Speaking to The Morning Advertiser (The MA), Nirvana Brewery CEO Paul Thomas Walsh said alcohol-free draught beer was becoming increasingly prevalent in the on-trade.
“Draught [low & no] is very important,” he said. “You can get really great tasting alcohol-free products on draught.
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“It is going to become more and more popular. We offer our Best Ale, IPA and our lager in 30-litre kegs and people really enjoy drinking that.
“Keg is still only about 20% of on-trade volume, but we see this growing.”
Figures from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) support this, with more than 200m pints of low & no alcohol beers were sold in pubs and bars last year.
However, Walsh acknowledged limited bar space and tight margins make it hard for operators to justify replacing existing lines with alcohol‑free products.
“Pubs have limited space on the bar,” he said. “So there’s always going to be that challenge of, well, if we replace one of our lines with an alcohol free, there’s got to be a good number of sales. That’s not a barrier, it’s just reality.”
Nirvana is currently stocked in around 600 pubs nationwide, up 50% year-on-year, and works with around 17 distributors.
To help operators trial the category before sacrificing tap space , Nirvana offers products across draught, bottles and cans, encouraging venues to build familiarity through sampling and tastings.
“We try and make it as easy as possible by working with multiple distributors,” Walsh said.
Key trends
“Operators need the comfort that a product is going to sell. But feedback we get from distributors, once pubs have [an alcohol-free line], customers do drink it and like it.”
Alongside the rise of alcohol-free draught, Walsh highlighted fruit-led beers as a major growth area within the category.
“The growth in fruit lager is notable and actually rising at a bigger rate than ordinary beer sales,” Walsh said.
He added fruit-forward products, such as cloudy lemon beers and Radler-style serves, were helping attract consumers who may not typically drink beer, particularly younger drinkers more open to experimenting with flavour.
“Younger people, 18-to-34-year-olds, are more mindful about their drinking, but they’re more open to other tastes because they haven’t grown up with a certain type of beer,” Walsh explained.
“So, something like a fruit-based Radler or a cloudy lemon is a nice entry point for them.”
Walsh also pointed to growing interest in functional drinks featuring electrolytes and CBD, reflecting wider trends across soft drinks.
“Functional and mindfulness related drinks and fruit based are certainly going to be key over the next year,” he added.
The newly appointed CEO, who has been in the role since April, also noted the low & no alcohol category was no longer defined by one specific age group, with motivations differing across demographics.
“It’s a wide demographic,” he said. “The factor is not so much age, it’s the reasons. The rationale is different.”
Alcohol-free evolution
Older consumers were increasingly moderating alcohol consumption for health and lifestyle reasons, he explained, while younger drinkers were entering the category with fewer preconceived ideas around traditional beer styles.
Walsh added improving perceptions on quality remained central to Nirvana’s long-term strategy, as consumers become increasingly selective about alcohol-free options in the on-trade.
“There’s a misconception that the taste isn’t there [in alcohol-free products],” he said.
“But nowadays, the taste and the quality is so much better, and that’s where Nirvana has doubled down from day one.”
Looking ahead, the dedicated alcohol-free brewer has ambitious plans to fundraise upwards of £1m to push the business further, with sales already up 59% year-on-year.
Walsh said the on-trade would remain central to Nirvana’s growth strategy as the brewery continues investing in innovation within alcohol-free brewing.
“We want to innovate within alcohol-free brewing,” he said. “We want to show what is possible.
“For us, the on-trade is a core part of how we wish to grow… it is fundamental to our growth."
Though he urged the sector needed to have faith in the power of alcohol-free products, particularly when it comes to draught beer.
He said: “We want operators to believe in what the alcohol-free evolution is trying to do to help them and to trust in the products.”
