Heaps Normal Review: The Australian Alcohol-Free Beer, Now in the UK
Published May 2026 · Updated October 2026 · 6-minute read · by Rich, founder of Unhopped
Heaps Normal brings Australian craft habits to alcohol-free beer: an XPA, a hazy pale ale and a pub lager, all under 0.5% and all marked vegan. Its Quiet XPA was named the World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Pale at the 2022 World Beer Awards.
Who are Heaps Normal?
Heaps Normal names three co-founders: pro surfer Jordy Smith, chief executive Andy Miller and brewer Ben Holdstock; early press also named Pete Brennan, its first head of brand. The brand says its journey started in 2018, and it launched in July 2020 out of Canberra. It describes itself as “Ngunnawal/Canberra born, Naarm/Melbourne made” and is now based in Marrickville, Sydney.
It raised $8.5m (Australian) in 2021, Robbie Williams invested in 2025, and it calls itself “independent, Aussie owned and made”. It became a certified B Corp in 2023. Heaps Normal arrived in the UK in June 2025 through the distributor James Clay. More on the company is on our Heaps Normal brewery page.
What makes Heaps Normal different
Brewed like normal craft beer, it says
Heaps Normal says its beers are “brewed in the same way as normal craft beers, using the same premium ingredients”, with “a trace amount of alcohol due to the natural fermentation process”. Its UK distributor says nothing is removed. It doesn’t own a brewery: the beer is contract-brewed in Melbourne, in 375ml cans.
Vegan, low gluten, but not gluten-free
Every beer is marked vegan, and Heaps Normal says it uses only water, malt, hops and yeast, with no preservatives. It calls its beers low gluten, under 200ppm: 56ppm for Quiet XPA and 29ppm for Half Day Hazy. That’s an Australian label category, not gluten-free, and Heaps Normal says the beers aren’t suitable for people with coeliac disease. For beers labelled gluten-free, see our gluten-free guide.
A long list of medals
Heaps Normal’s awards page lists dozens of medals. Highlights: Half Day Hazy won gold and a Country Winner title at the 2026 World Beer Awards, and Crafty Pint reported that it was named the World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Pale Beer there in 2025; Another Lager won World Beer Awards gold in 2023 and 2024, and Quiet XPA, gold there in 2021 and 2022, was named the World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Pale in 2022, Broadsheet reported.
The Heaps Normal beers to buy
Quiet XPA (8.5) is the one to start with: the launch beer, with what Heaps Normal calls a “tropical and citrus aroma” and “balanced bitterness”, at 17 kcal per 100ml. Half Day Hazy (8.4) is its “fruity hazy pale ale”, and Another Lager, not yet scored, is a “classic Aussie non-alcoholic lager” with 16 kcal and 0.8g of sugar per 100ml.
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Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender had sold out of Quiet XPA on its own when we checked, so its button goes to The Alcohol Free Co, which had it on its own; that’s an affiliate link.
How Heaps Normal compares
Like Mash Gang and Brulo, Heaps Normal is an alcohol-free-only brand that brews with a partner brewery rather than its own. Its beers sit in the middle for calories: Quiet XPA’s 17 kcal per 100ml is more than Drop Bear Yuzu Pale Ale (11) and less than Brulo Lust For Life (23). For the wider picture, see our guide to the best alcohol-free pale ales.
Is Heaps Normal worth buying?
Yes, if you want an award-winning pale ale or an easy lager: Quiet XPA has our highest Heaps Normal score and a World’s Best title, and all three beers are marked vegan. Two catches: despite the low-gluten label, none is gluten-free, and when we checked, Quiet XPA was sold out on its own at Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender, though both had it in mixed cases and The Alcohol Free Co had it on its own.