Perlenbacher 0.0%
Not everyone wants to pay two pounds for a can of Lucky Saint. Sometimes you just want something cold and inoffensive from a shop you were already in. Perlenbacher 0.0%, from Lidl, is that drink.
Ingredients: water, barley malt, flavouring, hop extract, acidity regulator: citric acid.
The full-strength Perlenbacher Pilsner won World’s Best Classic Pilsner at the 2024 World Beer Awards, which sets an interesting benchmark for the alcohol-free version. The 0.0% does not quite reach those heights, but it carries some of the same character — pale gold, light carbonation, a faint malt note and a clean finish with no unpleasant aftertaste. Which? magazine’s blind tasting panel rated it a Best Buy at 71%, ahead of several better-known names, which says something about what you get for the price.
What it lacks is body and hop character. It is straightforward rather than interesting, inoffensive rather than satisfying. Well-chilled on a warm evening it does the job. As a considered drink to sit with, it falls short of the premium options in this list.
At around 55p a bottle it is by some distance the best value alcohol-free lager reviewed in The Dry Bar. For that reason alone it earns its place.
Detail | Score |
Taste | 2/5 |
The Pour | 2/5 |
Value | 5/5 |
Drinkability | 3/5 |
Total: | 12/20 |
