Cloudwater Alcohol-Free Beers

Cloudwater is an independent Manchester brewery, founded in 2014, which brewed its first beers on 14 February 2015. It has made alcohol-free beer since at least 2021, and today sells five, all 0.5%; we list four of them: a lager, a stout, a sour and a limited hazy IPA.

Who are Cloudwater?

Paul Jones and James Campbell set Cloudwater up in 2014. Jones had no previous brewing-industry experience and Campbell had been head brewer at Marble, according to Wikipedia. It brewed its first beers on 14 February 2015, it says, and today brews at Piccadilly Trading Estate in Manchester. It started on a 20 US-barrel brewhouse imported from the US and at first kept no core range, brewing seasonally around the hops and malts available, Wikipedia says. Campbell left in September 2018.

Companies House lists Paul Jones as its only director and as owning 75% or more; the Morning Advertiser and the British Guild of Beer Writers have called him its managing director. Cloudwater calls itself “an independent brewery”, and no drinks group is involved.

In February 2017 the Morning Advertiser reported that RateBeer had named it “the best English brewery” and “fifth best brewery in the world”, and Wikipedia says it came second in RateBeer’s 2017 awards, held in 2018, behind Hill Farmstead. It stopped brewing cask beer in January 2017 and came back to it in October 2018, was among the first UK breweries to move to 440ml cans, and had released more than 1,000 beers by April 2022, according to Wikipedia.

How long has Cloudwater made alcohol-free beer?

Since at least 2021. The earliest Cloudwater alcohol-free beer we found is Free Your Mind, an alcohol-free IPA dry-hopped with Talus, made with Good Karma Beer Co for Tesco’s “Beer With Big Ideas” four-pack, which went into 470 Tesco stores from 19 April 2021 at £10, the British Guild of Beer Writers reported. The other three beers were 6% IPAs brewed with Eko Brewery, Queer Brewing and Rock Leopard. Tesco’s headline called it the “First ever beer 4-pack including an alcohol-free option to be launched across the UK”. Free Your Mind’s strength wasn’t given.

The Cloudwater beers for Tesco were brewed by BrewDog at Ellon, to Cloudwater’s recipes; Jones told the Guild “our brewery is already maxed out servicing the independent trade”. Cloudwater ended that agreement early and would in time stop selling through Tesco, Wikipedia says, citing the Manchester Evening News in January 2022.

It has also made one-off 0.5% beers, which the shop Beergonzo lists: Chubbles AF, an alcohol-free triple IPA; Red AF, “bursting with jammy red fruits and dark cherry”; an AF Pink Grapefruit Radler; and an AF Negroni Sour made with Rainy Heart Mcr. We couldn’t find when they came out.

Cloudwater’s alcohol-free beers today

Fresh, an alcohol-free hazy IPA, is the only one tagged “Core Range”, and its listing on Cloudwater’s shop dates from September 2023. The brewer says it “perfectly translates the juicy, tropical hop profiles of our full-strength New England IPAs without feeling watered down”. It isn’t in our directory yet. The limited Fresh: Mosaic Edition “dials up the tropical vibes with a burst of Mosaic”; first released in 2025, it’s “Back for 2026”.

Three more arrived in 2026. Lo is “our first ever AF/Low-alcohol 0.5% ABV lager”, with Hallertau Blanc hops added in the whirlpool for “notes of elderflower and white grape”. Tasty AF, on Cloudwater’s shop from August, is a cherry and hibiscus sour that “pulls inspiration from our Barrel Project”, with “lightly spiced vanilla, ginger, pepper and lemon zest”. Freska, from October, is “our first ever alcohol free stout”, a take on its Green Lane Stout, with “notes of subtle cocoa powder and espresso sweetness”.

All come in 440ml cans. Cloudwater labels the four in our directory vegan, and Freska and Tasty AF lactose-free. Lo carries the brewer’s gluten-free claim, though its page also lists barley as an allergen; the other three contain barley, oats and wheat. Cloudwater doesn’t say how it makes its alcohol-free beers or publish their calories. It also sells a mixed 12-pack of them and The Lowdown, an alcohol-free beer subscription.

We found no named award for any of its alcohol-free beers. In June 2026 Cloudwater asked readers to vote for Fresh in the We Are Beer Top 50 UK Beers 2026; we didn’t find the result.

How Freska compares

Alcohol-free stouts from UK brewers in our directory. Calories as published; Cloudwater doesn’t publish them. Checked 31 October 2026. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

The Cloudwater beers in our directory

Checked October 2026. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

Where to buy Cloudwater

On 29 October 2026 The Alcohol Free Co had Lo, Tasty AF and single cans of the Mosaic edition, and Dry Drinker had Lo and Tasty AF; those are affiliate links. Freska was sold out at both. Cloudwater’s own shop had all four and was cheaper, with six cans for £20.50 to £21.80. Wise Bartender doesn’t sell Cloudwater. Cloudwater says its beer is “available on the shelves and taps of independent bottle shops and bars across the country”; we didn’t check the supermarkets. For more, see our guide to the best UK craft alcohol-free breweries.

Facts checked against Cloudwater’s own website and blog, Companies House, the Morning Advertiser, the British Guild of Beer Writers, Tesco PLC, Wikipedia, Beergonzo, The Alcohol Free Co, Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender, 31 October 2026.