Mikkeller Racing Beer
By Mikkeller · Denmark
A 0.3% lager from Mikkeller, on sale in the UK from 2018, described then as having “tropical fruit aromas combined with a lightly acidic backbone and refreshing finish”. It isn’t in Mikkeller’s current range or UK shops. We score it 8.1.
At 0.3% ABV, this isn’t alcohol-free under UK guidance, which keeps the term for 0.05% or less. We list it with alcohol-free beers, as UK shops do. How UK labels work
What is Racing Beer?
Mikkeller is a Copenhagen brewer founded in 2006 by Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, a former maths and physics teacher, and Kristian Klarup Keller, who left in 2007. Bjergsø still controls it; Carlsberg bought 20% in 2024, and the investment firm Orkila Capital is the second-largest shareholder. Its alcohol-free beers use a yeast it developed with the Belgian brewery De Proefbrouwerij, which, it says, makes beer with little alcohol but plenty of flavour; most are 0.3%. Mikkeller lists ten alcohol-free beers. The UK shops sell Drink’in the Sun, Weird Weather, Burst Free and Energibajer, and The Alcohol Free Co has Drink’in the Snow too.
Racing Beer reached the UK in 2018, when the trade press described a 0.3% lager with “tropical fruit aromas combined with a lightly acidic backbone and refreshing finish”, and The Independent put it on a list of the 10 best alcohol-free beers, Mikkeller said in 2019. We used to call it pilsner-style, and say who it was made for; we found no source for either.
It isn’t on Mikkeller’s current list of alcohol-free beers, and no UK shop we checked lists it, so it may have been discontinued. No calorie figure from Mikkeller or a label was found. We score it 8.1 out of 10.
Flavour Profile
A guide based on the style and the 2018 description (tropical fruit, a lightly acidic backbone, a refreshing finish), to help you compare at a glance — not a definitive tasting.
Key facts
| Official name | Racing Beer |
|---|---|
| Brewery | Mikkeller, Denmark |
| Style | Lager |
| ABV | 0.3% ABV, as reported when it launched in the UK in 2018; Mikkeller no longer lists it |
| Pack | Not known today |
| Calories | Not published by the brewer or the shops we checked |
| Ingredients | Not published |
| Allergens | Not published |
| Vegan | Not stated |
| Gluten | No gluten-free claim |
| How it’s made | Brewed with Mikkeller’s own yeast, mikkellensis, which it says makes beer with little alcohol |
| Brewed | Mikkeller doesn’t say. It brews mainly at partner breweries, above all De Proefbrouwerij in Belgium; the UK shops say Denmark |
| UK availability | Not on sale in the UK; not in Mikkeller’s current range |
Sources: The Morning Advertiser (2018) and Mikkeller’s own website, checked October 2026. The label on the can or bottle is always the final word.
How Racing Beer sits in the Mikkeller range
| Beer | Style | ABV | Per 100ml | Unhopped score | UK status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weird Weather | Hazy (New England-style) IPA | 0.3% | 13 kcal | 8.5 | In stock at The Alcohol Free Co, Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender |
| Drink’in the Sun | Wheat ale in an American pale style (Mikkeller calls it a wheat ale; the UK shops sell it as a pale ale) | 0.3% | 22 kcal | 8.2 | In stock at The Alcohol Free Co, Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender |
| Burst Free | IPA | 0.3% | Not published | Not yet rated | In stock at The Alcohol Free Co and Dry Drinker |
| Energibajer | Wheat ale | 0.3% | Not published | Not yet rated | In stock at The Alcohol Free Co and Dry Drinker |
| Drink’in the Snow | Winter ale | 0.3% | Not published | Not yet rated | In stock at The Alcohol Free Co |
| Racing Beer (this beer) | Lager | 0.3% | Not published | 8.1 | Not on sale in the UK; not in Mikkeller’s current range |
The Mikkeller beers in our directory, checked October 2026. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.
About Mikkeller
Mikkeller is a Copenhagen brewer founded in 2006 by Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, who still controls it; Carlsberg owns 20%. It brews mostly at partner breweries, and its alcohol-free beers, most of them 0.3%, use a yeast it developed with De Proefbrouwerij in Belgium.
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