St Austell Brewery Alcohol-Free Beers

St Austell Brewery was founded in 1851 by Walter Hicks in the Cornish town it’s named after, and it calls itself “Still independent and family-owned.” Its first low-alcohol beer, Proper Job 0.5%, went on sale in October 2024.

Who are St Austell Brewery?

Walter Hicks founded the business in 1851, Voice Newspapers and English Wikipedia say, and it marks 175 years in 2026. He started as a wine merchant and maltster, the brewery says; “In 1863 he took on the Seven Stars Inn on East Hill, St Austell, where he first developed his interest in brewing”, and in 1893 the business moved to Trevarthian Road, “where the brewery is still based”. His daughter Hester Parnall later took over the business and grew the hospitality side, it says.

It calls itself “the South West’s leading brewer, pub operator and drinks wholesaler” and says it is “Still independent and family-owned.” We found no larger group involved, so we list it as independent. Kevin Georgel is chief executive and Georgina Young brewing director, the Morning Advertiser and Voice Newspapers report.

How big is St Austell?

Voice Newspapers reported in 2026 that it employs more than 2,000 people and runs “over 160 pubs and inns across the South West”, with two breweries, at St Austell and near Bath, six distribution centres and a majority stake in Harbour Brewing Company of Bodmin. It bought Bath Ales in 2016, the brewery says.

What St Austell brews

Tribute is its flagship. The brewery says it reimagined its Daylight Robbery as Tribute in 2001, two years after Roger Ryman became head brewer; English Wikipedia says Tribute was launched to mark the 1999 eclipse. Korev lager was launched in 2010, the Morning Advertiser reports, and the range also includes Mena Dhu.

Proper Job was first brewed in 2004 for the brewery’s beer festival, to a recipe by Roger Ryman inspired by BridgePort IPA, the beer magazine Pellicle reports; it started at 5.5%, and dropped to 4.5% the next year. St Austell now lists it at 5.5% in bottle and can and 4.5% on cask and keg, hopped with Willamette, Cascade and Chinook on Maris Otter pale malt. It was rebranded in March 2024 with no change to the recipe, the Morning Advertiser reported, and Pellicle reports that it won Champion Bottled Beer of Britain at CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival in August 2025; we didn’t check CAMRA’s own results.

Proper Job 0.5%

Proper Job 0.5% is St Austell’s first low-alcohol beer and its first new category since Korev in 2010, the Morning Advertiser reported; it went on sale to pubs in 500ml bottles on 10 October 2024. “There’s been a significant increase in demand over the past five years”, Georgina Young said.

“Masterfully brewed with the same heartfelt craft, Proper Job 0.5% uses a special yeast”, St Austell says, after more than two years of development and taste testing; “we took time to evolve a brewing method that would create a naturally authentic IPA”, Young said. The brewery doesn’t say whether any alcohol is removed after brewing.

440ml cans followed in spring 2025: the brewery’s blog dates them to 31 March, and the Morning Advertiser to May. In July 2026 St Austell said Proper Job 0.5% had become “the UK’s number one no and low ale brand in the total off-trade” in under two years, citing NielsenIQ figures for the eight weeks to 13 June 2026.

St Austell Proper Job IPA is our page for it. St Austell describes Cascade and Chinook hops “balanced by a smooth, malty sweetness”, with “Bright, zingy notes of pineapple and grapefruit”. It’s hopped with Cascade, Chinook and Willamette on Maris Otter pale malt, contains barley and wheat, and is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, the brewery says. It gives 22 kcal per 100ml (Alcohol Change UK says 21). The Alcohol Free Co and Dry Drinker describe it as golden amber with bold citrus, tropical fruit and pine, and a firm bitterness over a smooth malt body. We haven’t scored it yet.

St Austell says Proper Job 0.5% won silver at the World Alcohol-Free Awards 2025, and gold in the beer category at the Taste of the West awards in 2025. We couldn’t confirm either on the organisers’ sites.

How Proper Job 0.5% compares

Alcohol-free IPAs from UK breweries in our directory. Calories as published; checked 1 November 2026. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

The St Austell beer in our directory

Checked 1 November 2026. The calorie figure is St Austell’s own. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

Where to buy St Austell

On 1 November 2026 The Alcohol Free Co had Proper Job 0.5% at £3.82 a bottle or £21.83 for six, Dry Drinker at £22.26 for six, and Wise Bartender at £2.70 for a 500ml bottle; those are affiliate links. For more, see our guide to the best alcohol-free IPA in the UK.

Facts checked against St Austell Brewery’s own website and blog, Voice Newspapers, the Morning Advertiser, Pellicle, The Brewers Journal, The Post, English Wikipedia, Alcohol Change UK, The Alcohol Free Co, Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender, 1 November 2026.