I have been on the hunt for the best non-alcoholic pale ale & have compared 16 different Pale Ale (including IPA & XPA) options side by side for the things that really matter – what they taste like and their body & mouthfeel. Check out the table below with a quick rating and then read on for more detail on what’s in each beer!
The best Non-Alcoholic Pale Ale on the market is, for most people, going to be the Vandestreek Playground IPA due to its well-weighted body, malty base & bright hop profile. Crafted with mostly Mosaic and Cascade hops it has a strong bitter finish that outperforms most alcoholic Indian Pale Ale options for taste.
The Best Australian Non-Alcoholic Pale Ale available will, for most people, be the Bridge Road Free Time Pale Ale. This is due to its complex flavour profile built on a malty backbone, bright fruity and fresh body that is built on citrus and pine-based freshness before being finished with a balancing bitterness.
The best All-Round Alcohol Free Pale Ale is the Big Drop Brewing Pale Ale is a beer that has it all, bright and vibrant citrus-based hops, a malty base and a level of bitterness that will leave you savouring the flavours before wanting to take another sip. The body is a little lighter than the Vandestreek, however, the price is considerably lower too which makes this an ‘all things considered’ best all-round option!
If you are after a pale ale with lighter body or a deeper level of traditional malt, take a look at the taste and aroma profiles below and click the beer name to go straight to that beer further down in the post – Simples!
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Beer |
Key Takeaways |
My Score |
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Malt + Citrus + Bitter |
10 |
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Fruity + Bitter + Malty |
9.5 |
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Fruity + Bitter |
9.5 |
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Malty + Bitter |
8.5 |
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Malty + Bitter |
8.5 |
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Mid-body + Citrus |
8.5 |
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Malty + Bitter |
8.5 |
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Weighted + Malty |
8.5 |
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Citrus + Fruity |
8.5 |
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Bright + Bitter |
8.5 |
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Light + Floral |
7.75 |
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Light + Floral |
7 |
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Light + Fruity |
6.5 |
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Light + Fruity |
6.5 |
Non-Alcoholic Pale Ale Taste Profiles
The Pale Ale style of beer is as widely diverse as it is adopted the world over. The Netherlands will greet you with Vandestreek Bier brewing their Hop Art Alcoholic IPA or Playground Non Alcoholic IPA. The UK brings you the home of the truly global non-alcoholic brewers Big Drop Brewing who will serve you up a Paradiso IPA or an English Pale Ale.
I was surprised at how much flavour, depth and above all bitterness brewmasters have been able to achieve without alcohol. I was surprised to find:
- The Vandestreek Playground IPA provided a mouthfeel you would expect from a 4% – 6% IPA
- Early movers from Heaps Normal Quiet XPA and Big Drop Pale Ale have stood the test of time and are still some of the best alcohol-free Pale Ale options out there.
- The Bridge Road Free Time Pale Ale is my 2021 Beer of the Year and the Vandestreek Playground IPA the Beer of 2020.
Let’s look at each of the non-alcoholic Pale Ale options below.
Vandestreek Playground IPA
| The Vandestreek Playground IPA has a sweet malty backbone that is offset with a powerful level of bright citrus, resin freshness from hops with a strong bitter finish. This is one that has to be tasted to be believed.
Read about the body and mouthfeel of the Vandestreek IPA here. |
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Overall Rating: 10/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
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Read My Full Review: Vandestreek Playground IPA Review |
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Big Drop Pale Ale
| The Big Drop Pale Ale is built on a lightly sweet malty base, a strong hop based citrus and pine and resin profile and a strong bitter finish.
I spoke to Co-Founder and CEO of Big Drop Brewing about this beer in a recent episode of the Non Alcoholic Drinks Podcast. Get Rob’s insights here. Read about the Big Drop Pale Ale body and mouthfeel here. |
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Overall Rating: 8.5/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | UK |
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Read My Full Review: Big Drop Pale Ale Review |
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UpFlow Pale Ale
| The UpFlow Pale Ale is a traditional Pale Ale option with its warm, earthy and full bodied malty base. It is built on caramel & cookie-based malts whilst being balanced by hints of fruity hops and a lingering bitterness to round out each mouthful.
Read about the UpFlow Pale Ale body and mouthfeel here. |
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Overall Rating: 8.5/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
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Read My Full Review: UpFlow Pale Ale Review |
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Big Drop Paradiso IPA
| Each Glass of Big Drop Paradiso IPA is going to bring you bright fruity and citrus notes, some sweetness that comes with fruitiness and a balancing sharp bitter finish.
Listen to what Rob Fink CEO and Co-Founder of Big Drop had to say about the Paradiso when we caught up on the Non-Alcoholic Drinks Podcast. Read about the Big Drop Paradiso IPA body and mouthfeel here. |
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Overall Rating: 8.5/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon (AU) (UK) |
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Read My Full Review: Big Drop Paradiso IPA Review |
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UpFlow New World IPA
| The New World IPA UpFlow is fruity with hints of peach, citrus packed and finished with a late-onset yet lingering level of bitterness. There are some light hints of sweetness to give this a balanced profile fit for any occasion.
Find out more about the body of the New World IPA here. |
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Overall Rating: 8.5/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon (AU) |
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Read My Full Review: UpFlow New World IPA (Coming ASAP!) |
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Gruvi Pale Ale
| The Gruvi Pale Ale is going to delight most Pale Ale drinkers with its warm and earthy malts and citrus based profile and pine inspired freshness. The Gruvi answers the call of so many non-alcoholic beer drinkers, warm earthy malt, traditional pale ale hops and a bold bitterness.
One to watch in 2022 as it rolls out more broadly. Read about the Gruvi Pale Ale body and mouthfeel here. |
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| Overall Rating: 8.5/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon US |
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Read My Full Review: Gruvi Pale Ale Review |
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Gruvi IPA
| The Gruvi IPA is full of classic IPA flavours of citrus and resin pine backed freshness and strong IPA like bitterness. What is unique about the Gruvi is that it brings both herbaceous hints to your glass and sees the lightly sweet base shine through at both ends of a mouthful.
Another option to watch in 2022. Read about the body and mouthfeel of the Gruvi IPA here. |
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Overall Rating: 8.5/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon USA |
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Read My Full Review: Gruvi IPA Review |
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Vandestreek Funhouse New England IPA
| The Vandestreek Funhouse New Englad IPA has a malty citrus like backbone and bright, fruity and tropical hop profile (think tangerine and grapefruit). The best part about all that tropical fruity profile is that it needs big bitterness to balance it out and the boys at Vandestreek 100% delivered. The Funhouse NEIPA has a dark complex bitterness and finishing note.
If you haven’t found this yet, do yourself a favour! Read about the body and mouthfeel of the Funhouse NEIPA here. |
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Overall Rating: 8.5/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
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Read My Full Review: Vandestreek Funhouse NEIPA |
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Mornington Free Pale Ale
| Soft, fruity, lightly floral and clean describes the Mornington Free Pale Ale. It leads with many, many fruits and notes of pear, apricot and passionfruit give the drinker a glass full of fruity goodness that showcases the flavour that comes when brewing without alcohol.
Read about the body and mouthfeel of the Mornington Alcohol Free Pale Ale. |
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Overall Rating: 7.75/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
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Read My Full Review: Mornington Free Pale Ale Review |
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NORT Tropical XPA
| The Vandestreek Playground IPA has bright hoppy profile that is based around light caramel based malt with soft hops, an overall rich flavour and a vibrant and bright flavour profile.
Read about the body and mouthfeel of the Nort Tropical XPA. |
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Overall Rating: 6.5/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon AU |
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Read My Full Review: NORT Tropical XPA Review |
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Hawkesbury Pale Ale
| The Hawkesbury Pale Ale is a floral, hop led IPA which will bring both soft floral and crisp citrus notes to each glass before finishing with a quality level of lingering bitterness. While not your run of the mill Pale Ale, definitely one worth venturing into if you’re after a new brew or if you are trying to introduce white wine drinkers to non-alcoholic beer.
Read about the body and mouthfeel of the Hawkesbury Pale Ale here. |
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Overall Rating: 7/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
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Read My Full Review: Hawkesbury Pale Ale Review |
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NORT All Day IPA
| The NORT All Day IPA is one of the lightest tasting options I have come across with its three-pronged flavour profile that will leave you with tropical, fruity and pine focused notes and a bitterness that stays with you between mouthfuls.
I have gone back and forth with friends over this beer and they are major fans, whilst I am a little more reserved for the reasons we’ll cover in the body review down below. Read about the NORT All Day IPA body and mouthfeel here. |
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Overall Rating: 6.5/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
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Read My Full Review: NORT All Day IPA Review |
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Bridge Road Free Time Pale Ale
| The Bridge Road Brewers Free Time Pale Ale is going to fill your glass with classic Pale Ale notes of a warm underpinning malt, clean and lively citrus-based hops and a resin noted freshness. With each mouthful, you’re going to be left with a light lingering bitterness to finish.
This beer takes out 2022 beer of the year for me due to the way the flavour profile is so deep and complex. I didn’t give this out lightly, but this beer is a true star in my eyes. Read about the Bridge Road Free Time Pale Ale body and mouthfeel here. |
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Overall Rating: 9/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
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Read My Full Review: Bridge Road Brewers Free Time Pale Ale Review |
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Heaps Normal Quiet XPA
| The Heaps Normal Quiet XPA has a tropical and fruity style with classic pine backed freshness. There are light malty notes that underpin the hop profile, and all this is rounded out with a slightly bitter finish.
This changed the non-alcoholic beer game for good reason, it’s a great beer that will stand the test of time. Read about the Heaps Normal XPA body and mouthfeel here. |
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Overall Rating: 9.5/10 |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon AU |
Non-Alcoholic Pale Ale, IPA and XPA Mouthfeel
Now that you’ve found the taste profile that lines up with your tastes, let’s make sure it’s the right fit for the occasion. After all, my main aim is to make sure the beer you’re drinking leaves you wanting another one.
If you are still on the fence about the beer or two that you have your eye on, it might be helpful to know that drinking these beers and pulling this list together led me to find:
- Non-alcoholic Pale Ale and Non-Alcoholic IPA options had the best mouthfeel and weight out of all types of alcohol-free beer.
- The Vandestreek Playground IPA is often used in blind tastings against full-strength beer and rated to a mouthfeel of 4-6%!
- The options that are lighter in weight are great for those supremely warm days when maximum thirst-quenching is a must.
Check it all out below.
Vandestreek Playground IPA
| The body and mouthfeel of the Vandestreek Playground IPA are so close to traditional IPA that you’d be telling porkies if you said you could clearly and distinctively tell the difference between it and a traditional alcoholic option.
Listen to Ronald Van de Streek talk about the body of the Playground IPA in our recent Non-Alcoholic Drinks Podcast catchup. |
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Review: Check out all my thoughts here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
Big Drop Pale Ale
| All the Big Drop non-alcoholic beers carry a mid-level of body and the Pale Ale is no different. It gives you as the drinker, a great drinking experience as it replicates the weight of IPA without being too heavy – this lets the brews stay fresh and quenching. | |
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Review: Look into the detailed review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Dry Drinker UK |
UpFlow Pale Ale
| Body and mouthfeel are where the UpFlow Pale Ale really excels it is deep, complex and the fact it is weighty means it carries the flavour profile we talked about above right through each mouthful.
It is a real asset to the beer and one that will likely lead to you wanting more! |
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Review: Read the full review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
Big Drop Paradiso IPA
| The Paradiso IPA is marginally heavier than the Pale Ale and (much like the Big Drop Pale Ale) offers you a smooth and vibrant body with a reasonable weight however, as Rob Fink mentions on the Podcast when you drink a Big Drop – it presents like a lighter beer and compares to that 3% mark. | |
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Review: Look into the full review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon (AU) (UK) |
UpFlow New World IPA
| I’ve been getting back into the New World IPA recently and enjoy that the body is weighted enough to make you want to ‘sit’ on the beer and enjoy it slowly. It really lends itself to unwinding and enjoying it slowly due to the satisfying level of mouthfeel in each mouthful. | |
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Review: Coming ASAP! |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon AU |
Gruvi Pale Ale
| The body of the Gruvi Pale Ale is well-weighted and does carry with it some depth and mouthfeel. It does however come up against some tough competition and may be considered a little light if you have tried some of the other ultra-impressive options mentioned in this article.
For the vast majority, it is going to be perfect! |
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Review: Read the full review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon US |
Gruvi IPA
| The non-alcoholic IPA from Gruvi comes in at 60 calories and for that limited calorie impact, the body weight and mouthfeel are pretty good. However, when you compare it to the Vandestreek options, the UpFlow and Bridge Road it will come off lighter in mouthfeel and texture.
That said, I’m really nit-picking to make sure I give you the full context and overall this beer is entirely remarkable (particularly given the light level of calories). |
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Review: Get across the detailed review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon USA |
Vandestreek Funhouse New England IPA
| Much like its older sibling the Funhouse NEIPA does a great job of bringing the iconic Vandestreek Bier level of mouthfeel and depth to a glass of non-alcoholic beer. Personally, I find the Playground IPA had a bigger body however the NEIPA is not far behind and is fantastic. | |
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Review: Look into the detailed review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
Mornington Free Pale Ale
| The body of the Mornington Alcohol Free Pale Ale is soft and light, it has an almost silky mouthfeel however does not pack the weight of other options. For this well-crafted creation, I’d dare say it doesn’t need it given the flavour profile lends itself to being a little lighter and softer. | |
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Review: Read the full review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
NORT Tropical XPA
| The Tropical XPA from NORT replicates the All Day IPA and is light in its nature without much complexity or depth in the category of mouthfeel. I found this one to be a bit light however, I did give this to friends in the lead up to writing this review to get their feedback and they were of the view it was great.
Much like the XPA Heaps Normal, this XPA from NORT gets the luxury of being whatever it wishes to be. |
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Review: Look into the long-form review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon AU |
Hawkesbury Pale Ale
The Alcohol Free Pale Ale from Hawkesbury comes in at the lighter end for body and weighted mouthfeel. You, much as I did, may find that it does lack a little oomph, however, I got some feedback on what friends and family thought before writing this and the room was divided
I’d love to hear your thoughts if you have tried this one. |
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Review: Read the full review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
NORT All Day IPA
| The weight of the All Day IPA by NORT is ultra-light and for the majority of people will be bordering on too light and thin. HOWEVER, I have given this to two people in the week prior to writing this and they both loved it and noted the lighter weight would make it perfect for a thirst-quenching beer when you’re looking to avoid a ‘beer-y’ beer. | |
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Review: Read the detailed review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
Bridge Road Free Time Pale Ale
| The mouthfeel and bodyweight pick up where the flavour left off. There is a brilliant level of body in this alcohol-free pale ale. This really shines when compared to lighter options when you can really see it outperforming in almost all comparisons. | |
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Review: Look into the entire review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) |
Heaps Normal Quiet XPA
| Coming in at the mid-level of bodyweight the Heaps Normal does a great job at disguising the lighter body with its hoppy profile. While I feel like this is a beer that will be enjoyed by the masses, keep in mind that the body is a little lighter than other options and by virtue of it being an XPA, it’s allowed to be! | |
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Review: Read the full review here |
Check the Price: Craft Zero (AU) | Amazon AU |
Non Alcoholic IPA Beer Glasses
If you have watched, listened to or read any of my content you’re going to know that I love enjoying a brew out of a well designed and well crafted Beer Glass. I find for non-alcoholic options, the glass is borderline non-negotiable as most require a bit of a helping hand to get the very most out of them from a flavour perspective.
So whether you’re getting into non-alcoholic beer for the first time, or you’re wanting to get a few more miles out of the flavour in your current alcohol free pale ale, IPA or XPA, the good news is a simple glass can put you on a path to better brews!
I love using my Spiegelau Tasting kit and after getting a pack back in early 2021 it has been by my side in every non-alcoholic beer tasting, review, podcast and YouTube video I’ve made given the way it supports flavour, profile and texture.
If you’re interested in finding out more, you can find out more about the kit here on Amazon AU, USA or UK!
Final Thoughts: The Round Up
The Winner: Vandestreek Playground IPA
For my tastebuds (and so many of you I have had the pleasure of speaking to), the Vandestreek Playground IPA comes out on top time and time again. The weight of the mouthfeel, complexity of flavour and sharp bitter finish makes this a beer you’ll be hard-pressed to ever know is alcohol-free.
If you were having a hard time choosing a non-alcoholic IPA to give to your beer drinking friends this would be my absolute highest recommendation.
The Runner Up: Heaps Normal Quiet XPA
The Heaps Normal Quiet XPA is a standout in the space not only based on what the flavour delivers, but the way the team developed the flavour profile when the non-alcoholic brewing scene was still taking baby steps. I just love the way the fruity, fresh and clean hops are perched atop of a light malty base and finished with a lingering finish. This is one everybody should try at least once.
I hope you have found a new beer or two to try! Be sure to let me know which one you have gone with over on Instagram where you can find me at TippleZeroDrinks, or drop me an email at jonathan@tipplezero.com!
