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Our ten highest-rated low-alcohol beers, the lower-strength beers worth knowing, and what “low alcohol” actually means on a UK label.
By Rich, founder of Unhopped | Updated October 2026 | Stock checked 9 October 2026
In the UK, “low alcohol” officially means 1.2% ABV or less, so the best low-alcohol beers are the 0.3% to 0.5% beers we rate highest: Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA (8.8), Northern Monk Holy Faith (8.8) and Lucky Saint Unfiltered Lager (8.7).
Want a little more strength? Small Beer (2.1% to 2.7%) and Beavertown Satellite (2.8%) are two of the easiest lower-strength beers to find in the UK, though at that strength they no longer count as low alcohol.
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“Low alcohol” gets used for everything from 0.5% craft beer to 2.8% table beer, so it helps to know what you’re after. If you want flavour with as little alcohol as possible, the beers we rate highest all sit at 0.5% or under. If you want a sessionable beer that still has a little alcohol, there’s a small band of 2% to 2.8% beers, mostly from London breweries.
This guide covers both: our ten highest-rated low-alcohol beers, all on sale today, then the lower-strength beers worth knowing, with where to buy each. Stock checked on 9 October 2026 and, for the stronger beers, 10 October 2026.
UK government guidance sets three labels by strength. Most of the beers we review are 0.5% or under, which puts them within the low-alcohol limit, and those that have had alcohol removed can also be called de-alcoholised. The government has said it will consult on letting 0.5% drinks be called alcohol-free, but nothing had changed by October 2026. Our guide to alcohol-free vs low alcohol explains the labels in full.
| Label | Strength | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol-free | 0.05% or less | Where beers labelled 0.0% sit |
| De-alcoholised | 0.5% or less | For drinks that have had alcohol removed |
| Low alcohol | 1.2% or less | Should show its maximum strength on the label |
| 2% to 2.8% beers | Above 1.2% | Not low alcohol by the guidance; often sold as table or session beer |
These are the highest-rated beers in our directory that keep a trace of alcohol (0.3% to 0.5%) and were on sale on 9 October 2026. For the 0.0% beers, see our best 0.0% beer guide; for all 20 of our top beers, the UK ranking.
Joint best low-alcohol beer
IPA, <0.5% Athletic Brewing, USA
Pine resin, grapefruit and lemon zest, with more bite than most alcohol-free IPAs. It smells and drinks like a proper craft IPA. Read our review.
On supermarket shelves at Tesco and Ocado. Delivered by Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender.
Joint best low-alcohol beer
Hazy IPA, 0.4% Northern Monk, UK
Pillowy and soft, with huge mango, papaya and passion fruit and a gentle bitter finish. Order it from Dry Drinker. Read our review.
Delivered by Dry Drinker.
No. 3
Lager, 0.5% Lucky Saint, UK
Hazy pale gold, bready malt and a clean, dry finish, with more body than most alcohol-free lagers. Our top-scoring lager, and the one to buy if you only buy one. Read our review.
On supermarket shelves at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, Waitrose, Ocado and Co-op, and by the case at Majestic. Delivered by Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender.
No. 4
Hazy IPA, <0.5% Athletic Brewing, USA
Athletic’s hazy IPA, hopped with Amarillo, Citra and Mosaic for tangerine and grapefruit, with a soft, juicy body. Read our review.
On supermarket shelves at Ocado. Delivered by Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender.
No. 5
Hazy IPA, 0.5% Lucky Saint, UK
Soft, juicy and tropical, with gentle bitterness. The easy-drinking IPA for anyone who finds most IPAs too bitter. Read our review.
On supermarket shelves at Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose, Ocado and Co-op. Delivered by Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender.
No. 6
IPA, 0.5% Brulo, UK
Double dry-hopped, with mango, pineapple and grapefruit and a creamy finish that lingers. One of the best alcohol-free IPAs we’ve reviewed. Read our review.
On supermarket shelves at Morrisons. Delivered by Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender.
No. 7
Stout, 0.5% Big Drop, UK
Coffee, dark chocolate and sweet cream, full-bodied and velvety. Sweeter and creamier than Guinness 0.0. Read our review.
Delivered by Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender.
No. 8
IPA, 0.3% Beavertown, UK
Tropical and citrus hops with a clean, dry finish: a proper IPA at just 0.3%. Read our review.
On supermarket shelves at Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose and Ocado. Delivered by Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender.
No. 9
Pale Ale, <0.5% Athletic Brewing, USA
Athletic’s easy-drinking golden ale: light-bodied and clean, with citrus on the nose and a gently earthy, spicy edge. Read our review.
On supermarket shelves at Ocado. Delivered by Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender.
No. 10
Pale Ale, 0.5% Big Drop, UK
Citra, Chinook and Columbus hops give citrus and pine, with a clean, dry finish. An everyday pale ale, not a substitute. Read our review.
Delivered by Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender.
These beers keep a little alcohol, still well below a normal 4% to 5% beer. We haven’t rated them yet, so they’re listed by strength, not score, with strengths taken from each brewer’s own site. You won’t find them at Dry Drinker or Wise Bartender, so buy them from the brewery, Ocado, Waitrose or a beer shop.
| Beer | Strength | Style | Where to buy | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Beer Lager | 2.1% | Pilsner-style lager | Ocado, Small Beer (brewery), The Whisky Exchange and Waitrose | £15.006 x 330ml cans, Small Beer |
| Small Beer IPA | 2.3% | IPA | Ocado, Small Beer (brewery) and The Whisky Exchange | £15.006 x 330ml cans, Small Beer |
| Small Beer Pale | 2.5% | Pale ale | Ocado, Small Beer (brewery) and The Whisky Exchange | £15.006 x 330ml cans, Small Beer |
| Small Beer Mexican Lager | 2.5% | Mexican-style lager | Small Beer (brewery) | £15.006 x 330ml cans, Small Beer |
| Lindemans Framboise | 2.5% | Fruit lambic with raspberries | Beer Merchants and Beergonzo | £2.1025cl bottle, Beer Merchants |
| Lindemans Pêcheresse | 2.5% | Fruit lambic with peaches | Beer Merchants | £2.1025cl bottle, Beer Merchants |
| Small Beer Hazy | 2.6% | Hazy IPA / NEIPA | Ocado, Small Beer (brewery) and The Whisky Exchange | £15.006 x 330ml cans, Small Beer |
| Stroud Brewery Easy Peasy | 2.6% | Organic session ale | Farmfetch and Stroud Brewery (brewery) | £15.004 x 440ml cans, Stroud Brewery |
| Small Beer Amber | 2.7% | Amber ale / bitter, brewed with British rye | Small Beer (brewery) and The Whisky Exchange | £15.006 x 330ml cans, Small Beer |
| Beavertown Satellite Super Session IPA | 2.8% | Super Session IPA | Beavertown (brewery), Ocado and Waitrose | £1.901 x 330ml can, Beavertown |
| Tegernseer Leicht | 2.8% | Light lager / Leichtbier | Hop Burns & Black | £3.10500ml, Hop Burns & Black |
Small Beer brews nothing but lower-strength beer, from a 2.1% lager to a 2.7% amber. Its own shop sells each beer in packs of six 330ml cans for £15 or 24 for £55, with free delivery over £45, and Ocado and Waitrose stock some of the range.
Beavertown’s 2.8% Super Session IPA, from the brewery behind Lazer Crush. Ocado and Waitrose sell four-packs, and Beavertown sells it by the can or the case.
Lindemans’ Framboise (raspberry) and Pêcheresse (peach) are sweet, fruity lambics: nothing like a session beer, but only 2.5%. Lindemans also makes a 0.0% Pêcheresse, so check the label.
Beer mixed with lemonade or fruit juice, so not beer as such, but they’re on the same shelf and most sit between 1% and 2.8%.
| Drink | Strength | Where to buy | Cheapest we found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shandy Carib Sorrel | 0.9% | Sainsbury's and Tesco | £1.55275ml, Sainsbury's |
| Carnival Shandy Sorrel | 1.2% | Morrisons | £1.70275ml bottle, Morrisons |
| Stiegl Radler Grapefruit | 2.0% | Ocado, Sainsbury's, Beer Merchants and Hop Burns & Black | £2.30500ml can, Ocado |
| Schöfferhofer Grapefruit | 2.5% | Ocado and Tesco | £2.30500ml can, Ocado |
| Schöfferhofer Juicy Pineapple | 2.5% | Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Ocado | £2.25500ml can, Morrisons |
Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA and Northern Monk Holy Faith, both 8.8 out of 10 in Unhopped’s ratings, are the best low-alcohol beers you can buy in the UK. Both are 0.5% or under. For a lager, Lucky Saint Unfiltered (8.7).
UK government guidance says “low alcohol” means 1.2% ABV or less. Beers up to 0.5% that have had alcohol removed can be called de-alcoholised, and up to 0.05% alcohol-free. Beers between 2% and 2.8% are often called low alcohol, but by the guidance they aren’t.
Yes. At 0.5% a beer is within the 1.2% limit for low alcohol, and if the alcohol has been removed it can also be called de-alcoholised. Under the current UK guidance it can’t be called alcohol-free.
Two of the easiest to find are Small Beer’s range from London, from a 2.1% lager to a 2.7% amber, and Beavertown Satellite, a 2.8% session IPA. We haven’t rated them yet.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, Waitrose, Ocado and Co-op all sell beers at 0.5% or under online, and Aldi sells them in store; our supermarket guide lists them all. For 2% to 2.8% beers, try the breweries’ own shops, Ocado or Waitrose: Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender didn’t stock any of them when we checked.
For the most flavour with the least alcohol, buy the 0.5% beers: Run Wild, Holy Faith and Lucky Saint are the best we’ve rated. If you’d like a little more strength, try a mixed case from Small Beer, or a few cans of Satellite.
How we rank. The top 10 are the highest-scoring beers between 0.3% and 0.5% in the Unhopped directory that were on sale on 9 October 2026. The 2% to 2.8% beers aren’t rated, so they’re listed by strength. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10, from tastings logged in the Unhopped app. Stock changes daily, so the buttons always take you to today’s price. Spotted a change? Tell us.
