Ilkley Brewery

The core range covers modern pale ales, lagers, and stouts, brewed in the Wharfedale valley using Yorkshire water. But the low and no range has become a significant part of the offer, reflecting the brewery's view that making good alcohol-free beer requires the same craft attention as anything else they produce.

Virgin Mary was their first low-alcohol pale ale, brewed to 0.5% naturally rather than having alcohol removed, which gives it a different flavour profile to dealcoholised products. Maiden Mary followed as a fully alcohol-free version of a similar style, using a range of US and New Zealand hops alongside British malts. The range also includes Daydreamer, an alcohol-free lager, and Nowt Mary, an alcohol-free milk stout that takes a different approach to the category.

The milk stout in particular is worth noting. Alcohol-free stouts are rare enough; an AF milk stout is rarer still. It suggests the brewery is taking the format seriously rather than ticking a commercial box. Ilkley Brewery's AF beers are available through specialist online retailers and some wider stockists.