Non-alcoholic beer: the taste debate dividing drinkers in Spain

Non-alcoholic beer: does it really taste as good as the regular kind? The numbers behind the debate

The claim that non-alcoholic beer can taste as good as the real thing is one many consider heresy. Yet someone who has gone two decades without touching a drop insists that, served cold and toasted, it has nothing to envy its alcoholic counterpart. And the economic and health arguments back them up.

The central question: is the taste really comparable? Defenders of traditional beer say no, that the hint of alcohol and the characteristic bitterness are irreplaceable. They compare switching from non-alcoholic to alcoholic beer to going from cheap cava to top-shelf champagne: once you've tasted the good stuff, there's no going back. Market data, however, point in the other direction.

The industry is betting on the 0.0 segment

Meanwhile, brands are fighting over the new health-conscious consumer. Brands like Alhambra, Mahou, Cruzcampo and Estrella Damm all have their non-alcoholic versions, and sales keep growing. In markets like the Netherlands, where one user mentions popping into Albert Heijn for a non-alcoholic beer, the range is wide. The argument that non-alcoholic beer is a «poison» for the liver is debunked by the breweries' own campaigns.

«The only charm of beer is getting drunk»

But some cut to the chase: the real reason to drink alcohol is to get drunk. A stance that, blunt as it is, admits taste is secondary. Defenders of non-alcoholic beer counter that the only real benefit of the alcoholic kind is voluntary intoxication, and that the cost in money and brain cells is too high. With beer prices rising and health awareness growing, the scales are tipping.

The future of the beer market

If non-alcoholic beer's taste improves enough to fool the most demanding palates, the dilemma disappears. The industry is already researching new yeasts and processes to close the sensory gap. For now, disagreement persists: some sip a non-alcoholic beer on a terrace and enjoy it, while others still see it as a sad substitute. Consumption figures, though, speak in favour of changing habits.

Claiming non-alcoholic beer tastes the same is, at the very least, bold. But the argument that the only reason to drink alcoholic beer is to get drunk is hard to rebut. The industry marches on, and consumers vote with their wallets. The prediction: 0.0 beer will gain market share, but the taste debate will stay alive as long as there's a traditional drinker willing to defend their pint.