Days Brewing “Pale Ale” review – alcohol-free (0%) pale ale†

This 0% pale ale is from Scotland’s Days Brewing. Get tasting notes and info on ingredients, calories, carbs, sugar and stockists in this review.

The popularity and availability of alcohol-free beer has rocketed in recent years, with sales expected to grow 85% in the period from 2016 to 2024.

Interestingly, it hasn’t just been the big brewing corps that have driven the non-alcoholic revolution. Enabled by the trend for consumers to seek out smaller and independent companies, it’s new, often specialist, low and no alcohol brewers that have fuelled the sector.

In many cases, the people behind these brands haven’t come from a brewing background. Instead, armed with the vision to create great non-alcoholic beer, they’ve enlisted expert help or simply just learnt to do it themselves.

Days Brewing’s founders went down the latter route, formulating their completely alcohol-free beers with an expert brewer. But they’re in no way rookies – their shared experience includes stints with the innovation unit of global brewing corp AB-Inbev and popcorn brand, Propercorn.

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This “Pale Ale” (0%) is one of the two completely alcohol-free beers Days produces, alongside “Lager“. The brewery donates 2% of all sales to mental health charities.

Ingredients and how it’s made

Both of Days’ non-alcoholic beers are suitable for vegans.

The ingredients in this one are water, malted barley, hop extracts and natural flavouring. It’s made by a process that doesn’t produce any alcohol at all, so nothing is removed.

The hop varieties featured are CTZ (Columbus, Tomahawk and Zeus), Magnum and Herkules.

Pale Ale isn’t gluten free.

Calories, carbs and sugar

Pale Ale contains 21 calories per 100ml.

There’s 4.5g of carbs, of which 2.3g is sugar. So it’s pretty low in sugar.

Flavours, appearance and mouthfeel

Pale Ale pours a tawny colour, with a small off-white head of foam.

The hops give the aroma a pungent, resinous hit, which is joined by brown bread, honey and caramel.

The mouthfeel has a syrupy quality that gives it a medium body. The carbonation is gentle, with small bubbles.

The taste builds on the aroma by adding a few more flavours. Brown bread, honey, caramel and resin tones from the aroma are joined by a little pepper, lemon and pine.

There’s a slight unfermented character about the aftertaste, and a dry finish. The bitterness from the hops fails to overpower the sense thanks to a pinch of balancing sweetness.

Verdict

Pale Ale is a decent enough beer and an especially commendable effort when you consider the brewing process never involves the production of alcohol.

However, I found it a little over-hopped for my taste buds and nose, without enough fruity flavours to counteract the more savoury flavours provided by the grains.

"Pale Ale" (0%) by Days Brewing

6.6

Aroma

6.3/10

Mouthfeel

7.1/10

Flavour

6.5/10

Pros

• Suitable for vegans

Cons

• Strong hop flavours