At the end of September, it’s that time again: out with the lederhosen, on with the dirndl, and off to Munich with a few million others. Oktoberfest isn't exactly known as the most alcohol-free event in the world. Nevertheless, nowadays you can attend perfectly well without drinking alcohol. In fact, in all party tents where beer is served, you can now also order an alcohol-free beer. Even at Augustiner, the last major German brewers without alcohol-free beer in their range, you have been able to order an alcohol-free Maß (the well-known liter mug) since 2024. And this is being taken increasingly seriously. In 2025, the demand for alcohol-free beer at Oktoberfest rose around 8 percent compared to the previous year. Approximately one in twenty draft beers at Oktoberfest is now alcohol-free. Alcohol-free, but not alcohol-free Oktoberfest beer The six Munich breweries permitted to serve at Oktoberfest brew their famous Oktoberfest beers for the Wiesn, as the people of Munich call Oktoberfest. Robust, malty lagers that are especially suited to the festival. If you choose alcohol-free, you unfortunately won't get the alcohol-free version of it. Simply because they don't make it (yet). You will receive a regular alcohol-free beer from the brewery in question. Think, for example, of Augustiner Alkoholfrei Hell or an alcohol-free beer from Paulaner , Hacker-Pschorr, or Löwenbräu. Actually quite strange. Alcohol-free beer has become so commonplace that every major tent serves it, but the six official Oktoberfest breweries do not yet produce an alcohol-free version of their Wiesnbier brewed especially for Oktoberfest. That does not mean, however, that alcohol-free Oktoberfest beer does not exist at all. In the US, they are already a step ahead. Athletic Brewing has an alcohol-free Oktoberfest Fest Brew, and Untitled Art also makes an alcohol-free Oktoberfest. We even had the latter in the ONP5 shop for a while. A Maß remains a Maß It is certainly not the size that is the issue. As an alcohol-free drinker, you don't have to sit among all the liter mugs with a measly bottle. Alcohol-free beer is also simply served by the Maß. And don't expect a discount on non-alcoholic beer: at Oktoberfest, a Maß of non-alcoholic beer costs just as much as alcoholic Wiesnbier (about €15). So no alcohol, but the full Oktoberfest experience. Including the bill. And then there is also OkSoberfest If you find Oktoberfest a bit too much alcohol around you, there is now an alternative: OkSoberfest . It will be organized in Berlin on October 10 and 11, 2026, and calls itself Germany's alcohol-free festival. So, not a traditional Oktoberfest copy, but a festival where being alcohol-free is precisely the starting point. There are more than 100 non-alcoholic beers and other drinks to try, complemented by music, food, sports, and even non-alcoholic beer pong. What is particularly striking is that such a festival exists by now. A few years ago, you still had to search for that one alcohol-free beer at a beer festival. Now you can attend a two-day festival that revolves entirely around it. Prost! For the time being, Oktoberfest will simply remain Oktoberfest. Because let's be honest: 5% alcohol-free also means that 95% of the beer served still contains alcohol. But the fact that you can order an alcohol-free Maß in every beer tent these days says something about how fast the beer world is changing. Now we are just waiting for the first German alcohol-free Oktoberfest beer. We would certainly love to taste it. Ein Prosit! 🍺

A few weeks ago, we received an email from Alex Wieland asking if we'd like to include his beer in our selection. And it turns out it's no ordinary beer. You can read more about it below. I need to begin this story with some background information about the foundation Alex belongs to: Historische Gewassen Natuur(lijk) Zeeuws (Historical Grains of Nature Zeeuws). This foundation consists of dedicated and hardworking volunteers who are wholeheartedly committed to preserving heritage grains and crops. It's an enthusiastic team of experts in sustainable agriculture, cultural history, and nature. The foundation's mission is to cultivate and preserve heritage and alternative crops. Through regularly organized excursions and the creation of beautiful products from these plants, they make them accessible to the public. Cultivation is carried out on a large scale, taking sustainability and biodiversity into account. The oldest variety is einkorn, which was the first grain cultivated over 14,000 years ago. The youngest variety is Wilhelmina wheat, which was only widely available in the fields of Zeeland about 100 years ago. For example, herb-rich field margins, native wildflower mixes, hedges, and beetle ridges serve as habitats for insects. These insects contribute to pest control. Such biotopes also provide habitat for farmland birds such as the skylark, partridge, and turtle dove. And they do all this in our beautiful Zeeland. And what does that have to do with (non-alcoholic) beer, I hear you ask. To finance the foundation's activities, the idea arose to produce goods from the harvested crops. For example, there are noodles made from Risweit (wheat) and noodles made from Johannis rye. Another obvious product is, of course, beer. After brewing two alcoholic beers, the idea also emerged to brew non-alcoholic beer (under 0.5%). De Zomertortel (European Turtledove) is no ordinary non-alcoholic beer. It is brewed entirely from the Foundation's unmalted grain and thus falls under the innovative MaltLess concept. This unique concept originated from the MaltLess research project at Ghent University, where an innovative process was developed to produce a Belgian low-alcohol alternative based on unmalted grain. This process was applied to the same traditional grain blend as in the Foundation's existing Saison, Leeuwerik, resulting in De Zomertortel Alcoholarm. De Zomertortel is brewed at Jopens Waarderpolder Brewery : a modern, highly flexible brewery where technology and quality are paramount. It's the ideal place to develop new techniques and recipes on a small scale and then scale them up . For pasteurization, they collaborated with their partner, Brouwerij Gulpener , known for its sustainable and environmentally friendly approach. Gulpener handled the pasteurization process and are also involved in the MaltLess project. Finally, a word about the name of the European Turtle Dove: This bird was once a familiar sight in the Dutch countryside, especially in Zeeland-Flanders. However, since the 1980s, its population in the Netherlands has declined by more than 97%. This makes it the fastest-disappearing breeding bird in our country. Thanks in part to the foundation's initiative, we hope to preserve this species. You can listen to the call of the European turtle dove here . And for true beer connoisseurs, a few more details about the ingredients: Zomertortel is brewed with a selection of heritage grains: March barley, white emmer, Zeeland brown emmer, and St. John's rye. Each of these grains contributes to the full, complex character of this summery beverage, which is deeply rooted in Zeeland's agricultural history. The bitterness is based on Magnum hops. This robust hop variety gives the beer its solid body without disrupting the balance. Cascade hops were added later for extra flavor and a more intense aroma. This aromatic hop contributes fresh citrus and floral notes, giving the beer a lively and inviting character.

We begin this blog with a statement, and you can share your opinion on it. We will give some arguments why this statement might be true, but also why this comparison is not helpful. Reasons for the many similarities between smoking and alcohol: Alcohol and smoking are both addictive. On the one hand, the government advises against both, but on the other hand, it also benefits from them through consumption taxes. Alcohol and smoking are both carcinogenic and cause other diseases as well. Smoking and alcohol consumption differ for the following reasons: Smokers often smoke a large amount at once, whereas most people can enjoy one alcoholic drink without overdoing it. Alcohol has several advantages. For example, it has a relaxing effect and (provided one doesn't consume too much) provides a lot of pleasure. Smoking does not offer these advantages. And thirdly: Alcohol has existed for about 10,000 years, while cigarettes have only existed for about 150 years. This statement has its pros and cons. Whether you agree or disagree is up to you. The main thing is that you buy your non-alcoholic beers from us 🙂