Dave Reads
Notes on not drinking, running slowly, and buying too much stuff.
Notes on not drinking, running slowly, and buying too much stuff.
If you're here because you're trying to find a decent AF beer - save yourself the scrolling. I've tried about 40 of them for this site. The one I actually keep in my fridge is IMPOSSIBREW's Triple Hopped IPA. It's got ashwagandha and L-theanine in it so you actually feel something, not just "beer flavoured water." That link gets you £10 off - 10-pack of IPA for £18.90. Here's my full write-up on why.
Enter your typical week. See exactly how much money, calories, and hangover mornings you'd save going dry this spring. The numbers are properly eye-opening.
Calculate your savings →The L-theanine and ashwagandha - does it actually do anything? I was sceptical too. Here's what I found after testing it properly.
Read the honest verdict →Most AF beer is water that tastes like beer. A few actually shift your state. Everything I've tested, ranked honestly.
See what works →Seen it everywhere online but can't buy it? Dave tested the best UK alternatives after 3 months searching. Some are genuinely as good.
See the UK alternatives →Not for Dry January. This is for people who still drink but want to drink less without feeling like they're giving something up.
Read the moderation guide →The man who trademarked "winning" is 8 years sober and now brewing with Harpoon in Boston. Here's why celebrity AF beer is a double-edged sword.
Read this →Enter your pub group, pick everyone's drink. Find out who's subsidising the round and who's taking the piss. The lime and soda drinker is always getting mugged off.
Settle the argument →40+ AF beers tested. Most are overpriced dishwater with good marketing. The big breweries are lying to you. The craft brands aren't much better. Here's the brutally honest version.
Read the rant →A live counter based on ONS data. Watch UK alcohol spending tick up in real-time. The numbers are genuinely shocking. Then check what it could buy instead.
Watch the ticker →The bingo card every AF drinker needs. Warm Becks Blue, "what's the point?", the confused bartender. Tap squares when they happen. Screenshot and send to the group chat.
Play now →Alcohol duty went up 3.6% in February. See exactly how much of your weekly pub spend goes straight to HMRC. The answer will annoy you. AF beer pays zero duty, by the way.
Check your tax damage →Enter what you drank last night. Get your grade, calories (in Big Macs), pub spend, recovery timeline, and what your body is actually doing right now. Then send it to the group chat.
Check your damage →IMPOSSIBREW, Lucky Saint, Athletic Brewing, Big Drop, Days, BERO. Every working deal and referral code. Updated weekly. Plus supermarket tips.
See all codes →5 IPAs. 3 alcoholic, 2 alcohol-free. One very confident bloke who was wrong about the best one. The scorecard and his excuses.
Read the full test →Enter what you drank last night and when you stopped. Find out when you're actually safe to drive. Based on NHS guidelines. The answer will probably ruin your Saturday morning plans.
Check now →Challenge your mate to a booze-free bank holiday. 4 days, 4 scenarios. Track who cracks first. Loser buys dinner. Generate the challenge and WhatsApp it right now.
Start the challenge →15 beers. £47.60. Three evenings. Honest scores out of 10 for everything from Lucky Saint to Beck's Blue. The bottom five will make you angry.
Read the reviews →Enter your parkrun 5K time and weekly drinks. See exactly how many seconds per km alcohol is costing you. Based on sports science. Share with your running club and start arguments.
Calculate your damage →Four-day weekend. Four chances to not wake up feeling run over. Good Friday BBQ, Easter Sunday lunch, Easter Monday pub - here's what I'm drinking for each one.
Easter drinks guide →Weight, sleep, running times, money - tracked daily for 10 weeks. No spin, no transformation story. Just the spreadsheet. The money one will make you wince.
See the numbers →Enter your typical week. Get graded A-F on units, calories, cost, and a year projection that'll make you wince. Share it with your mates and see who's worse.
Get your grade →Your mate's taste in beer is a public health emergency. Generate a personalised intervention page and WhatsApp it to them. Because friends don't let friends drink Carling.
Stage an intervention →10 real tasting notes. Some are alcohol-free, some aren't. Most people score under 6. The quiz that proves you literally can't tell the difference.
Take the quiz →Pick the beers you actually drink. I'll match you with the alcohol-free beers that taste most like them. Not what the marketing says - what they actually taste like.
Find your match →Your morning banana, your kid's juice box, and your sourdough all have more alcohol than a 0.0% beer. Vanilla extract is 35%. The full list will ruin your worldview.
See the list →He was absolutely certain he'd know. He called the 0.0% one "definitely real, four percent maybe" and rated it higher than the actual 4.3% beer. He owes me fifty quid.
Read the full story →15 alcohol-free beers ranked S to F. Click each beer for the honest mini-review. Beck's Blue in F tier is non-negotiable.
See the rankings →7 questions. 2 minutes. Are you an Autopilot Drinker, a Reward Drinker, or something worse? Results might sting a bit.
Take the quiz →Not just the drinks. The taxis, the Deliveroo, the wasted gym membership, the half-arsed Mondays. Calculate your real number. You might want to sit down.
Calculate yours →What I'm actually drinking
People keep asking, so: IMPOSSIBREW Triple Hopped IPA. It's the one that ended my search. Has ashwagandha and L-theanine in it so you actually feel something - not just "water that tastes like beer." I've tried about 40 AF beers for this site and it's still the one in my fridge.
Referral link - £10 off your first order, no code needed. 10-pack works out to £1.89/can.
My AF beer survival guide for getting through the greenest session of the year with your dignity intact.
Read moreThe ONS added AF beer to the inflation basket. My Tuesday evening lager is now a statistically significant consumer trend. Vindication tastes good.
Read moreI went once to see what the fuss was about. That was eleven Saturdays ago.
Read moreI'm not going to be one of those people. But also, some things have happened.
Read moreA field report from two months of enforced sobriety, unsolicited opinions, and one surprisingly good Tuesday evening.
Read moreA mate brought some back from the States. Is it actually worth the hype?
I bought them all so you don't have to. Adaptogens, nootropics, and some questionable marketing claims.
What actually worked for me. And what didn't.
Tesco · Sainsbury's · Asda · Aldi · Morrisons · Waitrose · Ocado · M&S · Lidl
Best AF beer after a run · Over 40s guide · New dads · Weight loss · At the pub · BBQs · Match day
London · Manchester · Birmingham · Edinburgh · Glasgow · Liverpool · Newcastle · Bristol · Leeds · Sheffield · York
Heineken 0.0 Ultimate · Functional beer showdown · IMPOSSIBREW review
I'm Dave. 46, somewhere up North. Desk job, two kids (7 and 13), wife who tolerates the growing collection of running shoes by the front door.
Started running after coming last in the dads' race at school sports day, which is a story I'll tell properly one day when I've processed the emotional damage. Now I do parkrun most Saturdays and have opinions about GPS watches that nobody asked for.
Stopped drinking in January 2026. Not a big dramatic thing. Just felt rough and my times were suffering. This blog is mostly about that - the stuff I'm trying, the stuff I'm learning, the gear I'm buying that I definitely don't need.
I work in software. I will not be writing about software.
If you're wondering what I actually drink now - it's mostly IMPOSSIBREW. Their Triple Hopped IPA is the one that made me stop missing real beer. It's got L-theanine and ashwagandha in it, so Tuesday evenings actually feel like something now instead of just sitting there with a glass of water. That link gets you a tenner off if you want to try it.
Some links on this site are referral links. If you buy through them I might get a small credit. Doesn't change what I think. I bought everything here with my own money first.