Big Drop Brown Ale

ABV: 0.5%
Calories per bottle: 99 (30 per 100ml)

Suffolk seems to be the place to go for alcohol-free beers these days, what with Big Drop, St Peter’s and Adnams all turning out drinks at close to zero ABV in the east of England.

The flatlands of East Anglia are not what you’d normally associate with brown ale – more the industrial landscape of the north-east, home of the world famous Newcastle Brown. This beer is nothing like that. It’s better.

The brewers wax lyrical about its “toasty aroma”, “soft grassy notes” and “touch of fruit and caramel”. We also detected a hint of coffee or chocolate. But whichever way you define the flavour, we think it’s an outstanding beer. Like Big Drop’s other dark beers, it’s got that body and depth that most beers get from alcohol. Who knows how they do it, but for a 0.5% beer it feels surprisingly boozy.

Big Drop Brown Ale is available in a range of shops and online.