Best AF IPA / IPA
IPAAlcohol-free IPA in 2026: medals, takeovers and a recall
A Spanish IPA won gold, a juice maker bought a beer brand and Lucky Saint recalled its Hazy IPA. The year in hoppy alcohol-free beer.
Updated Tasted by the AF IPA team
Cervezas Arriaca's IPA Sin won gold at the 2026 World Beer Awards in the No & Low Alcohol IPA category. It is brewed with a yeast that makes very little alcohol in the first place, which keeps more of the hop aroma.
Cawston Press, the juice maker, bought Loah, which makes 0.5% fruit-led beers including a blood orange IPA and a peach pale ale. Co-founder Hugo Tapp stays to run the brand.
The recall
In September, Lucky Saint recalled 330ml four-packs of its 0.5% Hazy IPA with a best-before date of 13 August, because some cans may over-pressurise, swell or rupture. Customers should not drink them, and can get a refund with proof of purchase.
Why IPA is hard without alcohol
Alcohol carries hop aroma and adds body. Take it out and an IPA can taste thin or bitter. The best alcohol-free IPAs make up for it with more late hops and a fuller malt base. Our IPA ranking tastes them side by side.
IMPOSSIBREW Triple Hopped IPA
Our top IPA is IMPOSSIBREW Triple Hopped IPA: hopped three times for aroma, 12 kcal per 100ml, and from the brewery behind the #1 alcohol-free beer on Trustpilot.
Sources
- Promising Beer: Spanish IPA Sin wins World Beer Awards gold
- The Drinks Business: juice makers migrate into non-alcoholic beer
- Food Manufacture: Lucky Saint Hazy IPA recall
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How alcohol-free beer is made: three methods
Remove the alcohol after brewing, stop it forming, or use a yeast that barely makes any. Each method changes how the beer tastes.
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The World Beer Awards alcohol-free winners, explained
Eight titles went to eight countries in 2026. How the awards work, and which beers have won since 2021.
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