Heineken 0.0 Review: The World’s Most Available NA Beer
Published May 2026 · 7-minute read · by Rich, founder of Unhopped
Heineken 0.0 is the most widely available alcohol-free beer in the world. Launched globally in 2017, it brought major-brand legitimacy to the NA category and made non-alcoholic beer a default option in thousands of UK pubs, restaurants, and supermarkets.
Who are Heineken?
Heineken was founded in 1864 in Amsterdam by Gerard Heineken, who bought a small brewery in the city centre and rebuilt it around what would become Heineken’s defining proprietary asset: the A-yeast strain still used in every Heineken beer brewed today. The company is now the world’s second-largest brewer, employing around 73,500 people and operating more than 165 breweries in over 70 countries. Its portfolio includes more than 250 international, regional, local, and specialty beer and cider brands — many of which (including Birra Moretti and Beavertown) are familiar UK names.
Heineken 0.0 launched on 12 May 2017 at a press event in Amsterdam, with a major launch platform at the Spanish Grand Prix two days later. It was Heineken’s first proper attempt at an alcohol-free version of the flagship brand — an earlier AF beer, Buckler, was a separate product positioned differently. Initially launched in 14 markets, Heineken 0.0 is now available in 110 countries globally and is the most widely-distributed alcohol-free beer in the world.
What makes Heineken 0.0 different
Global availability is the main feature
No other alcohol-free beer is more widely distributed. UK supermarkets stock it as a category default; pub chains, restaurants, cinemas, airports, motorway services — Heineken 0.0 is everywhere. For drinkers ordering an alcohol-free option in unfamiliar venues, that ubiquity is the value proposition: you know what you’re getting, and you know it’ll be there.
A different brewing approach to most craft AF
Heineken 0.0 is double brewed — two separate brews made and then blended together — using the same core ingredients as Heineken Original (water, barley malt, hop extracts, A-yeast). The alcohol is removed by vacuum distillation at low pressure and temperature, preserving aromatics. Natural flavourings are then added back. Heineken’s global craft and brew master Willem van Waesberghe has said publicly that the two component brews aren’t great on their own — the magic is in the blend.
Lower-calorie than most competitors
69 calories per 33cl bottle. That’s notably lower than most alcohol-free competitors and roughly half the calories of full-strength Heineken Original. The 1.3g sugar per 100ml is higher than craft AF beers like Lucky Saint (0.1g) but lower than several other mainstream NA beers. For drinkers who care about the calorie count, Heineken 0.0 is one of the more efficient mainstream options.
Heineken 0.0: the beer itself
Pours pale gold with a white head that doesn’t hold for long. The aroma is recognisably Heineken — fresh, lightly fruity, malt forward, with the same yeast character that defines the full-strength version. On the palate, a clean lager profile with a slight syrupy edge that gives the alcohol-free origin away. Balanced rather than dramatic. Cereal undertones and a hint of fruity ester. Lacing on the glass is decent.
Compared with the full-strength 5% Heineken Original, the 0.0 is sweeter and a touch less crisp. That’s the trade-off inherent in modern dealcoholisation: residual malt sugars that in the alcoholic version would’ve been fermented to alcohol have to go somewhere. Heineken’s engineering of the beer is good enough that most casual drinkers won’t notice. Hardened Heineken drinkers will, but the gap is smaller than in most heritage AF lagers.
How Heineken 0.0 compares
Among mainstream alcohol-free lagers, Heineken 0.0 is the baseline. It’s the beer other AFs are measured against — not because it’s the best, but because it’s the most common. Birra Moretti Zero (also Heineken-owned) is its closest stylistic relative; Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% and Corona Cero compete on the same shelf.
For a craft alternative with more body and character, Lucky Saint Unfiltered Lager is the obvious step up — we’ve compared the two directly in Lucky Saint vs Heineken 0.0. For 0.0% (genuinely zero) lager rather than 0.5%, Heineken 0.0 is one of the cleanest options.
Is Heineken 0.0 worth drinking?
For mainstream lager drinkers, yes — this is the easiest AF recommendation in the UK. Reliable, widely-available, consistent, low-calorie, properly engineered. If you order an alcohol-free beer in any unfamiliar pub, Heineken 0.0 is almost certainly going to be there, and it’s almost certainly going to taste the same as the last one you had.
For drinkers seeking more body, craft character, or distinctive flavour, Heineken 0.0 isn’t where to spend most of your time. It’s a clean, functional mainstream lager without alcohol — not a craft AF expression. That’s the entire point of the product, and it does that job better than almost anyone.
Buy Heineken 0.0
Heads up: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend beers we’d actually drink ourselves, and rankings are never influenced by commission. Read our full disclosure.
