Alcohol-free Doom Bar
DRINK SUMMARY
Name – Doom Bar Zero
Type – non-alcoholic ale
Alcohol content – 0.05%
MyDryBar Rating– 50/100
Drink review – To be honest there are certainly better alcohol-free ales out there that score a lot more points than Doom Bar Zero. The issue with this drink is that it lacked body (especially when compared to the alcoholic version).
Doom Bar Zero is the alcoholic version of the popular amber ale Doom Bar (brewed by Sharps Brewery). The name itself comes from the infamous Doom Bar sandbank that lies at the mouth of the Camel Estuary in Cornwall; notorious for its tricky navigation.
Given its popularity, it wasn’t really a surprise to see that Doom Bar came out with an alcohol-free version to cater for those preferring a more sober life.
Doom Bar remove the alcohol after brewing leaving a beer that is less than 0.05% ABV containing the usual ingredients of water, barley malt, hops plus ascorbic acid and added sugar.
So was this alcohol-free bar ‘Doom’ and gloom or wonder to behold? Well, you’ll just need to read my review below to find out.
Is Doom Bar Zero any good?
Taste
It isn’t great, to be honest, it has a very thin feel in the mouth with too much carbonation. You do get a background of sweet malt but not much else. It’s like someone has added a small dose of full-fat Doom Bar to a bottle of soda stream fizzy water. What’s more, there was an odd ‘organic’ aftertaste that I couldn’t quite put my finger on and was quite unpleasant. Overall a pretty poor show from such as reputable brewer.
Aroma & Appearance
Doom Bar Zero did have the appearance of an alcoholic Doom Bar when poured into the glass with its dark amber look. There was even a fairly decent head on the beer which was a bonus. On the nose, you certainly get sweet malt aromas similar to the taste.
Bonus points
This is one of the lowest-calorie alcohol-free ales at just 13 Kcals per 100ml. It is also vegan friendly but not gluten-free. Availability wise you can find this beer in most supermarkets and stocked by a number of online specialists.
Buy Doom Bar Zero
At the time of writing, you can purchase this alcohol-free ale from supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s but also from the following specialists …
The Alcohol Free Co has one of the best collections of non-alcoholic drinks online. From wine and beer through to spirits, ciders and CBD I am sure you’ll find what you’re looking for here.
COST (at time of publication) – £2.49
Key information
per 500 ml serving
Type – ale
Brewery – Sharps Brewery
Country – UK
Alcohol content – 0.05%
Calories – 65
Ingredients – water, barley, oats, hops, hop extract, ascorbic acid, natural flavours, sugar
Vegan friendly? – yes
Gluten-free? – no
Availability UK/EU – medium
Availability US/ CAN – hard
Comparing alcoholic Doom Bar vs the non-alcoholic version
Sometimes you get very similar contests where the alcohol-free version stacks up well in taste and smell to the alcoholic version. In Doom Bars’ case however, the alcoholic version is a lot more enjoyable. As mentioned above this Zero version just lacks any body and is too sweet and fizzy compared to the classic Cornish ale. Yes, granted the alcoholic version of Doom Bar is over 4% ABV but that isn’t really an excuse not to be able to try hard and replicate that experience; especially when the likes of Guinness has created a fantastic AF beer.
