Beer ReviewUpFlow BrewingUpFlow Ultra Pale Lager Review

There are fruity, bright and hoppy flavours in the UpFlow Ultra Pale Lager and only the slightest hint of malt. Made with a wheat base and given character from citra hops and magnum hops, UpFlow have created a craft non-alcoholic lager that leans more towards a Pale Ale than a Lager.

Pouring yourself a glass of the Ultra Pale Lager you will find a beer with:

• Tropical flavours of passionfruit.
• Citrus freshness and flavours including orange.
• Light graininess.
• Light but creamy mouthfeel.

As a whole, UpFlow non-alcoholic Lager is a craft take on the traditional style of lager. When opening each can you will be greeted with tropical notes of passionfruit which, along with other tropical notes, carry through to the beginning of each mouthful, before building into a light grainy body and finishing with a wave of bitterness.

UpFlow Brewing say they’ve packed in 30 IBU (International Bitterness Units) of bitterness into the Ultra Pale Lager.

For context, when I was researching the bitterness of lager, in Randy Mosher’s book Tasting Beer (USA Link), traditional styles of Oktoberfest and Doppelbock all land between 15 IBU and at a maximum 30 IBU. So the bitterness in the UpFlow Lager is at the upper limit of what is normally in a lager styled beer.

As somebody who loves pale ale, I really enjoy this beer, while it is a little lighter in body the pale ale qualities make it an enjoyable beer for me. Find out more below on whether it is for you.

UpFlow Ultra Pale Lager is available to buy at retailers like Amazon, Brunswick Aces, Craft Zero and Dan Murphy’s. This means finding a 6-pack or a slab is pretty simple. In general, a 6-pack will cost you $23 – $25 and a slab around $80 at the time of writing this.

If you’re looking to give it a go, links to get you started are all below:

• Amazon (24 pack)
• Brunswick Aces
• Craft Zero

As a general rule, beer drinkers who enjoy a Pale Ale (like the Big Drop Pale Ale) or IPA (like the Vandestreek Playground) are going to enjoy this beer.

If you are looking for a traditional, malty and big body or beer you will need to be aware that the lighter body and low level of malt when combined with a heavy presence of hops means, this beer is not likely to be the beer for you.

Not being one to leave you high and dry, traditional larger drinkers may wish to reach for a:

• Heineken 0.0 (if you like Heineken, you’ll like this).
• James Squire Zero.

I’d recommend steering clear of the Big Drop Uptown Craft Lager given it’s also a light take on alcohol-free lager.

As a whole, the Ultra Pale is a healthy non-alcoholic beer with only 74 calories and 5 grams of sugar per can. Enhanced with Potassium, Sodium and Magnesium to provide your body with the benefits of hydration, it is a worthy option to reach for and kick off recovery and rehydration.

Following my research, and article I wrote comparing calories and sugar in 39 non-alcoholic beers, I found the average per 100ml calorie and sugar levels non-alcoholic beers were:

• Calories: 22.6 cal /100ml; and
• Sugar: 2.1 grams / 100ml.

The UpFlow comes in below average and contains only 21 calories / 100ml and 1.4g of sugar. All this making it a healthy option even before considering the added hydration benefits of Potassium, Sodium and Magnesium.

Looking for full UpFlow Pale Lager nutrition information, the full table is below.

If you’re looking for a full breakdown of the Airen nutrition, the nutrition table is below.

Avg Quantity Per Serving (375ml)		Avg Quantity Per 100ml
Energy	309 kJ 74 Cal	87.8 kJ 21 Cal
Protein	<1 g	<1 g
Fat, total	<1 g	<1 g
— saturated	<1 g	<1 g
Carbohydrate	16 g	4.5 g
— sugars	5 g	1.4g
Sodium	25 mg	6.67 mg

Downing 4 UpFlow Ultra Pale Lager after exercise will help you out with additional hydrating nutrients worth:

• Potassium – 10mg per Litre.
• Sodium – 100mg per Litre.
• Magnesium 30mg per Litre!

There are many occasions suited to the UpFlow Ultra Pale Lager. Due to it’s hydrating properties, it works perfectly after any exercise and is also suited to drinking while eating hearty foods where the citrus and tropical hops will cut through rich flavours with each mouthful!

As a general rule, hypotonic beer works to efficiently hydrate and replace nutrients and electrolytes that are lost from activities such as sport when used alongside the traditional recovery meal.

As someone who has come to the world of non-alcoholic beer for this exact reason, I can lend weight to having used UpFlow and other non-alcoholic beers to help me enjoy rehydrating. Believe it or not, litres of water are not exactly fun to drink!

That photo above was the day the UpFlow Ultra Pale Lager was my best friend!

I was tasked with a 160km training ride covering 4000m vertical meters (that’s 4 kilometres of vertical gain – eeek) on a day that was to max out temperature wise at 38 degrees (insanity!).

I can tell you, the only thing that drove me to pedal full gas in the baking sun, after having already covered 140km was the 6 pack of non-alcoholic beers I had in the fridge back at the Airbnb.

You can probably tell I am a big advocate of non-alcoholic beer options that provide added benefits like the UpFlow Hypotonic Ultra Pale Lager as it lets everyone enjoy a beer when they either can’t or choose not to drink a traditional beer.

The UpFlow Ultra Pale Lager is a crafty, fruity and pale ale stylised lager. As somebody who loves a good pale ale and IPA I really enjoyed this beer.

However, the hybrid name of “Pale” and “Lager” should not be lost on you as the beer is:

1. Pale, built around pale ale flavours of fruity and tropical hops.
2. Lager, only very light hints of grainy malt.

For me, this beer comes in at a 7 / 10 (with an unofficial +1 for the added nutritional benefits). I really enjoy the pale ale flavours and fruity hops that it contains, however know this is likely to be a drawback for some drinkers who are looking for a traditional lager style beer.

If you’re after a great summer drink and know you’ll be reaching for a pale ale styled lager you should pick up a 6 pack and give it a go. Links are below again for you!

• Amazon (24 pack)
• Brunswick Aces (TIPPLE12 at checkout gets you 12% off)
• Craft Zero (TZERO at checkout gets you 10% off!)