A Guide to Non-Alcoholic Beer in India

Five years ago, the non-alcoholic beer shelf in an Indian shop usually held one zero-alcohol lager from a big global brand and a sweet malt drink. Today non-alcoholic beer is a real category, and it can be confusing. This guide explains what you will find on the shelf.

The three kinds of drink on the shelf

First, there are the non-alcoholic lagers from big global brands. They are well made and consistent. They are brewed in very large batches and designed to taste like the regular lagers they are based on, which are light lagers to begin with. Second, there are radlers and malt drinks. They are flavoured with fruit and are closer to a soft drink than to a beer. Third, and newest, there is non-alcoholic craft beer from Indian brands. It is fermented as a real ale or lager and kept under 0.5% ABV. SOMA belongs to this group.

What non-alcoholic means under Indian law

In India, any drink under 0.5% ABV is classified as non-alcoholic, and the US and most of Europe use the same threshold. In Karnataka, this classification means non-alcoholic beer can be sold outside excise rules and delivered to homes.

How to read the label

There are three things to check. First, check that the ABV is declared as under 0.5%, and see whether the brand explains how it keeps the alcohol there. Second, read the calories and the ingredient list together. A brewed beer gets its carbohydrates from malted grain, so if sugar or syrup appears in the ingredient list, the drink is closer to a soft drink than to a beer. For reference, SOMA's five beers have an estimated 63 to 99 calories per 500ml can, calculated from the recipe. Third, check whether the label says "fermented" or "brewed", or whether the drink is a "malt beverage" that was never fermented with yeast. Fermentation is what makes beer taste like beer, so a drink that was never fermented will not taste quite the same.

How craft non-alcoholic beer is different

The non-alcoholic beers from big brands usually aim for one thing, which is to taste like the brand's main lager. Craft non-alcoholic beer can aim for a wider range of flavours, such as a hazy IPA with real dry hopping, a spiced Belgian wit or a roasty stout. SOMA ferments all five of its beers with a maltose-negative yeast that leaves the alcohol under 0.5% ABV. Every batch is then pasteurised and lab-tested.

What it costs

At launch, SOMA's 500ml can costs ₹229, against an MRP of ₹279. A 250ml can costs ₹119, and a 6-pack of 500ml cans costs ₹1,374.

Non-alcoholic drinks are a growing category. Global sales of non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits reached nearly USD 20 billion in 2023, double the 2019 figure, according to IWSR figures cited by Sustainalytics. We list that figure, with its source, on our numbers page. Whatever you choose from the shelf, we suggest a beer that is brewed and fermented, not one that is only flavoured.