- Super refreshing
- Sweet malty overtones
- Looks great
- Not so good when not ice cold
- Head fades quickly
Different drinks for different occasions is a concept we’re all pretty familiar with I’m sure.
Champagne at a wedding, sherry at Christmas, whisky at New Year, white wine with fish, red wine with steak. The same goes for beers. The beer you’d have at a musical festival for instance is quite different to the one you’d have at a barbecue, or at a sporting event, or on a beach in the height of summer, or in a cosy pub in the depths of winter.
Peroni is a premium Italian lager.
As such, when we think Peroni we imagine ourselves driving a Vespa through the cobbled streets of Rome, settling down at an outdoor cafe on a piazza and sipping a refreshing beverage whilst we watch the world go by through the mirrored lenses of designer sunglasses. Peroni isn’t about complex flavour or pushing boundaries or over consumption. Peroni is about crisp refreshment and class. If James Bond ordered a beer it would be a Peroni.
And so as with many other major players in brewing Peroni have entered the alcohol free market with Peroni Libera – a completely alcohol free beer. Zero. Zilch.
But, will this alcohol free offering really be able to live up to the legacy of its fully loaded counterpart?
Peroni Libera Beer Initial Review
Peroni Libera looks good doesn’t it?
The label with the familiar Peroni branding tinged with silver colouring against the green glass gently gathering beads of condensation. It just screams class. Well played Peroni, well played.
As the beer pours into a tall glass we’re greeted with a crystal clear brew, pale straw in colour, with a light fizzy head. The head is a tad disappointing as it fades quickly, but as with any premium lager we see the satisfying streams of tiny bubbles from the bottom of the glass.
The taste and aroma of this completely alcohol free beer go hand in hand, and this in itself is actually quite unique. Often a beer has great taste coupled with terrible aroma, or a fantastic smell but disappointing taste. Not here – the sweet malty aroma is coupled with a sweet malty taste. It’s not overly complex but is refreshing and light with just a touch of finesse. Definitely a beer to be enjoyed ice cold on a warm afternoon into evening.
The only slight criticism (and it is very slight) is to point out that Peroni Libera is far better ice cold – the slightly sweet taste becomes a little too much when warmer.
Mouthfeel isn’t always a deal breaker for me – sometimes I don’t even notice it but with some beers we have an expectation. With Peroni Libera my expectation is a light, smooth, not overly gassy texture. It delivers on expectations.
Where Can I Buy Peroni Libera?
Peroni are one of the big hitters in beer, so can be found in supermarkets and many other smaller shops. I bought a pack of 4 x 330ml bottles from Tesco for £4.50. Here are some alternative suppliers:
Peroni Libera Ingredients, Nutritional Information and Calories
Peroni’s refreshing 0% brew is made from water, barley malt, Italian maize, hops and natural flavourings.
As such it’s fine for those of you with a lactose intolerance but not for gluten intolerance. Nutritional values per 100ml are as follows:
| Nutritional Information | Per 100mL |
|---|---|
| Energy (KJ / KCal) | 94 / 22 |
| Fat (g) | 0 |
| Of Which Saturates (g) | 0 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 5.3 |
| Of Which Sugars (g) | 3.0 |
| Protein (g) | 0.2 |
| Salt (g) | 0 |
The Verdict
Peroni have produced a fine alcohol free beer here. It’s up there as one of my favourites, and I really like the fact that it’s a true alcohol free beer. Zero alcohol.
They’ve captured the spirit of their brand and captured the essence of their beer in this fantastic 0% lager. It’s simple, clean, refreshing with a slightly sweet malty overtone that just gives it that little extra finesse. A perfect beer to cool down with, and then hop back on the Vespa off to the next piazza, or perhaps just off to the fridge for another one.
