’s is 1% alcohol, which might be too much for some; the Sheppy’s is just 0.5%.

Alcohol free spirits? Surely some mistake! But no. They’re a thing, and some of them are very good. The Lyre’s spirits range were the Official Spirits of Dry January 2023, and their Dark Cane Spirit is one of their best. It’s got hints of fruits, molasses, oranges, nutmeg and salted caramel, and goes great with cola or ginger ale.

If you like a lighter spirit, we recommend Tanqueray 0.0 – an alcohol-free take on a traditional London dry gin. Over ice, with tonic and a slice of lemon, it’s perfect for a sunny afternoon of doing nothing in particular.

Take your pick, get yourself a glass, and relax!