Heineken 0.0 Review

Heineken Company Overview

Founder Gerard Adriaan Heineken started his small family brewery in Amsterdam in 1873. Now celebrating its 150th birthday this year, Heineken has become one of the most famous beer brands in the world. Known for its flagship Dutch pale lager beers in their distinctive green bottles, Heineken is estimated to reach 14.91 billion euros ($16.37 billion) during the first half of 2023.

What is Heineken 0.0?

With Gen Z becoming the generation drinking the least amount of alcohol and the negative health effects of alcohol becoming more well known, a growing number of beverage companies are looking to meet the demand for more zero-proof drink options.

While some non-alcoholic beverages are from dedicated NA breweries like Athletic Brewing Company or Best Day, we are increasingly seeing mainstream beer companies like Guinness, Stella Artois, Samuel Adams, Budweiser, and Heineken making non-alcoholic variations of their flagship beers.

Heineken introduced its entry into the non-alcoholic beer industry, Heineken 0.0, in 14 markets across Europe, Russia, and Israel in 2017. Then in 2019, they introduced it to the U.S. market.

Heineken 0.0 First Impressions

While we were at our local co-op, we were excited to find that they now have a dedicated cooler in the beer section with a bunch of new non-alcoholic beers! We picked up a few beers both from new NA-only labels and mainstream labels like Heineken.

The Heineken 0.0 non-alcoholic beer came in a pack of six cans and the manufacturing indicated that these were imported from Europe. I don't know if these beers are bottled and canned in Europe and then shipped or if they are shipped in large fluid containers and bottled here.

Our Review of Heineken 0.0

I like the light and easy-to-drink taste of a Heineken, and I expected a similar taste with the non-alcoholic version. Heineken is know for their proprietary Heineken A-Yeast®, a unique yeast that has been key to their beers' flavor profile since 1886. Heineken 0.0 also contains this ingredient.

Some NA beers feel like a flat, watered-down version of alcoholic beer. While they may resemble the taste, some of these beverages are like drinking a beer that's been out too long and has lost its carbonation. You can know immediately that it's not "real beer."

To my pleasant surprise, Heineken 0.0 did not feel like a flat beer. Out of curiosity, I had bought the standard Heineken lager and had a sip later that evening, and I don’t think I could have told the difference in taste. This is the first NA mainstream beer that has wowed me! It has exactly the same light, crisp taste with a hint of bitterness that is characteristic of Heineken's flavor profile.

The non-alcoholic version is marketed as Heineken 0.0 and contains less than 0.05% alcohol by volume, which is much lower than the 0.5% legal limit that allows it to be sold as non-alcoholic beverage.

Overall, Heineken 0.0 is a great non-alcoholic beer choice for those looking for a refreshing and satisfying drink without the buzz. Its light, crisp taste makes it easy to drink and perfect for any occasion, plus it only has 69 calories per an 11.2-ounce serving size.

Customer Reviews of Heineken 0.0

Here's are a few reviews from Heineken 0.0 fans, courtesy of Drizly. The overall consensus is that it's a worthy replacement for the alcohol-containing version:

I expected this to taste like a light beer alternative at best but it tastes just like regular Heineken. Very happy with it!— Hannah

All I can say is thank you Heineken. It is about time someone put out a truly non-alcoholic beer. I have over 21 years sobriety and have stayed away from all non-alcoholic beers like O'Douls because they have a tasteable amount of alcohol in them (0.5% or 1 proof). So when Heineken came out with the 0.0%  with < 0.05% alcohol in it which is less alcohol than occurs naturally in many foods and beverages like fruit & vegetable juices (and ripe bananas & honey buns...go figure) I felt confident to try one which I did. There's definitely no alcohol taste (or effect) at all.  As someone who hasn't had any real beer in 21+ years, it tastes good enough to me to have it on special occasions now, like at a BBQ, or getting clams on the half shells at the beach. So this "mock"  beer (malt beverage?)  has been a welcome diversion from the usual diet coke I drink with everything. — Matt W.

I come from a long line of beer drinkers who prefer beer over wine. Heineken is the best tasting 0% alcohol beer on the market. I have tried them all. The bitter smooth taste is there. No water down drink but rather the same taste without the alcohol. Heineken is especially great to drink with seafood. Safe to drink while on antibiotics.  — Terry

Where to find Heineken 0.0?

Heineken can be found in the non-alcoholic beer section at many supermarkets and grocery stores. You can also purchase it online from beverage retailers.