Differences between alcoholic and alcohol-free beers

Swapping a standard beer for an alcohol-free version could help you cut how much alcohol you drink overall.

Because they have less alcohol, switching to alcohol-free beers – but not adding them as extra drinks – can be a good way to stick to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines which advise to drink no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days, with several drink-free days and no bingeing.¹

More people than ever are giving alcohol-free and low alcohol drinks a try. Drinkaware research found 45% of UK drinkers consumed a low alcohol and/or alcohol-free drink in the last 12 months in 2025, up from 22% in 2021.² Alcohol-free and low alcohol beers are some of the most popular drinks in this expanding market,³ but what are the differences between them and standard strength alcoholic beers?

Because most alcohol-free and low alcohol beers still contain some alcohol, they aren’t suitable if you need or want to avoid alcohol completely.⁴

What are alcohol-free and low alcohol beers?

Alcohol-free and low alcohol beers are designed to match the taste, look and feel of standard beers – and recent advances in production technology mean you are much more likely to find one that you enjoy.

The main difference between alcoholic, low alcohol and alcohol-free beer is the amount of alcohol they contain:

• Alcohol-free beers can contain up to 0.5% Alcohol by Volume (ABV) 
  Many, although not all, producers follow government guidance that says alcohol-free drinks may contain up to 0.05% ABV.⁵ (Sometimes these types of drinks might be described as ‘zero alcohol’, or ‘0.0’ too). But because the guidance is voluntary, in practice you might see alcohol-free labelled drinks that are up to 0.5% ABV for sale. A 500ml can of 0.5% ABV beer would contain 0.25 units of alcohol (a quarter of a unit of alcohol).
• Low alcohol beer contains up to 1.2% ABV
  Government guidance on low alcohol drinks sold in the UK says they shouldn’t be more than 1.2% ABV.⁶ A 500ml can of 1.2% ABV beer has 0.6 units of alcohol
• The average strength of a standard beer is around 4.4% ABV⁷
  This means a 500ml can of 4.4% ABV beer contains 2.2 units of alcohol 

How are alcohol-free and low alcohol beers made?

Alcohol-free and low alcohol beers are made using the same ingredients as standard beer, lager and ale – using water, malt, hops and yeast.

There are a couple of ways the alcohol content can be controlled or reduced:⁸

• The brewing process is controlled, using special non-fermenting ingredients to stop the amount of alcohol in the beer ever exceeding 0.5% ABV (or 1.2%, for low alcohol drinks)
• Alcohol is removed by heating the drink until the alcohol evaporates, or passing the beer through a fine mesh to remove the alcohol and leave the other flavoured parts behind (a process called reverse osmosis)
• The beer is blended with something non-alcoholic – for example a shandy is pre-mixed with lemon or other flavoured soda

Because of certain advances in technology, producers have been able to put a greater focus than ever on successfully matching the taste of conventional beers.

Alcohol-free beer now accounts for more than 2% of the UK’s total beverage alcohol market sales.⁹

Drinkaware research has found regular drinkers of alcohol-free products thought the taste had improved over recent years. Negative perceptions of taste were more common among people who hadn’t tried them, with many people pleasantly surprised with the taste when they did.¹⁰ So if you’re thinking of switching to alcohol-free to cut back on your drinking, there’s never been a better time to try it.

Is alcohol-free beer lower in calories?

Alcohol contains around seven calories a gram – almost as many as a gram of fat.¹¹

So, because an alcohol-free beer has less alcohol in it (or sometimes no alcohol at all), it’s possible that switching could play a part in cutting your calorie intake – which could help if you’re trying to lose weight.

But it’s important to understand that the calories in any drink don’t just come from alcohol, so you only ‘save’ calories if the substitute drink is a lower calorie one. Always check the label of any drink to find out how many calories it contains and don’t assume ‘alcohol-free’ means ‘low calorie’.

All low alcohol beers with 1.2% ABV or less (including all alcohol-free options) need to display nutritional information on the label.¹² So, if you’re counting calories as part of your healthy diet or a weight loss programme, choosing alcohol-free means you should always have the calorie information at your fingertips.

You might also see ‘light’ beers in supermarkets or bars which claim to have fewer calories; however it is always a good idea to check the label to find out exactly how many calories it contains. 

Reduce your risk

Substituting standard alcoholic drinks for alcohol-free and low alcohol alternatives could help you reduce the amount of alcohol you drink overall and help you stick to the UK low risk drinking guidelines - which brings important health benefits.¹³ But this only works if you drink them instead of any alcohol you usually drink, and don’t add it on top – otherwise you’ll be drinking more alcohol in total, not less.

Regularly drinking more than the low risk drinking guidelines increases your risk of developing a range of health problems including heart and liver disease, and seven types of cancer.¹⁴ So the less you drink, the more you reduce your risk.

Take our free online Drinking Check to better understand your relationship with alcohol.