ABV: 0.9%
Calories per bottle: 90 (18 per 100ml)
Sole Star started life in 2011 as a 2.7% beer. And whilst we can’t say we entirely concurred with Adnams claim back then that it was “ideal as a lunchtime pint for the responsible drinker”, it was certainly a welcome addition to the low ABV market. Head brewer Fergus Fitzgerald and his team didn’t leave it at that, however, and in April 2017, Sole Star reappeared with its ABV cut by two thirds.
To be fair to the other beers listed on this page, this is not an alcohol-free beer, and it’s a bit stronger than the others here. If you’re looking to avoid alcohol entirely, this is not the beer for you. If you’re simply seeking to drink less, with just 0.5 units of alcohol in each bottle, this one might just do the job.
It’s got a beautiful amber colour, almost like caramel. As for the taste and smell, much like BrewDog’s Nanny State, hops are what come through most strongly, but there’s also a whiff of malt that makes this a somewhat more complex beer than its Scottish counterpart.
The packaging is perfect, and seems to make the point that this is a quality beer first of all and a low-alcohol beer second. The brewers are obviously proud of their Suffolk roots, and both the name and the label design of Sole Star reflect the fact that this beer hails from Britain’s most easterly brewery, “where the sun shines first”.
