Utopian

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Utopian Alcohol-Free Beers

Q: Where is Utopian Brewing?

At Clannaborough Business Units in Bow, near Crediton, in mid-Devon, in farm buildings on a working beef cattle farm, Good Beer Hunting reported in 2021.

Q: Who owns Utopian Brewing?

Utopian Brewing Limited, which raised £400,000 from about 200 investors in 2018, Good Beer Hunting reported. Richard Archer is managing director. We found no parent group, so we list it as independent.

Q: Does Utopian make an alcohol-free beer?

One: AF Pilsner, a 0.5% unfiltered lager, its first alcohol-free beer, launched in November 2024. UK government guidance, which is voluntary, keeps the term alcohol-free for 0.05% ABV or below, though many beers up to 0.5% are sold in the UK as alcohol-free. More in our 0.0% vs 0.5% guide.

Q: How is Utopian AF Pilsner made?

By brewing rather than by removing alcohol from finished beer, which Richard Archer said would have needed roughly £1m in capital. It’s “an authentic lager, fermented cold with bottom fermenting yeast”, head brewer Jeremy Swainson told Brewers Journal.

Q: How many calories are in Utopian AF Pilsner?

Utopian doesn’t publish a figure on its shop, and neither does Wise Bartender, so we don’t quote one.

Q: Where does the name Utopian come from?

From William Morris’s 1896 book News from Nowhere, Good Beer Hunting reported.

Q: Where can I buy Utopian AF Pilsner?

Wise Bartender had it at £2.40 on 1 November 2026, though its listing gave a best-before date of 19 October 2026, which had passed. Dry Drinker and The Alcohol Free Co don’t list it.

One Utopian beer in our directory: AF Pilsner, an unfiltered 0.5% lager from mid-Devon, launched in November 2024.

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Utopian Brewing is a lager brewery in farm buildings at Clannaborough, near Bow in mid-Devon, brewing with 100% British-grown ingredients, it says. Its only alcohol-free beer is AF Pilsner, a 0.5% unfiltered lager launched in November 2024 after a year in development.

Utopian Brewing at a glance

Company: Utopian Brewing Limited, Unit 4, Clannaborough Business Units, Bow, Crediton, Devon EX17 6DA
Founded: Planning began in 2016 (Good Beer Hunting); founded in 2017 and brewing from 2018 (London Drinker); first lager released in March 2019 (Visit Mid Devon)
Founders: Richard Archer, Steve Cox and Steve Hanlon, Good Beer Hunting reported
Today: Richard Archer, managing director; Jeremy Swainson, head brewer
Owner: Crowdfunded, with about 200 investors in 2018; no parent group found. Independent
Alcohol-free: AF Pilsner, 0.5%, launched on 8 November 2024
Where to buy: Wise Bartender lists it, but past its best-before date, so we don’t link it

Who are Utopian Brewing?

The brewery is at Unit 4, Clannaborough Business Units, Bow, near Crediton, its website says. Good Beer Hunting described it in 2021 as two large connected farm buildings on Clannaborough Barton, part of a working beef cattle farm in mid-Devon, previously used to process swedes. The name comes from William Morris’s 1896 book News from Nowhere, it reported.

The dates differ by source. Good Beer Hunting says planning began in 2016 and that the founders, Richard Archer, Steve Cox and Steve Hanlon, first planned a brewery at a pub in south-west London, which planners rejected, before moving to Devon. London Drinker, the CAMRA magazine, said in 2020 that it was founded in 2017, first looked for a site at Merton Abbey Mills and started brewing in 2018. Visit Mid Devon says its “first British Premium lager was released in March 2019”. The brewery’s own About page gives no founding date.

Its website lists Richard Archer as managing director, Jeremy Swainson as head brewer and Matt Peel as sales manager. Swainson, who trained in Germany and was earlier brewing manager at Camden Town’s Enfield site, Good Beer Hunting reported, joined the main board in December 2023, and Steve Cox stepped down as non-executive chairman in August 2022 “to take up CEO role in new venture”, the brewery’s news page says.

How Utopian Brewing brews

Its beers are “Naturally Brewed with 100% British grown ingredients”, with “just Water, Malt, Hops, Yeast and plenty of patience”, its About page says, and it brews in a traditional way with its own interpretations of classic styles, its home page says. It generates its own nitrogen, carbonates its beer naturally and avoids single-use plastics, it says. “Our mission is to celebrate British brewing and incredible lager”, its Visit Mid Devon listing says.

Good Beer Hunting counted three 35-hectolitre and three 70-hectolitre fermenters in 2021, with room to double; the equipment supplier Vigo described a 35-hectolitre brewery with a three-vessel brewhouse and 12 tanks in 2018. In 2023 it installed carbon dioxide capture and a wastewater plant, and its sales rose by over 20% in the first half, Brewers Journal reported. It began contract brewing for Yeastie Boys in 2020, Good Beer Hunting said. We found no figures for its yearly output or staff.

What Utopian Brewing brews

Lager, mostly. On 1 November 2026 its shop listed Goldings Pilsner, Vienna Keller Lager, Fest-Märzen 2026, Festbier 2026, Bohemian British Lager, British Lager, Unfiltered British Lager and Regenerator Doppelbock (7.5%), as well as AF Pilsner. Its news page also mentions Rainbock Maibock, a 3.4% Czech-inspired Small Pils and two IPAs, Heritage IPA and a cask Mystic IPA, and it has served Wondrous Isles Modern Pale Ale and British Pale Ale on cask at its pub, Brewers Journal reported.

Its news page lists its awards: a World Best Style award and three country golds at the 2023 World Beer Awards, for Rainbock Maibock; Best Drink Product at the Food Drink Devon Awards; a double gold at SIBA BeerX 2022; and a Guild of Beer Writers Brewer of the Year shortlisting for its head brewer in November 2020. We haven’t checked these with the organisers.

Ownership, size and venues

A 2018 crowdfunding round raised £400,000 from about 200 investors, Good Beer Hunting reported; Vigo said that July that the Crowdcube campaign had passed 84% of its target in 20 days, with over 111 investors. We found no parent group, so we list it as independent. It’s a SIBA member, it says.

In July 2024 it announced its first pub, the Tally Ho! in Hatherleigh, a 50:50 partnership with two individuals, and reactivated the pub’s brewery under Jeremy Swainson, Brewers Journal reported. In January 2025 it launched a crowdfunder for Arcadia, a bar and eatery in Northernhay Place, Exeter, planned to open on 6 March 2025 if the refurbishment wasn’t delayed, its news page said; we haven’t checked whether it opened on time.

Utopian Brewing’s alcohol-free beer

AF Pilsner launched on 8 November 2024, “Their First Alcohol Free Beer”, the brewery’s news page says, after a 12-month development programme. Removing the alcohol from finished beer would have needed roughly £1m in capital, Richard Archer said, so the team brewed it traditionally, and reworked the process to keep body and mouthfeel. “An authentic lager, fermented cold with bottom fermenting yeast”, Jeremy Swainson told Brewers Journal, and Archer said “the overarching principle was always that we weren’t willing to compromise our reputation for quality”.

Its shop lists it at 0.5% as an unfiltered pilsner made with British-grown barley and hops and lager yeast, in 440ml cans by the 6, 12 or 24; it also made a limited number of 20-litre kegs at launch. Its launch copy calls it crisp, clean and refreshing. Wise Bartender says it “boasts a smooth malt profile and a gentle hop finish”, and Beer Today’s reviewer found it hazy gold with lemon citrus, herbal notes and a biscuit malt base in November 2024. Neither the brewery nor Wise Bartender gives its calories.

How AF Pilsner compares

Beer	Brewer	Country	ABV	Per 100ml	Unhopped score
Utopian AF Pilsner	Utopian	UK	0.5%	Not published	Not yet rated
Lucky Saint Unfiltered Lager	Lucky Saint	UK	0.5%	16 kcal	8.7
Days Lager	Days Brewing	UK	0.0%	10 kcal	7.8
Jump Ship Yardarm Lager	Jump Ship Brewing	UK	<0.5%	22 kcal	8.1
Big Drop Reef Point Lager	Big Drop	UK	0.5%	4 kcal	7.9

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

The Utopian beer in our directory

Beer	Brewer	Country	ABV	Per 100ml	Unhopped score
Utopian AF Pilsner	Utopian	UK	0.5%	Not published	Not yet rated

Checked 1 November 2026. Utopian doesn’t publish its calories. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

Where to buy Utopian

On 1 November 2026 Wise Bartender listed AF Pilsner at £2.40, but its listing says “Best Before 19/10/2026 - Still tastes great”, a date that had passed, so we don’t link to it. Dry Drinker and The Alcohol Free Co don’t list Utopian, and we didn’t find it in UK supermarkets. For more, see our guide to the best alcohol-free lager.

Facts checked against Utopian Brewing’s own website, Good Beer Hunting, London Drinker (CAMRA), Visit Mid Devon, Vigo, Brewers Journal, Beer Today and Wise Bartender, 1 November 2026.

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Utopian Beers in Our Directory

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Utopian Brewing?

At Clannaborough Business Units in Bow, near Crediton, in mid-Devon, in farm buildings on a working beef cattle farm, Good Beer Hunting reported in 2021.

Who owns Utopian Brewing?

Utopian Brewing Limited, which raised £400,000 from about 200 investors in 2018, Good Beer Hunting reported. Richard Archer is managing director. We found no parent group, so we list it as independent.

Does Utopian make an alcohol-free beer?

One: AF Pilsner, a 0.5% unfiltered lager, its first alcohol-free beer, launched in November 2024. UK government guidance, which is voluntary, keeps the term alcohol-free for 0.05% ABV or below, though many beers up to 0.5% are sold in the UK as alcohol-free. More in our 0.0% vs 0.5% guide.

How is Utopian AF Pilsner made?

By brewing rather than by removing alcohol from finished beer, which Richard Archer said would have needed roughly £1m in capital. It’s “an authentic lager, fermented cold with bottom fermenting yeast”, head brewer Jeremy Swainson told Brewers Journal.

How many calories are in Utopian AF Pilsner?

Utopian doesn’t publish a figure on its shop, and neither does Wise Bartender, so we don’t quote one.

Where does the name Utopian come from?

From William Morris’s 1896 book News from Nowhere, Good Beer Hunting reported.

Where can I buy Utopian AF Pilsner?

Wise Bartender had it at £2.40 on 1 November 2026, though its listing gave a best-before date of 19 October 2026, which had passed. Dry Drinker and The Alcohol Free Co don’t list it.