Jupiler 0.0%

Jupiler is the most popular lager in it’s native Belgium, with a market share of over 40%. This is not particularly surprising when you learn that the brand is under the wing of multinational beer overlords Anheuser–Busch InBev, but in a land famous for it’s ranges of flavoursome, traditional ales this is still quite a feat of strength. Created in 1966 and originally from the Jupille-sur-Meuse area of Belgium, it quickly gained popularity amongst the country’s drinkers, and the brand is now the premier sponsor of Belgium’s top football league, the Belgian Pro League.

Jupiler 0.0% is not the brand’s first foray into non-alcoholic scene, it’s first offering was Jupiler NA, introduced in 2004 and clocking in at 0.5% ABV. It was retired in 2017, with it’s even lower alcohol sibling picking up the AF baton in 2016. According to the producer, Jupiler 0.0% is brewed as a full strength beer, then is subjected to the reverse-osmosis technique to remove the alcohol. This is in line with Anheuser–Busch InBev’s other numerous alcohol-free beers, such as Budweiser Zero and Beck’s Blue. Unfortunately these two NA beers are, at time of writing, the lowest scoring beers I’ve reviewed. Will Jupiler 0.0% live up to the popularity of it’s full-strength big brother, or languish at the bottom of the review pile with the other AB InBev detritus?

Pouring from the can we get a pale golden coloured liquid, with not much visible carbonation. A white head does make an appearance but dissipates pretty quickly, though we get a tad of lacing. On the nose we mainly get some sweet malt aromas, though there is a touch of floral there, along with a whiff of fruity apricot.

On tasting we get mainly Pilsner-style lager malt with the floral component from the aroma. There’s also a lot of sweetness to the beer. After the sweetness wears off however the flavour becomes a bit more rounded, with some fruit creeping in there, but little hop bitterness. The body of the beer is actually pretty good considering there is not much carbonation, and I think this must be from the ‘natural aromas’ included in the ingredients list – in this case it must include honey, as the mouthfeel has some ‘stickiness’ to it and the calorie count for the drink is sky high. As expected, the finish is sweet, no real bitterness at all.

Whilst Jupiler 0.0% is certainly not the pinnacle of alcohol-free lagers, I have to say it was better than I was expecting coming from the AB InBev stable. It’s the best of their offerings I’ve tried so far, but there are many other AF lager options that surpass it in all respects. Add a few hops, tone down the sweetness and I’d happily have this in my fridge.

Nutritional Information (per 100ml)

0.0% alcohol by volume
35 calories energy
0g fat
8.6g carbohydrates
0.7g sugar
0.2g protein

(taken from the side of the can)

Ingredients

Water, Malted Barley, Corn, Sugar, Hops, Natural Aromas