BrewDog SAD AF

ABV: 0.5%
Calories per can: 46 (14 per 100ml)

This alcohol-free brew was launched on 17 January 2022 – on what is sometimes said to be the gloomiest day of each year, known as Blue Monday – and 100% of the profits will be donated to mental health research. SAD AF is intended to be part of a wider campaign urging men to speak to their family and friends about their depression and anxiety. The name is a reference to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): a type of depression that hits some people particularly hard in the winter. There was some controversy around the launch of the beer, about whether it’s helpful for a brewer to front a mental health campaign; and a number of people thought the drink’s name was more than a little insensitive.

Putting the arguments aside for the moment, the beer itself maintains BrewDog’s reputation for innovation: it’s a marshmallow IPA. It’s a very lively beer with an intriguing cloudy white colour. It tastes like old-fashioned sweet shops smell but without any cloying excessive sweetness. It’s definitely worth a try. There is nothing else quite like it in the 0.5% category!