- Probably the Cheapest AF Beer Available
- Packaging Hides the Fact it is AF
- Tastes Cheap
- Poor Taste & Aroma
If you’ve been following the non-alcoholic beer industry for a while, one of the alcohol-free mainstream beers that seems to have been around for a while is this Bavaria 0.0.
Although the use of the name ‘Bavaria’ infers a German beer, it is actually produced across the border in The Netherlands. In addition, the beer does not have Bavarian-style characteristics, which I will investigate in this review.
From my experience looking for and purchasing Bavaria 0.0 at different online and in-store retailers, Bavaria 0.0 tends to be the cheapest of all of the non-alcoholic beers, including the non-alcoholic version of mainstream drinks.
With that in mind, let’s take a look to see what Bavaria 0.0 is all about.
Bavaria 0.0 Initial Review
As I mentioned the price in the introduction, I purchased 6 bottles (330mL) for £3.50, but if you look around you can pick it up cheaper, especially in cans.
The bottle and outer packaging itself is particularly unremarkable. A traditional red and wide colour scheme – not even a hint of blue to indicate the non-alcoholic aspect. If you want to drink a non-alcoholic beer in a bottle without being noticed, this will certainly do it.
Upon opening, there is the familiar malt smell that is common with non-alcoholic beers. This is particularly strong, with only a slight hint of sweetness. If you inhale for long enough, you can just about detect the hops. Well the hop extract anyway.
Pouring into a glass, it is noticeably carbonated with a reasonable foamy head, although this dissipates quickly. It is a dark straw colour, which is somewhere between the colour of an alcoholic lager and apple cider. Either way, it looks fine.
First taste, and there’s not much to it.
Matching the aroma, it is very malty. It is also very sweet with a slightly syrupy texture, with a bitter finish. All of the flavours are fine, but there feels like individual elements rather than a balanced overall taste. This isn’t really too much of a surprise when you view the ingredients list (below) which list glucose syrup, hop extract and flavouring amongst the elements that are responsible.
Overall, it tastes like a shandy that has been made with cheap beer and poor quality lemonade. It tastes fine, but hardly inspiring enough to make you feel like it’s an enjoyable experience.
Where Can I Buy Bavaria 0.0?
Because Bavaria 0.0 has been around for a while, it is easily found in supermarkets and online.
For this review, we purchased four 330ml bottles for £3.50 from a Tesco supermarket. But it is also available at Morrison, Sainsburys and Asda.
If you are looking to purchase online, surprisingly, one of the best places to purchase is Amazon. Here you can buy a crate of 24 330ml cans for around £12.
But otherwise try the following online retailers:
Bavaria 0.0% Ingredients, Nutritional Information and Calories
The ingredients list for Bavaria 0.0% are as follows:
Natural mineral water, barley malt, glucose syrup, hop extract, flavouring.
| Nutritional Information | Per 100ml |
|---|---|
| Energy (KJ / KCal) | 100 / 24 |
| Fat (g) | 0 |
| Of Which Saturates (g) | 0 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 5.8 |
| Of Which Sugars (g) | 3.1 |
| Protein (g) | 0.25 |
| Salt (g) | 0 |
The Final Verdict
As far as Bavaria 0.0 goes as a non-alcoholic beer, it is drinkable, but certainly nowhere near some of the excellent taste profiles of other non-alcoholic beers out there.
However, because Bavaria 0.0 is so accessible and well priced, it does position itself as an entry beer for anybody who wishes to switch from generic, alcoholic lagers to generic, non-alcoholic lagers. Although information is not clear, it may also be deemed that Bavaria 0.0 is halal.
If you are looking for non-alcoholic beers that taste great, there are so many better options. But if you want something to drink to cut down on excessive alcohol consumption, or something stocked in the fridge for any tee total visitors, this might just be the budget option to do so.
