A caffeinated non-alcoholic beer is exactly what it sounds like, and the two halves need separating because people conflate them. "Non-alcoholic" means the beer was brewed full-strength and then dealcoholized to under 0.5% ABV. "Caffeinated" means it contains caffeine — in our case because the beer is brewed with cold-brew coffee, not because caffeine was added from a tin.
Where the caffeine comes from. Coffee stouts are a real style: roasted barley and chocolate malt already push a stout towards espresso and cocoa, and brewers add actual coffee to make that note literal. The coffee brings its own caffeine with it. That distinction matters in India: food law treats naturally occurring caffeine (from coffee, tea, cocoa) differently from added caffeine, and a product that crosses 145 mg of caffeine per litre is regulated as a "caffeinated beverage" with its own mandatory advisory text. Our label carries the figure per can and the required declaration either way.
How much caffeine to expect. Anchors, since every recipe differs: a single espresso shot is roughly 60–75 mg, a 240 ml cup of filter coffee is roughly 80–100 mg, a 330 ml cola is roughly 30–35 mg. A coffee stout typically lands somewhere between a cola and a cup of coffee per serving, depending on how much cold-brew goes in. We publish SOMA's number on the can and at getsoma.store/nutrition once each recipe's lab result is in, rather than quoting a range and calling it a fact.
What it is not. It is not an energy drink. There is no taurine, no added sugar, no added caffeine, and no claim about performance. It is a stout that happens to be brewed with coffee, and the caffeine is the honest consequence of that.
Who it is for. The early alarm you set on purpose. The long drive where you want a beer-shaped thing that will not make you slower. The late night at the desk that used to mean a third espresso. Brunch, obviously — a coffee stout beside waffles is a better idea than it sounds.
Who should pick the caffeine-free can instead. Anyone avoiding caffeine — late in the evening, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, on a doctor's advice, or because caffeine simply does not agree with you. That is why SOMA's regular Dark Arts stout stays caffeine-free and always will; the caffeinated version is a second can, not a replacement.
Reading the can. Two lines tell you everything: the ABV declaration (<0.5%) and the caffeine declaration. If a "beer" carries neither, it is not being straight with you about what it is.
SOMA brews five non-alcoholic craft beers in Bangalore, all under 0.5% ABV and lab-tested every batch. Exactly one contains caffeine — Dark Arts Espresso, the coffee stout — and it says so on the can. 18+.
Brewed bold. No hangovers.
Our first batch of non-alcoholic craft beer lands in September 2026, Bangalore first. Fifty people taste it before the city does — joining that list is free, and there is nothing to pay today.
18+ · Under 0.5% ABV, lab-tested every batch
Keep reading