It’s hard to beat a German beer, can you beat German Alcohol free beers? They can only have 4 ingredients by law, grain, hops, yeast and water. They are well known for Pilsner (a type of lager) and Wheat beers (higher proportion of fermented wheat than barley).
For the record i would probably be more in favour of a Pils type beer than a Wheat beer traditionally. With all the new craft, funky IPAs my palate might have evolved to wanting more flavour and hops than a Pils larger beer would have provided in the past.
I ordered these beauties from Dry Drinker. They’ve a fantastic selection of drinks for UK market. Also a monthly subscription box
Below is the order i actually drank them and reviewed them. It was completely at random.
Bitburger 0.0%
Really nice. Tastes like a German Pils. Clean, crisp and a touch more hoppy than you might think from a Pilsner. In the world of IPAs and DIPAs with all sorts of hop flavours i’ve grown used to a bit more hop than 10 years ago. If you had just been handed this and not told it was 0.0%, you probably would’t know.
I would actually buy and and drink this by choice. You cant get much more of an endorsement that that! Perfect for a summer BBQ
I rate this a very good 9.5/10
Veltins pils 0.0%
Ok, this is pretty good. Hot on the heels of the Bitburger it has a lot to live up. Buy its just a level below for my taste buds. I mean, it’s like Bitburger, a classic german pils. It’s clean and crisp, just the type of beer you imagine refreshing you on a hot day or the first pint in a session to wet the whistle. Maybe a little less flavour and fizz than the Bitburger so its getting marked down for that. Thinking a bit more on it, it is tiny bit flat.
I rate this a reasonable 7/10
Paulaner Weissbeir 0.0%
My first weissebeir and hey presto it tastes just how you’d expect a wiessbeir to taste. You drink a weissebeir and you want flavour, wheaty flavour. Some lagers and pils can be empty and tasteless. However this is fruity, wheaty and would drink it again! It was growing on me even more at the end. Im pleasantly surprised i like this weissbeir so much.
I rate this a great 9/10
Furstenberg Pils 0.0%
The Furstenberg was immediately not as nice as the Bitburger. It had a slightly sour taste which i didn’t expect. You think of a clean pils first taste and this was just a little off that. Once that initial different flavour shock had gone its actually a decent beer. It probably isn’t in as much balance as the others. The after taste wasn’t bad, certainly it didn’t bookend odd flavours which was nice.
I rate this a respectable 7/10
Kloster andechs weissbier 0.5%
Oh dear, i do not like this at all. It’s like a Wheat beer on wheat steroids but just way over the top in flavour for me. Truth be told it’s more than a bit medicinal smelling and tasting! Did you ever have TCP (antiseptic) put on a cut when you were a kid? If you did then this is like drinking that. Suffice to say, i’m not a fan I’m afraid.
I rate this a disappointing 3/10
Zunft kolsch 0.5%
Hmm, what to say about the Zunft. That about sums it up. There isn’t anything bad to say about it, but equally there isn’t anything brilliant to say either. Its not a lot of anything and nothing to write home about really. Clean taste if a German beer but not a lot of flavour. Kolsch is a type of beer from the Cologne area and maybe i’ve just not drank enough of it but there are clearly better beers to be had here given the option.
I rate this a so so 6 /10
Schneider weisse 0.5%
Now what is this golden elixir! A seriously good offering and its getting better the more you drink. I’ve said before ive not been a huge weisse beer fan but this is outstanding. Simply delicious. Its more of a golden amber colour than the pale ones and maybe that’s what’s swinging it. It’s probably a slightly milder wheat taste than the others. Certainly night and day different than the mental Kloster. I cant rate this highly enough. Can i give it 11/10?
I rate this a superb 10/10
Krombacher weizen 0.5%
Last beer in and its delivering in spades! Maybe i’m still on a high from the Schneider but this is great again. If i’m trying to pick holes then its maybe a tiny bit less in balance than the Schneider and in a direct taste off, it would be pipped. You aren’t about to spit this all over your host who has offered you this beer tho, its a serious contender.
I rate this an excellent 9/10
| BEER | SCORE |
| Schneider weisse | 10/10 |
| Bitburger | 9.5/10 |
| Krombacher weizen | 9/10 |
| Paulaner Weissbeir | 9/10 |
| Veltins pils | 7/10 |
| Furstenberg Pils | 7/10 |
| Zunft Kolsch | 6/10 |
| Kloster andechs weissbier | 3/10 |
Make sure you check out 6 award winning non alcoholic drinks to try next. There are some beauties here
Surprising results!
I was shocked that my favourite beer was a Wheat beer. The Schneider weisse was absolutely superb and i will stocking up on more of it for the Christmas party season to come. Just as surprising was that 3 of my top 4 beers were also Weisse. Special mention to the top ranking Pils, Bitburger 0.0%. It was equally as brilliant and on another day it could have been 10/10 too. One for the beer fridge stockpile too.
Find out where this beer ranks compared to all the beers i have reviewed on my updated “Best Non Alcoholic Beers” page
