UNLTD Alcohol-Free Beers

UNLTD is a British alcohol-free beer brand, launched in June 2020 by Johnny and Antonia Johnson. It makes two beers, a lager and an IPA, both 0.5% ABV, which it says are brewed to strength in West Sussex without removing any alcohol. We’ve tasted and reviewed both.

Who are UNLTD?

In summer 2019 Johnny Johnson took three months off drinking. As he told us in our interview, the one thing he missed was a cold beer at the end of the day, and none of the alcohol-free beers he tried was one he’d have chosen over a beer. He registered the company in September 2019 (as The Alcohol Free Beer Company; it took its current name that November), and UNLTD launched in June 2020, when every pub in the country was shut. UNLTD says it started “from a kitchen in Hertfordshire”, and it names Johnny and Antonia Johnson as its co-founders.

The name is short for unlimited, Johnny told us: the idea is what you get back rather than what you give up, hence the tagline “Unlock your UNLTD.” The brand writes its name with a full stop, which we leave off in running text.

The company is based in Hertford. It raised money through two Seedrs crowdfunding rounds: £408,540 from 87 investors in January 2022, and £278,703 from 145 investors in June 2023. Companies House lists John (Johnny) Johnson as holding 25% to 50% of the shares, and since September 2025 Valor Invest Ltd, a company registered in Malta, has held 25% to 50% of the voting rights. UNLTD calls itself independently owned, and we found no drinks group among its owners, so it keeps our Independent badge.

How UNLTD brews to 0.5%

UNLTD says its beer is “brewed to strength in West Sussex”, using “a controlled fermentation process that finishes naturally at 0.5% ABV”. The beer is never brewed to full strength, so no alcohol has to be taken out: “Brewed, not stripped”, as UNLTD puts it. It doesn’t name the brewery, describing it as independent and family-owned.

Johnny told us this is the harder route, because “you can’t rescue a batch at the end”, but that when you strip alcohol out of a finished beer “you take a lot of the aroma and body with it”. That’s UNLTD’s view: plenty of good alcohol-free beers are de-alcoholised. Our guide to how alcohol-free beer is made explains both methods.

The UNLTD range

There are two beers. UNLTD Lager came first, in 2020; UNLTD describes light citrus, a hint of honey and caramel and a subtle bitterness. UNLTD IPA followed in 2021, with citrus and tropical fruit aromas and a balanced bitterness, UNLTD says. Neither label names the hops.

Both are 0.5% ABV and marked vegan and gluten-free (under 20ppm) on the can, although they’re brewed with barley and wheat. Both come in 330ml cans, 330ml bottles and 568ml pint cans. The cans contain potassium sorbate, a preservative; UNLTD says the bottles don’t. UNLTD also sells a mixed case of the two beers and a gift set.

Johnny told us the pint can was “the single best decision we’ve made”: most people ordering an alcohol-free beer in a pub, he said, are worried about “being the person holding the little bottle while everyone else has a pint”, and that a 568ml can “lands on the bar and looks like everyone else’s drink”.

The UNLTD beers in our directory

Both 0.5% ABV. Nutrition from the 568ml cans, checked October 2026. We’ve reviewed both but haven’t scored them out of 10 yet.

What we thought

We liked both. The Lager poured pale gold and very clear, and was crisp and malt-forward with a hint of oolong tea; we’ll be getting more. The IPA was light but genuinely hoppy, and on taste alone we couldn’t tell it from a full-strength IPA. At 4 kcal per 100ml it’s also the lowest-calorie IPA in our calorie calculator.

Awards and B Corp

UNLTD says it has won 15 industry awards. The one we could confirm is a bronze for UNLTD IPA at the 2023 World Alcohol-Free Awards.

B Lab lists The Alcohol Free Brewing Company as a certified B Corporation since January 2024, with an assessment score of 90.7. Johnny told us he wanted to build it in while the company was small, because “the version where you get big first and worry about it later never actually arrives”.

Where you’ll find UNLTD

UNLTD has concentrated on pubs, bars and restaurants rather than supermarkets, and we didn’t find it in any supermarket. Johnny told us McMullen’s put the pint can into its pubs, and mentioned Gaucho and the Eurostar lounges; Drake & Morgan announced a listing in 2023.

Where to buy UNLTD

UNLTD’s own shop sells both beers in cases of 12, 24 and 48: £25 for 12 330ml cans or bottles, and £35 for 12 pint cans, when we checked in October 2026. Delivery is free to mainland UK on orders of £30 or more, and £6 below that. UNLTD offers 20% off a first order to people who sign up, and up to 15% off on a subscription. Wise Bartender had single pint cans of the Lager and the IPA at £4.30. Dry Drinker lists the 330ml bottles but was sold out. The Wise Bartender link is an affiliate link.

Read the UNLTD story and our interview with Johnny Johnson, or compare UNLTD with the best alcohol-free lagers and the lowest-calorie alcohol-free beers.

Facts checked against UNLTD’s cans and website, Companies House, B Lab, Seedrs, Alcohol Change UK, the World Alcohol-Free Awards, Drake & Morgan, Wise Bartender and Dry Drinker, October 2026.