August 24th, 2010
Graham Lewis
It has been a while now since we tested the frankly gorgeous tasting Söhnlein Brillant which currently sits atop our favorite non alcoholic wine list. Well I am pleased to say that we have recently picked up a bottle of it’s rosé cousin.
As with the Söhnlein Sparkling White it is a wonderfully packaged wine. A real quality bottle and the same champers style pop and fizz.
It has a lovely rich pink colour, just as you might expect with a rose and pours with a lovely fizzy head (don’t forget to chill those Champagne flutes).
Of the two I prefer the white, but I would say the same of any sparkling non alcoholic wines. This is a truly wonderful drink that is at home on a romantic evening is it is on a family occasion. In short well worth a try, talking of which it is also available in a 200ml size which is perfect to get that taster (don’t take that on your romantic evening though! You may come across as a cheap skate!)
This one will be at my remaining summer BBQ’s and in the garage ready for Christmas.
Read more »
August 8th, 2010
Graham Lewis
Earlier we posted about the production process of producing non alcoholic beer. As ever here at Alcohol Free Review we are interested in the production of all non alcoholic drinks, including non alcoholic wine.
One eagle eyed reader (thank you Mark) soon picked up on our post and contacted us about the wonderful example process diagram related to producing non alcoholic wine over at Ariel non alcoholic wines. This gives a great example of the filtering, or reverse osmosis process of removing the alcohol from fully fermented wine.
We stated earlier that we recognise dealcoholised wines that follow this process as the best of the bunch and it is interesting that Ariel follow this system. You can get the Ariel non alcoholic wines in the UK (just follow the link in the right hand sidebar).
I have tasted a couple of examples of Ariel non alcoholic wine, and have to say it is great. We hope to be doing a proper test here on the site very soon. Read more »
August 8th, 2010
Graham Lewis
Ever wondered how they make non alcoholic beer? A lot of people think that it is not actually beer as such but a drink made to taste like beer. Rather like a soda stream like drink with some flavouring added. However, this is a common misconception, good non alcoholic beers are beers that have been brewed the normal way and then had the alcohol taken out.
Ok, so you have made a good quality beer and now you want to take the alcohol out, so how do you do that? Well the most simple way is to boil off the alcohol and collect the alcohol as vapors. Of course this means that in the production process the beer has been boiled twice (one in the boil before fermentation and a second time during the removal of alcohol). The downside of this method is that it can lead to strange flavours in the beer. That is not to say that all non alcoholic beer made this way is bad, indeed there are some very good non alcoholic beers and non alcoholic lagers made this way.
Read more »
July 29th, 2010
Graham Lewis
After being surprised at just how much I enjoyed the Voelkel Red Orange Alcohol Free Cocktail in our last review, I was really looking forward to trying the Caipirinha.
Once again and as with all the Voelkel range it is 100% organic, has no artificial colours flavours or preservatives and no granulated sugar. I was advised to drink it well chilled, so it spent a good 24hrs in the fridge to get it down to a good chilly temperature.
Looking at the bottle before opening you can see that it needs a good shake to help it mix smoothly. It is a flat non sparkling drink, so don’t worry about an explosion on opening. On pouring it has a wonderful green colour and the smell of limes hits you right away. Read more »
July 27th, 2010
Graham Lewis
Quite a number of people who sampled Bavaria WIT alcohol free beer in our review were very taken by it, so I decided the next step should be to test its standard lager cousin.
I must say that this is really not my taste. It has an immediate bitter bite followed by an almost sickly aftertaste. It feels slightly over-gassed, even at the very cold temperatures I was serving it at. I was really hoping that I would like it because the WIT has been such a hit in my house. Sadly there are better non alcoholic beers on the market, but as ever, your taste may be more in tune with this than mine.
It has a nice look about it and thankfully does not have the language-fest back label of the WIT (not that this really matters, just being picky here). Read more »
July 7th, 2010
Graham Lewis
Cocktails have always been a holiday drink for me, so I didn’t know how I would get on with these new organic alcohol free cocktails from Voelkel.
On first impressions the quality is evident. A bright, but simple and clean design gives a really good finish to the product. The label reveals that all of the ingredients are organic, it has no granulated sugar, artificial colours, preservatives or flavours and is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Good news all round then, a guilt free drink! It does weigh in at 165 Kcal, but it is not a fast drinking drink, so chances are you wouldn’t have that many in one go anyway.
Read more »
July 3rd, 2010
Graham Lewis
Exciting news! We are now very happy to offer our readers a 10% discount on all of Birchmere Enterprise’s online shop products.
If you have not already tried their Söhnlein Brillant De-Alcoholised Sparkling Wine then you are in for a treat as it is one of the best non alcoholic wines available. Not only that but they also offer the full range of Voelkel non alcoholic cocktails AND there is news of a non alcoholic beer on the way (one which is currently not yet available in the UK).
Read more »
July 3rd, 2010
Graham Lewis
Calories in Non Alcoholic Wine
Unlike non alcoholic beer, non alcoholic wine seems to vary greatly in the amount of calories it has. To some this won’t matter at all, it is all about taste. For others though, part of the attraction of the alcohol free world. So, we thought we would have a look at the amount of calories in non alcoholic wine.
Calories in Non Alcoholic Champagne
Lets start with the party favourite Champagne. Calories in Champagne (alcoholic version) are usually around 133 Kcal per 175ml glass. An Alcohol free version such as Söhnlein Brillant De-Alcoholised Sparkling Wine comes in at a much lower 49 Kcal a glass as does another favorite Carl Jung Sparkling White. You can already see the weight loss advantage right? And both drinks are very good (you can even get a discount on the Söhnlein with our code AFR10 at Birchmere Enterprise’s online shop)
Calories in Non Alcoholic Red Wine
Non Alcoholic Red wine can vary, but you might be pleased to hear that one of the best Ariel Merlot is only a remarkable 42 Kcal a 175ml glass, while its alcoholic counterpart weighs in at around 120 Kcal. Be careful though, we found some alcohol free wines which were up to 80 Kcal a glass! it pays to buy quality AND read the label.
Read more »
June 30th, 2010
Graham Lewis
We have been adding to our Non Alcoholic Beer reviews this year, but we still have so much to review. I think it shows just how great the current range of non alcoholic beer is and how quickly it is becoming an important addition to the super market shelves, pubs and resturants.
It looks like the drink driving limit may be reduced in the near future, and that means that there will be room for even more new products.
If, like many, you have found this site looking to serach out a new non alcoholic beer to try then you are in the right place. If you haven’t tried non alcoholic beer for a while then you may well be suprised at just how good it tastes these days. We would recommed Krombacher, Jupiler and if you like wheat beer then Erdinger is a fantasic drink.
Read more »
June 27th, 2010
Graham Lewis
Sutter Home Fre Chardonnay is one of the cheaper alcohol free wines we will be testing in the coming months, so how will it stand up to its more expensive rivals?
The bottle design is modern and simple. The ‘Fre’ brand stands out as an alcohol free wine on the shelves, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your thinking. like most wines these days it has a convenient screw cap.
As ever we got this wine nicely chilled down before opening. We found it had a perfect chardonnay colour. The taste was refreshing and crisp, packed with flavour and not too sweet. A wine which work really well on its own as well as with food.
Read more »
It has been a while now since we tested the frankly gorgeous tasting Söhnlein Brillant which currently sits atop our favorite non alcoholic wine list. Well I am pleased to say that we have recently picked up a bottle of it’s rosé cousin.
