Barbican Non-alcoholic Lemon Malt Drink
Summary
Drink – Barbican lemon
Type – non-alcoholic malt drink
Alcohol content – 0.0%
Rating– 70/100
Review – If you are looking for a refreshing a tasty drink for summer then Barbican’s non-alcoholic lemon malt drink is a great one to try out.
Barbican makes a number of non-alcoholic malt drinks and I picked up this lemon version at my local corner shop. Similar to Istak which I reviewed sometime back it is popular in the middle east where alcohol is not permitted.
Barbican is actually owned by the Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Company and distributed around North Africa and the Middle East areas making it one of the largest suppliers of non-alcoholic drinks in that region of the globe.
Barbican drinks are brewed in Dubai and created using a three-step process where barley malt is mashed helping to breakdown the starch, it is then lautered (solids removed) and finally, the extracted wort is boiled along with hops to give it its bittersweet taste.
Barbican has created a number of different fruit-flavoured malt-drinks (including pineapple, peach and pomegranate) but it’s their lemon malt drink I tasted today.
So is this going to be a taste sensation, perfect for the summer? Well, you’ll just need to read my review below to find out.
Are Barbican non-alcoholic drinks any good?
Taste
Similar to the Istak lemon drink Barcibcan’s non-alcoholic malt drink reminds me of a drinking a shandy ie lemony goodness with a subtle backdrop of bitter hops. This combo is always a winner imn my eyes and the perfect accompiament to a summer BBQ or Thai food. The sweetness level could do with coming down a notch but still a tasty beverage indeed.
Aroma & Appearance
Hops are the key aroma to note when you pop the lid but you also get quite a bit of citrus scents too. In the glass, it pours with a medium dark amber colour and don’t expect any forthy head here.
Bonus points
Barbican will appeal to quite a lot of drinkers given it has zero alcohol however I struggled to find out if it is suitable for vegans. Availability wise it’s best to buy it from Barbican’s store on Amazon or you could come across it by chance like me.
Key information
– per 100ml
Type – Lemon malt drink
Brewery – Aujan Group
Country – Dubai
Alcohol content – 0%
Calories – 32
Ingredients – Carbonated Water, Sugar, Malt Concentrate, Acidifier: E330, Colour: E150, Nature Identical Lemon Flavour, Antioxidant: E300● Hops
Vegan friendly? – unknown
Gluten-free? – no
Availability UK/ EU – hard
Availability US/ CAN – hard
“Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness.”
-Seneca, AD 50 BC
