At a glance

Flavor profile
  • Roasted barley
  • Cocoa nib
  • Coffee
Structure
  • Off-dry
  • Modest bitterness
  • Light body
  • Short finish
Mouthfeel
Dry cocoa and a clean, slightly thin close. The head lasts. The beer does not.
What stands out
Roasted barley, cocoa nib, and a little coffee grounds. Nitrogen does the usual theater. It smells like Guinness poured too early in the day, which is the compliment.
Perfect for
A pub pint when the rest of the table is drinking the 4.2%. Also the best case for dealcoholized beer as a category.

Tasting notes

  1. 01

    Nose

    roasted barley, cocoa nib, and a little coffee grounds. Nitrogen does the usual theater. It smells like Guinness poured too early in the day, which is the compliment.

  2. 02

    Palate

    Silky, bitter-sweet, and shorter than Draught. The roast is genuine. A faint confectionery edge — fructose is on the label — keeps it from being a perfect carbon copy.

  3. 03

    Finish

    Dry cocoa and a clean, slightly thin close.

The beer

Guinness 0.0 is dealcoholized from Dublin, Ireland. The base is Stout brewed from water, barley, hops, and yeast at St James’s Gate. Cold filtration after a conventional Guinness brew.

On the nose, roasted barley, cocoa nib, and a little coffee grounds. Nitrogen does the usual theater. It smells like Guinness poured too early in the day, which is the compliment. On the palate, Silky, bitter-sweet, and shorter than Draught. The roast is genuine. A faint confectionery edge — fructose is on the label — keeps it from being a perfect carbon copy. Mouthfeel: Dry cocoa and a clean, slightly thin close. The head lasts. The beer does not. The finish is Dry cocoa and a clean, slightly thin close.

The rare dealcoholized beer that still pours, looks, and drinks like itself. Cold filtration keeps the roast; the fructose is the compromise you can taste if you hunt for it. Serve cold, in a pint glass, poured to let the surge settle. Do not serve it like a lager.

How to drink it

Cold, in a pint glass, poured to let the surge settle. Do not serve it like a lager.

How it was made

Classification: Dealcoholized

Evidence status: Documented

Method: Cold filtration after a conventional Guinness brew

Sources disagree on the following points.

  • Abv: Guinness markets the beer as 0.0% alcohol. A detailed third-party review reports a maximum detectable trace around 0.05% ABV, the floor of common lab reporting.
  • Calories: Diageo's 2020 launch note cited 16 kcal/100 ml and 70 kcal per standard can. The current Guinness product page lists 17 kcal/100 ml.
Sources 12 facts · 5 sources

Product facts are only as strong as their sources. Editorial tasting notes are opinion.

  • Producer verified Producer guinness.com

    ABV · Method · Classification · Ingredients · Calories · Country · Producer · Base beverage

  • Secondary source Cited source steadydrinker.com

    Sugar · Availability · Volume

  • Bottle verified Bottle / can label Barcode recorded from packaging or producer listing

    Barcode (EAN/GTIN)

    Barcode recorded from packaging or producer listing

  1. Diageo — Guinness 0.0 press note
  2. The Irish Times — Conor Pope on alcohol-free Guinness

Keep tasting

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Heineken 0.0

Beer · Lager · 0.0% · Vacuum distillation

  • Oxidative
  • Toasted grain
Dealcoholized Documented Under $20