Nittenauer Alcohol-Free Beers

Brauhaus Nittenau, the brewery behind Nittenauer beer, was first recorded in 1762 as a communal brewhouse in Nittenau, in Bavaria’s Upper Palatinate, it says, and free-beer.co.uk describes it as owned by the Jakob family. Its alcohol-free Le Chauffeur IPA won gold in the non-alcoholic ale category at the European Beer Star in 2019.

Who are Nittenauer?

The brewery says it was first mentioned as early as 1762, as a communal brewhouse, and that it brewed brown beer. A fire destroyed the building in 1779, and it was rebuilt in stone. From 1808 it was known as the brown communal brewhouse, and from 1815 it was owned by civic shareholders, it says.

In 1923 it passed to Sigmund Pirzer and Hans Jakob, and since 1996 it has operated as Brauhaus Nittenau Josef Jakob, the brewery says. BeerTasting says Josef Jakob, a diploma master brewer, has run it since 1996; the brewery’s own page says Sebastian Jakob joined in 2011, after an apprenticeship and studies as a diploma master brewer (Diplombraumeister), and has led the business since 2017. Free-beer.co.uk describes it as “owned by the Jakob family”. We found no drinks group involved, so we list it as independent.

Nittenau and the brewery

The old buildings were too small, so in 2006 the brewery built a new production building on the edge of Nittenau, at Wulkersdorferstraße 4, it says. Its own photovoltaic system covers 94% of its energy needs, BeerTasting reports (free-beer.co.uk says “up to 94%”), and BeerTasting gives its motto as “From the region - for the region”; we didn’t find either on the brewery’s own pages. The brewery is connected to the Brauereigasthof Jakob, a hotel and brewery inn, and its website mentions a brewery festival in 2024 and a folk festival (Volksfest) in 2025.

What Nittenauer brews

The brewery presents itself as having a Bavarian brewing tradition since 1762. It lists 18 beers, in categories for alcohol-free beers, creative beers, classics and cans. Its alcohol-free category has 19 products, boxes included, among them an alcohol-free Weißbier, Freie Liebe, the FUKU Reisbier (a rice beer), an alcohol-free Helles and the Bierfahrer Box. BeerTasting counts 45 Nittenauer beers, past ones included.

Its beers have won European Beer Star medals, on the organiser’s winners lists: Le Chauffeur gold in 2019 and silver in 2023, Stockenfelser Geisterbräu silver in 2019, Nittenauer Amanda bronze in 2020 and Saphirator silver in 2021. We found none in 2022, 2024 or 2025, and none for Lola Coffee Porter or The Wit.

Nittenauer’s alcohol-free beers

Le Chauffeur is its alcohol-free IPA, which the brewer describes as an alcohol-free beer with no compromises on taste. It gives 0.41% ABV (BeerTasting lists 0.38%), 8.2°P original gravity and 45 IBU, in 0.33 litres, brewed from water, barley malt, hops and yeast. BeerTasting describes an amber-copper beer with hop aromas of tropical fruit, citrus and a light floral note, and calls it one of the first non-alcoholic IPAs in Germany. The brewer calls it the winning beer of the European Beer Star 2019 in the non-alcoholic ale category, and the organiser’s 2019 winners list names Le Chauffeur, which we read as gold in that category.

Lola Coffee Porter, which the brewer calls Nittenauer Coffee Porter – alkoholfrei, is brewed with Arabica coffee; Pilsner, Karamell Palisander, Carafa Spezial types II and III and Special W malts; and Hallertauer Tradition and Spalter Select hops, at 0.38% ABV, 8.25°P, 40 IBU and 150 EBC, it says (free-beer.co.uk lists 0.34%). Free-beer.co.uk gives 32 kcal per 100ml, with 3.5g of sugars, and lists it as neither vegan nor gluten-free; the brewer publishes no nutrition figures. The Alcohol Free Co describes “deep espresso and dark chocolate notes” from roasted malts and freshly brewed coffee.

The Wit is its Belgian-style wheat beer: cloudy straw-yellow under a white head, with notes of orange, lemon and coriander, the brewer says. It gives 0.34% ABV, 7.3°P and 30 IBU, in 0.33 litres, from water, barley malt, hops, orange peel, yeast and coriander seeds; its malt list also names wheat malt, though its allergen line names only barley malt. BeerTasting lists it at 0.34% too, top-fermented, with Curaçao orange peel and crushed coriander seeds. We found no calorie figure for it.

Dry Drinker lists Lola and The Wit at 0.5%, and The Alcohol Free Co lists Lola at 0.5%; the brewer’s own figures are lower. Nittenauer’s other alcohol-free beers include Freie Liebe, an alcohol-free pale lager that BeerTasting lists at 0.34%, an alcohol-free Weißbier and Bierfahrer.

How Le Chauffeur compares

Alcohol-free IPAs and pale ales from German breweries in our directory, with the ABVs we list. Calories as published; checked 1 November 2026. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

The Nittenauer beers in our directory

Checked 1 November 2026. The calorie figure for Lola is from free-beer.co.uk. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

Where to buy Nittenauer

On 1 November 2026 The Alcohol Free Co had Lola Coffee Porter at £4.21 for one, £24.88 for six or £46.43 for 12, and Dry Drinker at £24.27 for six or £45.97 for 12 (affiliate links). Dry Drinker lists Le Chauffeur and The Wit, but both were sold out. Nittenauer’s own site lists The Wit at €2.50 plus a €0.10 deposit; we didn’t check whether it delivers to the UK. For more, see our guide to the best German alcohol-free beer.

Facts checked against Nittenauer’s own website, the European Beer Star winners lists, BeerTasting, free-beer.co.uk, The Alcohol Free Co and Dry Drinker, 1 November 2026.