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Bristol pale ale named among world’s best non-alcoholic beers
A Bristol-brewed pale ale has been named among the world’s top-six non-alcoholic beers.
Wiper and True‘s Kaleidoscope made the list alongside breweries from Yorkshire, London, Dublin, Suffolk and New York.
Beer and pub culture writer Pete Brown compiled the list for the Times and praised the breweries working to dispel the bad reputation around non- or low-alcohol alternatives.
As the annual talking points around Dry January fade, the beer industry is increasingly embracing a middle ground: a new crop of “genuinely good” low and no-alcohol beers, said Brown.
Kaleidoscope Pale Ale is no stranger to recognition itself and won two stars at the Great Taste Awards in 2025
Brown acknowledged that for years alcohol-free beer carried a poor reputation, largely due to production methods that damaged flavour.
Under-fermented beers tasted overly sweet and grainy, while boiling off alcohol left flat, overcooked flavours, often compared to the taste of boiled cabbage.
All that is changing, he said, with the adoption of advances such as reverse osmosis and vacuum distillation, allowing brewers to remove alcohol while preserving aroma, body and balance.
The result is, he noted, a wave of low or non-alcoholic beers that tastes like the “real thing”, making them a realistic year-round choice rather than a compromise confined to January.
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Among the standouts is Wiper and True’s Kaleidoscope pale ale, brewed by Wiper & True, who have bases in both St Werburgh’s and Lawrence Hill.
Speaking about Kaleidoscope, Brown said: “When I was first handed this I honestly said, ‘Um, no, I asked for the 0.5 per cent?’
“That’s what it was. Citrussy and fresh, supported by savoury malt.”
Wiper & True was founded by Michael Wiper and Al True in 2012 as a “nomadic brewing project”, which quickly gained recognition for its offerings, including industry awards.
Wiper and True was founded by Michael Wiper (pictured) and Al True in 2012 as a “nomadic brewing project”
Kaleidoscope Pale Ale is no stranger to recognition itself and won two stars at the Great Taste Awards in 2025, where judges hailed it as “one of the most impressive No & Low alcohol beers we’ve tasted”.
This is the full list of the world’s best non-alcoholic beers:
- Adnams: Ghost Ship (Southwold)
- Wiper & True: Kaleidoscope (Bristol)
- Brooklyn Brewery: Special Effects (New York)
- Guinness: 0.0 (Dublin)
- Mash Gang: Glug (London)
- Theakston: Nowt Old Peculier (Masham)
All photos: Wiper & True
Read next:
- Bristol brewer shines at Great Taste Awards
- Local brewer rolls out its popular red ale to Waitrose
- Bristol Beer Factory brews first alcohol-free beer
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