Low alcohol drinks

Low alcohol drinks are substitutes for standard alcoholic drinks like beer, wine, cider, or spirits like gin.¹ They are marketed and promoted as a replacement for these standard drinks, so aim to recreate their taste, look and feel – they often have similar looking adverts, cans or bottles.

And, these days, there are more, better tasting low alcohol drinks to choose from than ever before.

One in four UK adults who drink alcohol had a low alcohol or alcohol-free product during 2021.²

Drinkaware research has found regular drinkers of low alcohol products thought the taste had improved over recent years. Negative perceptions of taste were more common amongst people who hadn’t tried them, with many people pleasantly surprised with the taste when they did.³ So, if you’re thinking of switching to low alcohol to cut your consumption, there’s never been a better time to try it.

Because these drinks have less alcohol in them, switching from a standard alcoholic drink to low alcohol can be a good way to cut your units - but only if you aren’t adding them on top of any alcohol you usually drink. And because low alcohol drinks still contain alcohol, they aren’t suitable if you need or want to avoid alcohol completely.

How low alcohol drinks can help cut your drinking

How much alcohol is in a low alcohol drink?

In the UK, government guidance says drinks labelled as ‘low alcohol’ can contain up to 1.2% alcohol by volume (ABV).⁴ So, one 500ml can of 1.2% ABV low alcohol beer contains 0.6 units of alcohol (that's just over half a unit).

Although these drinks don’t legally have to specify exactly how much alcohol they have in them, most do. So, if you want to check, a good place to start is by reading the label.

The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines advise that, if you choose to drink, it’s safest for both men and women to drink no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days with several drink-free days, and no bingeing.

Low alcohol drinks are different to ‘alcohol-free’. Most alcohol-free drinks follow government guidance that they should be 0.05% ABV or less, but there are some alcohol-free drinks that are up to 0.5% ABV.

And low alcohol doesn’t mean the same thing as ‘reduced alcohol’ or ‘light’ either. These can be much stronger than the 1.2% cut-off used for ‘low alcohol’. You might see the term 'reduced alcohol' used for a wine that is 5.5% ABV (rather than the more common 12-14%) or a ‘table beer’ that is 2-3% ABV (about half the alcoholic strength of standard beer).

Substituting standard alcoholic drinks for low alcohol products could help you reduce the total amount of alcohol you drink, and keep to the UK low risk drinking guidelines - which brings important health benefits. But this only works if you don’t add low alcohol products to any alcohol you usually drink, otherwise you’ll be drinking more alcohol in total - not less.

Do you know your units from your ABV?

How many calories do low alcohol drinks have?

Alcohol contains around seven calories a gram - almost as many as pure fat.⁵ 

So, because a low alcohol drink has less alcohol in it, it’s possible that switching could play a part in cutting your calorie intake – which could be helpful if you’re trying to lose weight.

But it’s important to understand that the calories in any drink don’t just come from alcohol, so you only ‘save’ calories if the substitute drink is a ‘low calorie’ one.

That’s because the amount of sugar in low alcohol drinks varies - in much the same way that a regular lemonade would have a lot more sugar than a diet one. (These calories are in standard strength alcoholic drinks too - for example, a pint of lager contain around the same number of calories as a portion (slice) of pizza, and a large glass of wine the same as a typical ice cream sundae.)

So, while the reduced amount of alcohol in a low alcohol drink might be a step in the right direction towards a lower-calorie drink, it is not always the case and it’s important to look at the whole picture.

The calories people consume through alcohol are usually additional to the calories they consume in the rest of their diet, rather than a replacement. That means you could be having lots of extra calories in your drinks or without thinking about it, and that will lead to weight gain.⁶

Across the UK, the law says all low alcohol drinks with 1.2% ABV or less (including all alcohol-free options) need to display nutritional information on the label.^7,8 So, if you’re counting calories as part of your healthy diet or a weight loss programme, choosing low alcohol or alcohol-free means you should always have the calorie information at your fingertips.

And since April 2022 in England, bigger chains of takeaways, restaurants, pubs and online stores need to display calorie information for non-pre-packed food and drinks too - including all drinks with not more than 1.2% ABV.⁹ Scotland and Wales are both consulting to bring in similar laws.^10,11

Track your units and calories with the MyDrinkaware app

How can I use low alcohol drinks to cut my drinking?

Substituting low alcohol products for standard alcoholic drinks could help you reduce the total amount of alcohol you drink, and keep to the UK low risk drinking guidelines - which brings important health benefits. But this only works if you don’t add low alcohol products to any alcohol you usually drink, otherwise you’ll be drinking more alcohol in total - not less.

Low alcohol drinks aren’t suitable for everyone though. They may not be considered acceptable if you avoid alcohol for religious reasons, and they aren’t recommended for anyone who is pregnant, dependent on alcohol, or for under 18s.

It’s also important to remember that low alcohol drinks are often still high in sugar– so they aren’t automatically a ‘healthy’ or low-calorie choice.

How low alcohol drinks can help cut your drinking

What’s the difference between ‘alcohol-free’, ‘non-alcoholic’ and ‘reduced alcohol’ drinks?

Low alcohol, alcohol-free, non-alcoholic and reduced alcohol drinks are all different. But depending on where you look, these different types of drinks can sometimes be talked about as one thing – with terms like ‘nolo alcohol’ or ‘no and low’.

This can be confusing, as there is a substantial difference in the amount of alcohol between the lowest strength ‘alcohol-free’ drinks which can contain no alcohol at all (or a small amount), and ‘low alcohol’ drinks, which can have as much as 1.2% ABV. 

There are lots of terms used in this area, including ‘non-alcoholic’, ‘de-alcoholised’ and ‘reduced alcohol’. Here’s a summary of what they all mean:

• Alcohol-free
  Many, although not all, producers follow government guidance that says alcohol-free drinks can be up to 0.05% ABV.¹² (Sometimes these types of drinks might be described as ‘zero alcohol’, or ‘0.0’). In practice, you might see alcohol-free drinks that are up to 0.5% ABV for sale. Find out more about alcohol-free drinks here. 
• Low alcohol
  Government guidance says low alcohol drinks can be up to 1.2% ABV. 
• Non-alcoholic
  The term ‘non-alcoholic’ should only be used to refer to communion wine according to government guidelines,¹³ rather than other types of drink. But, sometimes you might see it used incorrectly, as a substitute term for ‘alcohol-free’.
• De-alcoholised
  This term can be used to describe a drink that was made in a similar way to a standard alcoholic drink, and then had the alcohol extracted. Government guidance says these drinks should not be more than 0.5% ABV.
• Reduced alcohol
  There isn’t an agreed legal definition in the UK of how much alcohol a ‘reduced alcohol’ drink can have – so this means they can be a lot stronger than ‘alcohol free’ or ‘low alcohol’ drinks. Food Standards Agency best practice guidance says ‘reduced alcohol’ should mean at least 30% less alcohol than the equivalent standard drink.¹⁴
  In practice, the strength of ‘reduced alcohol’ drinks is typically around halfway between ‘alcohol-free’ and standard strength – a ‘light’ white, rose or red wine might have around 5.5% ABV.
  If you swap a standard alcoholic drink for a reduced alcohol one, you will still be cutting your units – but not by as much as if you choose ‘low alcohol’ or ‘alcohol-free’.

To track your own drinking habits, units and calories, download the free MyDrinkaware app.

Download MyDrinkaware App