Impossibrew Enhanced Lager

Impossibrew started with the idea of providing quality alcohol-free beer, but with the added bonus of botanical extracts, nootropics and adaptogens, in an attempt to try to emulate the mood-enhancing qualities of the alcohol present in standard beer. To this end they produced their own ‘Social Blend™’ – a blend of seratonin and dopamine booster L-Theanine, Ginseng, and Griffonia seed – a source of seraronin precursor 5-HTP. After an initial successful test run of bottled beers, and only 6 months into their business, they took their wares to the UK Dragons’ Den with an offer of £50,000 for 10% of their business equity. Despite praise from some of the Dragons, Mark Wong – the business owner, left without a deal. I suspect this is also due in part to Dragons previously investing in another non-alcoholic brewer – Drynks Unlimited.

Since then much has happened for the business. Impossibrew saw the light and canned their beers in crowd-pleasing 440ml tinnies, have run a successful crowdfunding campaign, and as of October 2022 have released version 2.0 of both their lager and pale ale. The press releases that accompanied the new generation of Impossibrew beers went strong on featuring the beers’ ‘even better taste’, along with a fuller head and body, and a 57% cut in the pale ale’s calorie count. However, in a move that does not turn our frowns upside down here at Free Beer UK, the serving size has been reduced to 330ml – you can’t have everything I suppose. This review will be based on version 2.0 of Impossibrew Enhanced Lager, despite the image being of the beloved 440ml version.

The beer pours a clear light golden colour, with plenty of visible bubbles, producing a big foamy head as it fills the glass. This recedes after a time, leaving islands of foam floating in our beverage, and some lacing as we drink. On the nose we get caramel malt, with hints of spice and lemon citrus, and a touch of honey in the background.

Biscuity malt greets us on tasting, but we get a real kick of earthy bitterness from the hops. It’s a very dry lager, in the Japanese style. In fact it reminds me very much of Mash Gang’s Stoop Extra Dry. There are touches of citrus and spice too that make the transfer from the aroma intact. The beer is crisp and full-flavoured, with a medium body and lovely smooth mouthfeel. The finish is dry.

Impossibrew Enhanced Lager is a tasty, crisp and refreshing alcohol-free lager in the Japanese extra dry style. The company already has the top rated nolo pale ale spot on this site, but their lager will have to share it’s position with a few other similar beers. Once again I can’t really comment on any effect the ‘Social Blend™’ may have as I didn’t notice anything apart from the usual relaxed feeling I usually get when reviewing a quality non-alcoholic beer in the evening. But I will surely buy this again for the taste!

Buy Impossibrew Enhanced Lager

Impossibrew’s beers are mainly available direct from the brewer, though you might see some available in some of the better AF-friendly bottle shops. You can also buy Enhanced Lager online here:

Nutritional Information (per 100ml, taken from the side of the can)
ABV	0.5%
Energy	15 kcal
Fat	0g
Carbohydrates	2.9g
Sugar	0g
Protein	<0.1g
Ingredients
Water, Barley, Wheat, Soluble Plant Fibre, Hops, Yeast, Social Blend (L-Theanine, Ginseng Extract, Griffonia Seed Extract, Lemon Balm Extract, Vitamin B1)
Additional Information
Country of Production	United Kingdom
Brewer	Impossibrew – https://impossibrew.co.uk/
Gluten Free?	No
Vegan Friendly?	Yes