St. Peter's Without

St. Peter's Brewery has been making ale in the Suffolk countryside since 1996, founded by John Murphy, the branding entrepreneur behind Interbrand and later a driving force in the premium gin revival through Plymouth Gin. The brewery operates out of converted agricultural buildings next to the moated St. Peter's Hall in St. Peter South Elmham, near Bungay. It's an evocative spot: the chalk-filtered water from the brewery's own borehole, East Anglian malt, and a master brewer who's been at it long enough to have a philosophy about it. The distinctive oval bottle — modelled on an eighteenth-century gin bottle from Philadelphia — has made the range instantly recognisable on shelves since the beginning.

The Without® range is the brewery's alcohol-free arm, launched in 2016. The name is deliberately plain: these are ales brewed in the same way as the rest of the portfolio, just without the alcohol at the end. The core range runs to three beers. Without® Original is the flagship, a malt-forward ale with the kind of body that often eludes zero-alcohol brewing. Without® Gold takes a slightly lighter, more golden approach. Without® Organic Pale Ale rounds things out for the hop-conscious drinker, made with certified organic ingredients. A fruit variant — Elderberry and Raspberry — has also appeared over the years, though availability varies. All are 0.0% ABV.

The range was reformulated in 2020 with tweaked hop profiles, the brewery wanting more pronounced aroma without pulling the beers away from what made them work in the first place.

In 2021, St. Peter's passed from founder ownership to independent investors, with Derek Jones taking over as CEO. The brewery has since expanded its estate, acquiring Curious Brewing and Wild Beer in 2023, which brought lagers and specialty ales into the portfolio alongside the original Suffolk ales.

The Without range is widely available across UK retailers and through the brewery's own shop. At around two pounds a bottle in multipack format, it sits comfortably in the mid-range of the AF beer market — not budget, but not boutique either. Worth seeking out if you want something with a bit more malt character than the category average.

The Collection

Gold

Organic Pale Ale

Original Ale