Top 5 Best Low Alcohol or Alcohol-Free Ciders

For a lot of people, the ability to go out and socialise or meet with friends is utterly essential to modern survival. In many cases that can go hand in hand with grabbing a drink or two, and now – more than ever – there’s so much choice that it can be baffling. But, if you’re not the sort to dip into a tipple or two then that widening of variety brings with it an added relief, because the alcohol-free, or low-alcohol, selection has grown as well.

Thankfully, the days where people pull faces at people drinking alcohol-free versions of drinks seem to be on the decline; and there’s a whole variety of reasons to swap out your drink for one without alcohol — from, having to drive, a busy day the next day, generally not liking the feeling anymore, and various health reasons. Say you do have a health issue, but enjoyed the taste of cider – this could be the best way for you to still have that.

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For whatever reason you’re choosing to drink low or zero alcohol cider, I’ve made a list of my personal top five and made a few notes on their flavour. You can find it below.

Drynks Unlimited Smashed Apple Alcohol-Free Cider 0.0%

I’d not heard of Smashed Cider until we got a giftbox through which included them. They apparently made their way into the industry through a successful pitch on Dragon’s Den, with a view to building a fashionable alternative to alcohol-based drinks, and – to be honest – they’ve done a great job. The Smashed Apple smells like and starts off with a taste similar to a sweet cider take on sour apple – the kind that you often find replicated in sweets. From there it moves on to tasting similar to an apple peel, albeit nice and tart.

Kopparberg Mixed Fruits Non-Alcoholic Cider 0.0%

When it came to modernising the concept of cider in the UK, Kopparberg definitely picked up the mantle from the likes of Bulmers/Magners. There was definitely a tipping point where ciders slid back into popularity with them leading the charge, but then Kopparberg blindsided them with their variety of super-sweet, fruit-flavour forward takes on the beverage. Arguably we now see Strongbow and brands like Old Mout standing strong alongside Kopparberg, but for a while they led it.

Kopparberg, like many low, or free-from, alcohol ciders, almost taste identical to the alcohol version of it, although they do – somehow – manage to taste even sweeter than their ‘hard’ versions. Kopparberg’s non-alcoholic Mixed Fruit is my favourite of their selection, although I understand that it’s not one for those who don’t enjoy blackcurrent.

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Weston’s Stowford Press Low Alcohol Cider 0.5%

For all of the modern cider tastes in this list, it’s worth having at least one ‘classic’ cider too, and you really can’t go wrong with Stowford Press when it comes to that. It’s sharp and crisp, with an apple-based, classic cider taste to it. A lot of the bitter, apple ciders or scrumpies haven’t made alcohol free versions, so if you’re looking for that then you really don’t have to look any further than Weston.

Magners Zero Cider 0.0%

Another entry in the more ‘classic’ cider department, Magners has the zesty apple bite that most older ciders had, while still being sweet enough that its delicious to drink cold on a nice Summer or Spring day. The non-alcoholic version of it still hits the same nice chill as its alcoholic counterpart, but with the added benefit of being guilt-free.

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Kopparberg Strawberry & Lime Non-Alcoholic Cider 0.0%

Another Kopparberg one, this time it’s their Strawberry and Lime cider. As with the mixed fruit one, this is a little bit sweeter than its alcoholic variant, but if you’re one of those people who don’t like blackcurrants, or indeed prefers the taste of strawberry and lime to mixed fruit, then you can’t go wrong here.

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