Cold Town has been brewing out of Edinburgh since 2018, and the AF Hopped Lager is their entry into the sub-0.5% space. It's brewed as a low alcohol lager hybrid, which typically means the fermentation is carefully controlled to keep the alcohol down rather than stripping it out afterwards — and that approach tends to leave the beer tasting more like beer. The hop bill is doing most of the work here: Cascade, Azzaca, and Citra are all citrus-and-tropical-forward varieties, and they give the beer a noticeably hoppy aroma for something this light. Pale malt, dextrin, and torrified barley provide the body — dextrin in particular helps with mouthfeel and head retention, which can be a problem for low-ABV lagers. The result is cleaner and more hop-forward than many supermarket AF lagers, without the artificial sweetness that drags some of them down. It contains barley and is not suitable for coeliacs, but is confirmed vegan friendly. Available direct from Cold Town and from specialist AF retailers, with collection possible from their bar at 4 Grassmarket in Edinburgh.