Flying Colours Pale Ale
Flying Colours is a great alcohol-free pale ale from Edinburgh-based brewers – Jump Ship brewing.
The brewery was set up by Sonja and Pete, keen sailors, who “no longer wanted the alcohol or fuzzy head next day”. Since their creation, they have gone on to produce a number of non-alcoholic beers including an IPA, lager, stout, and the pale ale I tasted today.
Jump Ship use only the finest ingredients – malts and grains, hops, yeast and water to produce their beers. Unlike other brewers (who strip out the alcohol once the beer has been made) Jump Ship creates beers that have a naturally low alcohol- volume (c. 0.5% ABV) which leads to a crisp and full-bodied beer.
The question is, is it full-steam ahead or a beer that should be laid to rest in Davy Crockets Jones’s locker? Well, you’ll just need to read below to find out.
Is Flying Colours any good?
Taste
This is a pretty tasty pale ale. Flying Colours has all the characteristics I would expect from this type of beer – there’s the background earthy sweetness of the roasted malt which contrasts refreshingly with the lighter and crisper citrus and hops flavours. If you are looking for a well-balanced, full-bodied alcohol-free ale you can’t go wrong with this.
Aroma & Appearance
Malty notes certainly dominate the aromas when Flying Colours is poured into the glass. As you can see the ale has a dark caramel look to it, the head however is a little disappointing. .
Bonus points
There are a few areas to pick out for Jump Ship’s Flying Colours. Firstly I really like the graphics that have a nautical theme (each alcohol-free beer has its own coded graphic design). Secondly, this ale is suitable for both gluten-free and vegan drinkers. Finally, Jump Ship is committed to give at least 10% of our profits to charity which is great to see.
Buy Flying Colours
At the time of writing, your best bet is to buy this ale from a specialist or from Jump Ship’s site itself.
The Dry Drinker is a great allrounder when it comes to alcohol-free drinks with a great range of wines, beers and spirits.
COST (at time of publication) – 8 cans for £22


Key information
– per 330ml
Type – Pale ale
Brewery – Jump Ship
Country – UK
Alcohol content – 0.5%
Calories – 56
Ingredients – water, barley, wheat, maltodextrin, hops, yeast, lime
Vegan friendly? – yes
Gluten-free? – yes
Availability UK/ EU – easy/medium
Availability US/ CAN – hard

“Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness.”
-Seneca, AD 50 BC