Lucky Saint vs Heineken 0.0: Which Alcohol-Free Lager Wins?
Published May 2026, updated October 2026 · 6-minute read · by Rich, founder of Unhopped
These are two of the alcohol-free lagers you're most likely to be offered in a UK pub: Lucky Saint was on draught in over 1,000 pubs by January 2024, and Heineken UK said Heineken 0.0 was on tap in about 1,700 by November 2025. Both have broad supermarket distribution. Both are recognisable on a beer menu. But they're very different beers, with different ABVs, different brewing approaches, and different ideas about what an alcohol-free lager should taste like.
The basic distinction
Lucky Saint is a UK alcohol-free brand founded in 2018 by Luke Boase. Their flagship Unfiltered Lager is brewed in Bavaria like a full-strength lager, then has the alcohol removed by vacuum distillation.
Heineken 0.0 is the alcohol-free version of Heineken, launched in 2017. Heineken says it's brewed twice with its A-yeast, then the alcohol is removed by vacuum distillation and natural flavourings are blended in. It's labelled 0.0%, and the UK label says it contains less than 0.05% ABV.
| Lucky Saint Unfiltered Lager | Heineken 0.0 | |
|---|---|---|
| ABV | 0.5% | 0.0% (under 0.05%, the UK label says) |
| Calories per 330ml | ~53 kcal (16 kcal/100ml) | ~69 kcal (21 kcal/100ml) |
| Brewing process | Brewed, then vacuum distillation | Brewed twice, then vacuum distillation and natural flavourings |
| Brewery location | Bavaria, Germany | The Netherlands, for the UK (the label says) |
| Filtration | Unfiltered (hazy) | Clear |
| Vegan | Yes | Yes |
| Gluten-free | No (Pilsner malt) | No (barley malt) |
| UK supermarkets | Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Ocado, Morrisons | Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Ocado |
| UK draught | Over 1,000 pubs by January 2024, and its own pub in Marylebone | About 1,700 pubs (Heineken UK, November 2025) |
| Price (4-pack 330ml) | ~£6 typical (Tesco £4.75 with Clubcard) | £6 for four bottles at Tesco; six cans £4.50 to £5 |
How they actually taste
Lucky Saint — fuller, breadier, characterful
Lucky Saint pours hazy pale gold with a steady white head. The unfiltered character is visible — a soft cloudiness rather than the bright clarity of a typical pilsner. Aroma is bread-crust malt, a touch of honey, a faint herbal-floral noble hop note in the background. It's clean — no wort-like or honey-syrup aromas that give away weaker AF lagers.
On the palate, Lucky Saint is full-bodied for a 0.5% beer. Bready malt up front, moderate bitterness through the middle, finishing dry with a subtle hop-derived spice. The mouthfeel is genuinely satisfying rather than thin or watery, which is the failure mode for most alcohol-free lagers. This is Bavarian Kellerbier territory — closer to a German village pub pint than to mass-market lager.
Heineken 0.0 — lighter, crisper, mainstream
Heineken 0.0 pours pale straw, brilliantly clear, with a quick-dropping white head. Aroma is light malt with a grain-husk character — recognisably Heineken in profile, just less intense than the full-strength version.
On the palate, Heineken 0.0 is light-bodied with gentle malt sweetness up front, mild hop bitterness in the middle, and a clean short finish. Body is the giveaway — Heineken 0.0 is thinner than the full-strength version because much of the body in regular Heineken comes from alcohol itself. Drink it well-chilled; warmer than fridge-cold, the gap to full-strength becomes more obvious.
0.0% vs 0.5%: what the labels mean
This is the most common practical question. Heineken 0.0 is labelled 0.0%, and its UK label says it contains less than 0.05% ABV; Lucky Saint is 0.5% ABV. UK government guidance, which is voluntary, keeps the term alcohol-free for 0.05% or below, though many 0.5% beers, Lucky Saint included, are sold in the UK as alcohol-free.
For more context on what these labels mean, see our 0.0% vs 0.5% explainer.
Calories compared
Heineken 0.0 is 21 kcal per 100ml, working out at about 69 kcal per 330ml bottle. Lucky Saint is 16 kcal per 100ml, or about 53 kcal per 330ml — about 23% lower than Heineken 0.0 on absolute calories per bottle, despite Lucky Saint having a fuller body.
Body and calories don't always go together. Heineken gives 4.8g of carbohydrate per 100ml for Heineken 0.0, including 1.3g of sugars, and adds natural flavourings after removing the alcohol. For specific comparisons across more beers, run the numbers in our calorie calculator.
Where each one wins
How they compare against the wider AF lager category
Lucky Saint sits at the top of the UK AF lager rankings — comfortably ahead of supermarket own-brand AF lagers, and in regular conversation with the highest-rated craft AF beers. Lucky Saint won the Which? 2025 blind taste test.
Heineken calls Heineken 0.0 the No. 1 non-alcoholic beer brand in the world, but in pure flavour terms it sits in the middle of the category — better than budget supermarket options, behind dedicated craft AF brands. Its genuine advantage is availability, not flavour expression. For a fuller picture, see our alcohol-free lager hub.
Beers to explore
If this comparison helps, here are the two beers featured plus a couple more to consider in the same category:
More on lager. How it’s brewed, where it came from and every type: what is lager? The real difference from ale: lager vs ale. Pils, helles and the rest: what is pilsner, and how it differs from lager. Munich’s pale lager: what is helles? Cologne’s top-fermented hybrid: what is Kölsch? And the nineteen we rank, with prices: the best alcohol-free lagers.