Yahoo News Guinness 0.0: Irish giant launches alcohol-free stout
Irish giant Guinness has become the latest brewer to offer a booze-free pint, having today announced its first ever non-alcoholic stout, Guinness 0.0.
The new beer from St James's Gate will go on sale from Monday October 26 in both Waitrose and Morrison's, and from first photographs appears to resemble its alcoholic sister, with the same dark ruby colour and cream head. Though it will initially only be available in cans from supermarkets – with a recommended retail price of between £3.50 and £4.50 for a pack of four – it will be rolled out to pubs from the spring of next year as a draught beer.
Guinness say development has taken four years, but that the beer is brewed to the regular process, using the usual ingredients of water, barley, hops and yeast. The alcohol is then removed using cold filtration, which Guinness say: "allows the alcohol to be filtered out without presenting thermal stress to the beer, protecting the integrity of its taste and character."
Gráinne Wafer, Guinness's global brand director said: “This is an exceptional day for Guinness, as we finally reveal Guinness 0.0. The launch of Guinness 0.0 highlights our long-held commitment to innovation, experimentation, and bravery in brewing, harnessing the power of our brewers and our ingredients, to create an alcohol-free beer that is 100 per cent Guinness but 0 per cent alcohol.
“We know people want to be able to enjoy a Guinness when they choose not to drink alcohol without compromising on taste, and with Guinness 0.0 we believe they will be able to do exactly that.”
Aisling Ryan, the innovation brewer at St James’s Gate, said: “Guinness has always had an unwavering commitment to quality and our entire brewing team is hugely proud of the care and effort that has been put into the four year development process for Guinness 0.0. We have created a taste experience that we believe is truly unrivalled in the world of non-alcoholic beer and we can’t wait for people to finally be able to try it!”
The Standard has requested samples to taste.
