Birra Moretti Zero Review: The Italian NA Lager
Published May 2026 · 7-minute read · by Rich, founder of Unhopped
Birra Moretti is the 165-year-old Italian lager whose alcohol-free expression — Birra Moretti Zero — has become one of the most widely-stocked AF beers in UK pubs and supermarkets, alongside Heineken 0.0 and Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0%.
Who are Birra Moretti?
Birra Moretti was founded in 1859 in Udine, north-east Italy, where Luigi Moretti opened his first brewery in a converted ice house. The brand grew steadily through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, became a defining Italian lager, and is now part of the Heineken group — though it retains its Italian production base and the Friulian identity that made the original Moretti family famous in their region.
Moretti’s reputation is built on the Italian pilsner style: clean, crisp, food-friendly, with the characteristic soft bitterness of Italian-grown noble hops. The full-strength Birra Moretti L’Autentica (4.6%) is one of the most widely distributed Italian lagers in the UK, found in pizza chains, Italian restaurants, and supermarket fridges nationwide. The iconic mustachioed gentleman label — based on a photograph taken in a 1942 Friuli pub — has become shorthand for accessible Italian lager generally.
Birra Moretti’s alcohol-free expression
Birra Moretti Zero launched in March 2019, applying the same Italian-pilsner template to a non-alcoholic format. The challenge any heritage lager brand faces with alcohol-free is retaining recognisable character without the mouthfeel and flavour-carrying role of alcohol. Moretti’s answer: water, barley malt, hop, hop extract, natural flavourings — a relatively simple recipe that leans on Italian hop character and post-fermentation flavouring rather than craft-style complexity.
Unlike German brewers bound by the Reinheitsgebot (the historic beer purity law that limits ingredients), Italian brewers can use natural flavourings as part of the recipe. Moretti makes use of this in Zero — the natural flavourings help rebuild some of the character lost in dealcoholisation.
What makes Moretti Zero different
Italian-pilsner style, not craft-AF
Where craft alcohol-free brewers compete on hop expression and unusual styles, Moretti Zero competes on faithfulness to a specific lager tradition. Italian pilsner is its own thing — cleaner than German pilsner, softer than Czech, more obviously food-friendly than English bitter. Moretti Zero is the most widely-available alcohol-free Italian-pilsner expression in the UK.
Heineken-group distribution
Birra Moretti shares Heineken’s mainstream distribution reach. That means UK supermarket placement is essentially guaranteed, restaurant listings (especially pizza chains) are easy to come by, and the brand benefits from Heineken’s considerable on-trade weight. For drinkers who want an alcohol-free Italian lager in any UK Italian restaurant, Zero is usually the option.
Lower calorie than full-strength
66 calories per 330ml bottle (20 kcal/100ml) — a touch lower than full-strength Moretti L’Autentica (around 35 kcal/100ml). For drinkers tracking calories alongside cutting back, Zero is a meaningful step down without sacrificing the lager occasion.
Birra Moretti Zero: the beer itself
Pours pale amber with a thin white head that fades fast. The aroma leads with malt grain and a hint of lemon — recognisably similar to its alcoholic sibling. On the palate, crisp and slightly aromatic, with citrus and gentle bitterness over a smooth malt base. Lighter-bodied than the full-strength version (as you’d expect), but cleaner than many AF mainstream lagers. The finish is dry and reasonably balanced.
Some reviewers find Zero a touch sweeter than the full-strength version — a common feature of dealcoholised beers, where residual malt sugars that would have fermented to alcohol remain in the final beer. The 4g of sugar per 330ml is mid-range for AF, lower than some German alkoholfrei wheat beers but higher than craft AF lagers like Lucky Saint.
How Birra Moretti Zero compares
Among Italian-style alcohol-free lagers, the comparison set is narrow: Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% is the closest direct rival, with Menabrea 0.0 occasionally available. Moretti Zero is the most widely-stocked of these in the UK. Among mainstream AF lagers more broadly, Heineken 0.0 is the obvious comparison — same parent company, similar distribution, slightly different style emphasis. For Italian character specifically, Moretti is the pick.
Among craft alcohol-free lagers, Lucky Saint Unfiltered Lager and Jump Ship Yardarm compete on body and complexity rather than mainstream availability. Moretti Zero gives you accessible, consistent, mainstream Italian lager character; the craft alternatives give you depth at the cost of distribution.
Is Birra Moretti Zero worth drinking?
For drinkers ordering an alcohol-free beer in an Italian restaurant, with pizza, or alongside Mediterranean food generally, Moretti Zero is the obvious choice. The Italian-pilsner template matches the food, the distribution means it’s actually available where you need it, and the calorie count is reasonable.
For drinkers seeking depth, craft character, or unusual styles, Moretti Zero is too clean and too mainstream. That’s the point of the product, not a flaw — but it does mean Zero is an accompaniment-to-food beer rather than a standalone craft experience.
Buy Birra Moretti Zero
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