Force Majeure - Bruin

This is a < 0.5 % ABV brown beer from Force Majeure, the Belgian brewery which specialises in AF beers. The company currently offer five traditional Belgian beers (minus the alcohol), each one arriving in a 330 ml bottle. A sweet and brown bread tinged aroma invites you to drink what turns out to be a richly flavoured beer. Caramel, treacle toffee, malt and with a slight note of cinnamon make for a complex and satisfying taste profile. The mouthfeel is gentle and creamy, whilst the finish is bittersweet.

5 / 5

Broughton - Pure Jock

Broughton is a Scottish brewer that set up business in 1979. Pure Jock is a traditional Scottish ale but with an untraditional ABV of below 0.05%. The ingredients include several malts as well as rye; the hops used are not specified on the label. The colour is a vibrant reddish brown and the aroma is, as expected, very malty. Once you take a sip a whole range of flavours are displayed, it's a veritable fruit cake of a beer. Raisin, liquorice, date and black treacle all vie for your attention in an ale that is particularly smooth and well-rounded in its mouthfeel. The finish is sweet and malty. A richly flavoured brew that is a pleasure to sip.

5 / 5

Below Brew - Brune-DMC

The Bath brewery offer up this brown "abbey style" Belgian beer in a 440 ml can. Typically such beers come in at hefty ABVs but this being AF, it has a very modest ABV of no more than 0.5 %. The beer is vegan. The ingredients include various grains (barley, oats, wheat and rye) whilst the hops used are Saaz and Goldings. Pouring the ale into the glass releases an earthy aroma and a thick foaming head is created that sits atop the rich auburn body. The taste is sweet and malty with notes of black cherry and chocolate. A full and smooth mouthfeel leads into a honeyed finish. AF beers have come a long way in the last few years and this Trappist-style beer is a fine example of just how far. Let's hope more and more breweries walk this way.

5 / 5

Big Drop - Woodcutter Brown Ale

A traditional English ale from a brewery that specialises in low-alcohol beers. It's a rich tawny colour in the glass and with a modest off-white head. This beer is more about the malt and less about the hops, as one would expect in this style of beer. It has a sweet, toasty aroma and suggestive of dried fruits. A liquid Christmas pudding is how it tastes - all plums, raisins and caramel. The beer is therefore quite sweet (probably because it contains milk sugar, so it's not suitable for vegans). The body is a little thin and is not helped by the low level of carbonation. Sweet malt is the main aftertaste, but not so sweet as to be sickly. A comforting, sipping sort of a brew.

4/5

Harvey's - Old Ale

From the oldest brewery in Sussex comes an AF brown ale, a dealcoholised take on their winter brew. The hops used are the typical English ones (the recipe of the alcoholic version dates back to the 50s) - Goldings, Fuggles and Bramling Cross. But a beer like this isn't really about the hops, it's about the malts from the roasted Maris Otter barley. The beer pours a beautiful rich red-brown but the head is thin and dissipates quickly. Flat as the proverbial mill pond in fact. The aroma is sweet and very malty, think Christmas pudding perhaps. Certainly the taste is of dried fruit and dates. The mouthfeel is very thin and the aftertaste is rather sticky. The taste disappoints after the initial promise from the aroma.

2/5

Samuel Smith - Sam's Brown Ale

From Yorkshire's oldest brewery comes this traditional English ale. The beer is dark brown and pours with a modest head, that mostly soon disappears. It is a brew that has a delightful malty nose. The taste is what one expects from such a style: maltiness, caramel, roasted barley and a little plumminess, in a pleasing balanced manner. The finish is dry and sweet. A little thin in the body, but overall a good example of the style.

4/5