Over the past year or two, the quality of New Zealand non-alcoholic beer has markedly improved.
It’s notoriously tough to make a good quality brew that tastes like the real thing, but considering we have some of the best breweries in the world, it’s no surprise we’re churning out some of the best booze-free brews you can get your hands on - right here at home.
Keep scrolling to discover the best of the best New Zealand-made non-alcoholic beers for 2024 plus our favourite food pairings for each bevvy.
8 Wired Lo-Fi Raspberry Sour Ale
Type of beer: Low Carb Beer
Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing
Flavours: Tart, refreshing raspberry
Judges’ comments: Low carb combined with low ABV (2.5%) and big flavour is a win-win for drinkers who want a great-tasting beer that won’t over-tax your body. This brew is based on the German-style Berliner Weisse, which is often served with a dash of raspberry syrup for sweetness. The execution here is top-notch with a robust raspberry aroma and a hint of lemon. It looks great in the glass too, with the judges praising the “very pretty slight pink blush.”
Pairing Recommendation: Bright fruity effervescence goes well with blue cheese.
For more on this beer visit: https://8wired.co.nz
Buy this beer: Visit online shopping
Emerson's Super Quench Lower Carb Pacific Pilsner
Type of beer: Low Carb Beer
Brewery: Emerson's Brewery
Flavours: Low carb, high flavour
Judges’ comments: Low carb beers are all the rage right now as drinkers seek “better for you” options, and this one from Emerson’s is doubly good: bringing that rare combination of low carb and high flavour. This is a beer you’d be happy to drink whether you wanted a lower carb option or not. At just 4 per cent ABV it tastes as good as any 5% pilsner. There’s a lovely hop character as well, but nothing overpowering — just perfectly in balance, offering exactly what the name suggests: a super-tasting beer that’s incredibly thirst-quenching. The judges appreciated the big flavour and the texture: “Full-flavoured palate, good weight on the malt, nice level of fruity hops. Nice pilsner.”
Pairing Recommendation: Light and bright beer wants light and bright Japanese tempura veges.
For more on this beer visit: www.emersons.co.nz
Buy this beer: Visit online shopping
Bach Brewing ALL DAY ORIGINAL Non-alc IPA
Type of beer: Low alcohol and non-alcoholic beer
Brewery: Bach Brewing
Flavours: Non-alc almost like the real thing
Judges’ comments: One of the original non-alcoholic craft beers in Aotearoa, and — according to our judges — still one of the best. It’s so beer-like you might be confused as to whether it’s genuinely a non-alc. With less than 0.5% alcohol as a base for building layers of flavour, it’s hard for zeroes to stay interesting and in balance but this beer achieves that flawlessly. The judges lauded the brew team: “Impressive to squeeze this much hop character into a non-alc beer”. They noted “strong aromas of mango and lychee jump out of the glass, with a dank green capsicum edge”. Those hops present on the palate as “juicy citrus, with some herbaceousness and a restrained bitterness and clean, crisp finish.”
Pairing Recommendation: Perfect lunch combo with a bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato sandwich.
For more on this beer visit: https://bachbrewing.co.nz
Buy this beer: Visit online shopping
Epic Super Zero IPA
Type of beer: Low alcohol and non-alcoholic beer
Brewery: Steam Brewing/ HANCOCKS
Flavours: Bright lemon note, clean
Judges’ comments: Epic are legends when it comes to hoppy beers and you’d expect no different when it comes to a non-alcoholic version with Super Zero. At less than 0.5%, it presents a delightfully intense hop aroma of fresh lemon rind. The judges were rapt with how “clean” this beer is: both in aroma and flavour. “Good clarity, soft bitterness, pillowy sweetness, perfumey and sherbet-like hop flavour,” they wrote. We’re in a golden age of non-alcoholic beers in Aotearoa and this is a shining example.
Pairing Recommendation: The light lemon drop hop is tailormade for sushi and sashimi.
For more on this beer visit: https://epicbeer.com/
Buy this beer: Visit online shopping
Zeffer 0% Alcohol Passionfruit Cider
Type of beer: Low alcohol and non-alcoholic cider and mead
Brewery: Zeffer
Flavours: Lively passionfruit, huge flavour for a 0
Judges’ comments: Back for a second year in a row in the Top 30 means this is a product you can trust. Frankly, our judges think this is one of the best zero alcohol beverages in the country. It’s sweet, lush, sherbety, a little tart and refreshing. The popping passionfruit aroma is underscored by fresh apple cider with surprising heft to the mouthfeel. “Fresh and crisp mouthfeel, with a good level of acidity,” the judges wrote. “Apple cider is present and passionfruit flavour carries well throughout. Very strong passionfruit nose, lean body, strong acidity but not overpowering, excellent flavour that lingers — bright and fun.”
Pairing Recommendation: The ideal lunch quaffer with a quiche or caesar salad.
For more on this beer visit: https://zeffer.co.nz/
Buy this beer: Visit online shopping
Thirsty for more top New Zealand beers?
If you’re after dark beers, lagers or more unique craft varieties, don’t forget to check out the articles linked below, or browse the Top 30 from the New World Beer & Cider Awards 2024 using our Beer Finder.
Not sure what you like? Our craft beer guide will walk you through what makes craft beer special and the different styles and flavours you can find in Aotearoa.
Related articles:
Best New Zealand craft beers for 2024
Best New Zealand IPAs and pale ales for 2024
Best New Zealand lagers and pilsners for 2024
Best New Zealand hazy ales for 2024
Best New Zealand wheat, saison and sours for 2023
About the author
Michael Donaldson is one of New Zealand’s most renowned beer writers and was named Beer Writer of the Year by the Brewers Guild of New Zealand for a third time in 2018. He has been the Chair of Judges for the New World Beer & Cider Awards since 2016..
His writing appears in North & South, The New Zealand Herald, Stuff and Drinksbiz. He is also the editor of The Pursuit of Hoppiness magazine published by the Society of Beer Advocates (SOBA). He is the author of New Zealand's definitive beer history Beer Nation - the Art and Heart of Kiwi Beer as well as The Big Book of Home Brew: a Kiwi Guide and The Hopfather, the biography of Emerson's founder Richard Emerson.