Non-alcoholic beer tested by Kassensturz: none is bad
21.8.2024
Translation: machine translated
In recent years, non-alcoholic beer has developed from a niche product to a bestseller. A handful of suppliers have become dozens, and the choice seems to be growing every day. Reason enough for "Kassensturz" to try a taste test.
"De gustibus non est disputandum", there is nothing fundamentally wrong with this Latin phrase, there is no arguing about taste. Actually. But we do it anyway, about everything and all the time. Even the latest test of non-alcoholic beers by "Kassensturz" is the subject of debate. Guaranteed. It's already started here in the editorial team.
Squaring the circle
The SRF consumer magazine programme dared to do the impossible and, with the help of experts, attempted to objectively assess taste. Two qualified beer sommelières, a beer taster, a brewery manager and a lecturer in food technology looked deep into the glasses of eleven different non-alcoholic lager beers. They assessed the criteria of flavour & finish, aroma, structure, smell and appearance.
They found neither a complete flop nor an undisputed frontrunner. All the non-alcoholic beers tested scored between 5.2 and 4.6, i.e. "good" or "sufficient".
And the winner is ...
The non-alcoholic beer from the St. Gallen brewery Schützengarten tasted best to the "Kassensturz" experts. One of the two beer sommelières commented that it was a real pleasure to drink, with all components very well balanced.
Appenzeller Bier is represented in the test with two different non-alcoholic beers: Sonnwendlig and Leermond. Both scored well with a score of 4.9 each. At 4.8, the 0.0 variant from Lucerne-based brewery Eichhof also received an overall rating of "good".
When big names are all you need
The test is less favourable for the non-alcoholic beers from Heineken, Feldschlösschen and Birra Moretti. 4.7 and 4.6 are enough for a "sufficient" on the "Kassensturz" grading scale. Moretti, for example, was criticised for its metallic aftertaste, while Feldschlösschen was criticised for its flat flavour.
The last will be the first
"What rubbish!" exclaims my editorial colleague Oliver Fischer indignantly when I tell him about the test results. Moretti Zero, the "bottom of the pile", is currently his favourite non-alcoholic beer. Well, that's how they are, the tastes: different.
By the way: Feldschlösschen Grapefruit is also currently the best-selling beer in our range of alcohol-free drinks. Although the more correct term for this is probably mixed beer drink, which also applies to the non-alcoholic shandy from Calanda. Or for my much-loved Bilz, which I've enjoyed drinking from time to time since my childhood. And then, as now, it was a mixture of non-alcoholic beer and lemonade.
With this in mind and in good humour: Toast with whatever you want and like. The main thing is cheers!
You can find the entire "Kassensturz" test and the detailed results here.
Header image: SRF / Kassensturz
I'm a full-blooded dad and husband, part-time nerd and chicken farmer, cat tamer and animal lover. I would like to know everything and yet I know nothing. I know even less, but I learn something new every day. What I am good at is dealing with words, spoken and written. And I get to prove that here.
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