Some of the Scottish beers you can drink without cheating on your Dry January.Some of the Scottish beers you can drink without cheating on your Dry January.
Some of the Scottish beers you can drink without cheating on your Dry January.

Dry January 2023: Here are 12 alcohol-free Scottish beers to help keep you on the wagon

Dry January has become a popular way to start the New Year on a healthy footing – but it doesn’t mean having to give up beer completely.

A wide range of alcohol-free beers are now available for those who love the taste of a lager, IPA or ale, but want to maintain their sobriety.

The teetotal tipples have come a long way from the relatively bland brews introduced back in the 1980s, and Scotland’s beer producers now have a wide range of tasty beverages that might just make you think they’re the real thing.

And with Dry January expected to be bigger than ever this year – Alcohol Change UK, the charity behind the initiative, estimate around 20 per cent of drinkers will take part in 2023 – cans and bottles should be flying off the shelves for the next four weeks.

Interestingly many alcohol-free beers technically do have some alcohol in them, with a 0.5 percent ABV fairly typical.

But given that several common food items – including brown bread, apple juice and ripe bananas – contain a similar volume of alcohol, these drinks can still be labelled ‘alcohol-free’.

German scientists have even shown that 0.5 per cent beer has “no physiological” effect on the body, pronouncing it safe for drivers to drink even with the country’s tough ‘zero tolerance’ drink-driving laws.

And it isn’t just the lack of alcohol that makes these pints attractive – the relatively low number of calories in them means they can also help you keep to that New Year weight loss resolution.

So, here are the 12 Scottish beers you can knock back without feeling any guilt.