Britain’s pubs are set to smash the record for consumption of alcohol-free beer over the summer, with the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) predicting over 64 million pints will be sold in June, July and August.

That number is up around 8 million pints (15%) on the same period in 2025, with pubs and bars cashing in on a hot summer and the World Cup, but also a growing interest from consumers.

‘Summer is peak time for sales [for us],’ said James Rabagliati, head brewer at Nirvana Brewery. ‘And the heatwave has had a very positive impact on ours – especially as some people are moderating their alcohol intake in higher temperatures.’

Many in the non-alc world feel that pubs and bars have been too slow to get behind non-alc beers. But the situation is improving steadily, and there’s a hope that this summer’s double-digit growth could encourage hesitant landlords to take on extra listings – or add alcohol-free lines for the first time.

Brand owners believe that the situation could be improved even further if the government were to address the descriptors for non-alc. Currently, only drinks at 0.05% alcohol are allowed to be called ‘alcohol-free’, putting the country out of step with much of the rest of the world.

‘Updating that definition to 0.5% will get more people drinking alcohol-free in this country, which can only be a good thing,’ said Luke Boase, founder of Lucky Saint.

According to BBPA no and low-alcohol beer is the sector’s biggest growth category across the UK, with volume growth of 870% since 2013.

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