Kaiserdom “Lager Beer 0.0” review – alcohol-free (0%) lager

This is a 0% lager from Germany’s Kaiserdom brewery. Get tasting notes and info on stockists, calories, carbs, sugar and ingredients in this review.

Non-alcoholic beer has long been popular in Germany.

So as countries like the UK and US have experienced a non-alcoholic beer revolution in the last few years, Germans have probably wondered what all the fuss is about.

The number of Germans drinking non-alcoholic beer actually dropped slightly in 2021, to 10.3 million – down from 11.2 million in 2020. But that’s still about 1 in 8 of the population. And around 10% of beers on sale are likely to be non-alcoholic.

One of the reasons that NA beer is normalised in Germany is the country’s long history of production of low and no beer with brands like Clausthaler developing theirs in the 1970s.

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Another German brewery, Kaiserdom, first sold a non-alcoholic beer in 1982. Based in Bamberg in Bavaria, Kaiserdom was founded in 1718 and has been owned by the same family for more than 100 years.

The brewery focuses mainly on pilsner-style beers and serves the local and national market and exports around the world, with its beers particularly popular in China and Sweden.

“Lager Beer 0.0” is Kaiserdom’s flagship non-alcoholic beer.

Ingredients and how it’s made

As a German brewery, all of Kaiserdom’s beers contain only grain (barley malt), yeast, water and hops as per the Reinheitsgebot (beer purity law).

Kaiserdom invested in an on-site dealcoholisation plant in 2019, so this beer is likely brewed to full-strength with the alcohol removed after fermentation.

It’s suitable for vegans but not gluten free.

Calories, carbs and sugars

Lager Beer 0.0 has 22 calories per 100ml.

There are 4.8g of carbohydrates per 100ml, but only 0.4g of that is sugar.

Flavours, appearance and mouthfeel

Lager Beer 0.0 pours crystal clear, amber in colour.

There’s loads of fizz but this doesn’t result in much foam, with just a thin ring of foam on top once it settles.

The aroma is diverse, with each element complementing the other. A floral base supports lemon, honey, aniseed and sweet pilsner malt.

The mouthfeel has a syrupy, filmy character. The body is thin.

The bubbles are tight but gentle.

The taste is multi-dimensional like the aroma with a pilsner malt foundation, plus honey, aniseed and sweetcorn. But the flavours don’t work together as well in the taste.

Verdict

Lager Beer 0.0 is a bit of a disappointment seeing as it’s from a country with a long history of non-alcoholic lager.

The aroma is decent, but the mouthfeel, body and flavours on tasting let it down.

"Lager Beer 0.0" (0%) by Kaiserdom

6.6

Aroma

7.2/10

Mouthfeel

6.4/10

Flavour

6.3/10

Pros

• Good aroma
• Vegan friendly

Cons

• Disappointing mouthfeel and taste