No & low alcohol beer is one of the newer categories at the World Beer Awards, only splitting into its own dedicated subcategories in 2021. Since then it has grown into its own eight or nine-way split – Wheat, Dark, Flavoured, IPA, Lager, Pale, Sour & Wild, Speciality and Stout & Porter – judged the same way as every other World Beer Awards category: national winners first, then a worldwide judge-off. We pulled every No & Low winner from 2021 through 2026 to see which brands keep winning, which country leads the category, and what’s actually available to buy in the US.
2026 winners
Eight countries split eight titles in the newest results, with Germany, Belgium’s near-neighbor Lithuania, and a first-ever win for Mexico via Corona’s alcohol-free line.
2026
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best No & Low Wheat | Maisel’s Weisse | Alkoholfrei | Germany |
| World’s Best No & Low Dark | Gubernija | Alcohol free Brown Ale | Lithuania |
| World’s Best No & Low Flavoured | Bernard | Free Plum | Czech Republic |
| World’s Best No & Low IPA | Jing-a | Lingdao IPA | China |
| World’s Best No & Low Lager | MOVA brewing | Non-Alcohol | Ukraine |
| World’s Best No & Low Pale | Wiper And True | Kaleidoscope Alcohol-Free | England |
| World’s Best No & Low Sour & Wild | Lindemans | Kriek 0,0% | Belgium |
| World’s Best No & Low Speciality | Corona | Corona 0.0 | Mexico |
Has any brand won World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Beer more than once?
Yes, several times over, and this category has the most repeat winners of any World Beer Awards style we’ve looked at:
- Big Drop (United Kingdom): three wins in the dataset – Galactic Milk Stout (Stout & Porter, 2021), Paradiso Citra IPA (Speciality, 2021) and Poolside DDH IPA (IPA, 2024). Big Drop has picked up more than 30 World’s Best titles across all of the World Drinks Awards’ judging programmes since it launched in 2016, brewing with what it calls a “reduced amylase” process rather than dealcoholizing a full-strength beer afterward.
- Athletic Brewing (United States): four wins across four different years and four different subcategories – All Out (Dark, 2021), Athletic Lite (Lager, 2022), Wit’s Peak (Wheat, 2023) and Downwinder (Sour & Wild, 2024). No other brewery in this dataset has won in as many different subcategories.
- Franziskaner (Germany): won World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Wheat Beer twice, back to back, in 2021 and 2022, both times with the same Alcoholfree Wheat Beer.
- The Flying Dutchman (Belgium): won Speciality three times – 2022, 2024 and 2025 – all with the same beer, Freak Kriek Zero Point Three Feel Free Merry Cherry Beer.
Athletic Brewing has won a World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Beer title in four different subcategories since 2021 – more spread across styles than any other brand in the dataset.
Which country has won the most World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Beer titles?
Adding up every No & Low Alcohol Beer subcategory win from 2021 to 2026:
| Country | Wins |
|---|---|
| Germany | 8 |
| Belgium | 7 |
| United States | 6 |
| England | 3 |
| Brazil | 3 |
| Canada | 3 |
| United Kingdom | 3 |
| Lithuania, China, Australia, France | 2 each |
| Czech Republic, Ukraine, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Japan | 1 each |
Germany leads with 8 total wins, split across five different brands (Maisel’s Weisse, Veldensteiner, Clausthaler, Franziskaner and Bavaria), which suggests deep bench strength in German no-alcohol brewing generally rather than one dominant brand. The United States sits third with 6 wins, and unlike Germany’s spread, more than half of that total belongs to one brand: Athletic Brewing.
Samuel Adams’ Just The Haze, the actual 2021 World’s Best No & Low Alcohol IPA winner, did not turn up on Saucey during our check. Athletic’s own award-winning cans – All Out, Athletic Lite, Wit’s Peak and Downwinder – were also not confirmed in stock, though the brand’s wider non-alcoholic lineup, including Run Wild, is.
Full winners list, 2021-2026
All No & Low Alcohol Beer subcategories, year by year, since the World Beer Awards introduced the category in 2021.
2025
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best No & Low Wheat | Veldensteiner | Hefe Weißbier Alkoholfrei | Germany |
| World’s Best No & Low Dark | Leffe | Bruin 0.0 | Belgium |
| World’s Best No & Low Flavoured | Bavaria | 0.0% Grapefruit | Netherlands |
| World’s Best No & Low IPA | Sim! Cerveja Sem Álcool | IPA | Brazil |
| World’s Best No & Low Lager | Clausthaler | Extra Herb | Germany |
| World’s Best No & Low Pale | Heaps Normal | Half Day Hazy | Australia |
| World’s Best No & Low Sour & Wild | La Souche | Simple De Même Gose | Canada |
| World’s Best No & Low Speciality | The Flying Dutchman | Freak Kriek Zero Point Three Feel Free Merry Cherry Beer | Belgium |
2024
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best No & Low Lager | Jupiler | 0,0 | Belgium |
| World’s Best No & Low Dark | Leffe | Bruin 0.0 | Belgium |
| World’s Best No & Low Speciality | The Flying Dutchman | Freak Kriek Zero Point Three Feel Free Merry Cherry Beer | Belgium |
| World’s Best No & Low Flavoured | Nirvana Brewery | Cloudy Lemon Lager | England |
| World’s Best No & Low IPA | Big Drop | Poolside DDH IPA | England |
| World’s Best No & Low Pale | Goxoa | Sports Beer | France |
| World’s Best No & Low Sour & Wild | Athletic Brewing | Downwinder | United States |
| World’s Best No & Low Wheat | La Brasserie Parallèle | Blanche | France |
2023
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best No & Low Dark | Gubernija | Non-Alcoholic Brown Ale | Lithuania |
| World’s Best No & Low Flavoured | Feldschlößchen | Natur Radler | Germany |
| World’s Best No & Low IPA | Campinas | IPA Zero | Brazil |
| World’s Best No & Low Lager | Lagabière | Ta Blonde Sans Alcool | Canada |
| World’s Best No & Low Pale | Mahou San Miguel | San Miguel 0,0 Tostada | Spain |
| World’s Best No & Low Sour & Wild | Nbeer | Non-Alcoholic Gose Modern | China |
| World’s Best No & Low Stout & Porter | Surreal Brewing Company | Pastry Porter | United States |
| World’s Best No & Low Wheat | Athletic Brewing Company | Wit’s Peak | United States |
2022
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best No & Low Speciality | The Flying Dutchman Nomad Brewing Company | Freak Kriek Zero Point Three Feel Free Merry Cherry Beer | Belgium |
| World’s Best No & Low Flavoured | Clausthaler | Grapefruit | Germany |
| World’s Best No & Low IPA | Campinas | Ipa Zero | Brazil |
| World’s Best No & Low Lager | Athletic Brewing Co | Athletic Lite | United States |
| World’s Best No & Low Pale | Heaps Normal | Quiet Xpa | Australia |
| World’s Best No & Low Wheat | Franziskaner | Alcoholfree Wheat Beer | Germany |
2021
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best No & Low Stout & Porter | Big Drop | Galactic Milk Stout | United Kingdom |
| World’s Best No & Low Dark | Athletic Brewing Co | All Out | United States |
| World’s Best No & Low Flavoured | Karlsberg | Grapefruit Alkoholfrei | Germany |
| World’s Best No & Low IPA | Samuel Adams | Just The Haze | United States |
| World’s Best No & Low Lager | Jump Ship | Yardarm | United Kingdom |
| World’s Best No & Low Pale | Iwate Kura Beer | Heel In The Prohibition Era | Japan |
| World’s Best No & Low Sour & Wild | Microbrasserie Le Bockale | Aurora | Canada |
| World’s Best No & Low Speciality | Big Drop | Paradiso Citra IPA | United Kingdom |
| World’s Best No & Low Wheat | Franziskaner | Alcoholfree Wheat Beer | Germany |
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the World Beer Awards start judging No & Low Alcohol Beer separately?
2021 was the first year the category had its own full set of subcategory winners, splitting no and low-alcohol beer out by style (Wheat, Dark, Flavoured, IPA, Lager, Pale, Sour & Wild, Speciality and Stout & Porter) the same way the World Beer Awards judges regular-strength beer.
What counts as a “no or low” alcohol beer at the World Beer Awards?
The category covers beers brewed to be alcohol-free or low-alcohol from the start (Big Drop’s approach) as well as full-strength beers that have had the alcohol removed afterward (the more traditional dealcoholized method used by many of the German and Belgian entrants on this list).
Which US brand has won the most No & Low Alcohol Beer titles?
Athletic Brewing, with four subcategory wins across four different years: All Out (Dark, 2021), Athletic Lite (Lager, 2022), Wit’s Peak (Wheat, 2023) and Downwinder (Sour & Wild, 2024).
Want to try the one we could actually buy? Check out our Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA review, or browse the World’s Best IPA and World’s Best Stout & Porter winners lists.
