BRULO is different from everything else I write about on this site, and I want to be upfront about that.

The other comparisons I've done - IMPOSSIBREW vs Collider, vs ON Beer, vs NuWave - those are all functional AF beer brands. They all put something in the beer beyond hops and water. Adaptogens, nootropics, botanicals, probiotics. The question with those is: which functional blend works best?

BRULO doesn't play that game at all. BRULO is a Scottish brewery that makes craft alcohol-free beer and puts absolutely nothing functional in it. No ashwagandha. No L-theanine. No GABA technology. No adaptogens, no nootropics, no biotics, no botanicals. Just beer, brewed properly, at 0.0% ABV.

And here's the thing that makes this comparison worth writing: BRULO is really, really good at it.¹

For the full picture of how all the functional brands compare against each other, there's a five-brand showdown over here.

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The Quick Comparison: IMPOSSIBREW vs BRULO

	IMPOSSIBREW	BRULO
ABV	0.0%	0.0%
Philosophy	Functional beer (nootropics + adaptogens)	Pure craft beer (no functional additives)
Products	Lager, Pale Ale, Triple Hopped IPA + seasonals	IPA, Stout, Gose, Lager + rotating specials
Brewing method	Brewed + functional blend	Brewed from scratch (no alcohol removal)
Functional ingredients	Ashwagandha, L-theanine, magnesium	None
Format	440ml/500ml cans	330ml cans
Awards	Dragons' Den investment, TikTok virality	Multiple craft beer awards
Overall winner	Depends what you want - but IMPOSSIBREW for daily use

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What BRULO Gets Right

I want to give BRULO proper credit here because they deserve it.

Most AF beer is made by brewing regular beer and then removing the alcohol. This process often strips out flavour along with the ethanol, which is why so many AF beers taste thin and slightly apologetic. BRULO brews from scratch to be 0.0% - no removal process needed. And you can taste the difference.

Their range is impressive. IPAs, stouts, a genuinely interesting gose, a lager that holds its own. They do rotating specials that would be interesting even in the regular beer world. The packaging is good. The branding is good. It's clearly made by people who care about beer first and "alcohol-free" second.

BRULO has won actual craft beer awards. Not "best AF beer" awards - proper craft beer awards, competing against beers that contain alcohol. That's genuinely impressive and it tells you something about the quality.

If someone told me BRULO was the best pure craft AF beer in the UK, I wouldn't argue with them.²

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So Why Do I Keep Buying IMPOSSIBREW?

Because at seven on a Tuesday, when I've been staring at a screen for ten hours and my brain is still running at 4,000 RPM and I need something that says "the working day is over, you can stop now" - great beer alone doesn't do that.

A BRULO IPA tastes excellent. I enjoy drinking it. But twenty minutes later I'm still thinking about the deployment that went sideways and whether I should check my emails one more time.

An IMPOSSIBREW Triple Hopped IPA - creamy, fruity, hazy, genuinely one of the nicest things in my fridge - and twenty minutes later there's something different happening. The edges have come off a bit. The evening has started. I'm not thinking about deployments. I'm watching whatever my wife has put on the telly and I'm actually watching it instead of pretending to watch it while mentally drafting tomorrow's standup notes.³ The Pale Ale has a similar effect on lower-key evenings when I want something a bit more sessionable.

That's the ashwagandha. Or the L-theanine. Or the magnesium. Or the placebo effect. Or all of them together. I don't know exactly which bit is doing what, and honestly I don't particularly care. The outcome is what I wanted from beer in the first place, minus the headache and the 3am anxiety and the extra stone around my middle.

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Two Different Philosophies

This comparison is really about what you think beer should be.

BRULO's philosophy: We make really good beer. It happens to be alcohol-free. We don't need to add anything because the beer speaks for itself.

IMPOSSIBREW's philosophy: We make really good beer that also does something. The functional ingredients aren't a gimmick - they're the point. The beer replaces the drink, and the ingredients replace the effect.

I respect the BRULO position. There's an integrity to it. "We just make good beer" is a clean, honest pitch and they deliver on it.

But IMPOSSIBREW's position is more ambitious, and I think it's more honest about what people actually want when they stop drinking. Most of us didn't just like the taste of beer. We liked what it did. The relaxation, the social lubrication, the signal to your brain that the day is done. IMPOSSIBREW is the only AF beer that tries to replace all of that, not just the taste.

BRULO makes excellent beer. IMPOSSIBREW makes excellent beer that also sorts out your Tuesday evening.

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The Practical Stuff

Can size: IMPOSSIBREW's 440-500ml cans vs BRULO's 330ml. This matters more than you'd think. A 330ml can feels like a taster. A 500ml can feels like a drink. When you're replacing a habit, the ritual of "I'm having a proper drink" matters, and size is part of that.

Price: roughly comparable per can, which means IMPOSSIBREW is better value per ml. Plus IMPOSSIBREW gives you functional ingredients on top. If you're doing the maths on what you're getting per pound, IMPOSSIBREW wins fairly clearly.

Availability: both are primarily DTC with some retail presence. IMPOSSIBREW's delivery has always been quick in my experience - usually 1-3 days. BRULO is similar.

Range: BRULO arguably has more variety if you include their rotating specials. But IMPOSSIBREW's core range covers the bases - Lager, Pale Ale, Triple Hopped IPA. I'd rather have three styles I drink every week than twelve I try once.

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When BRULO Wins

I should be honest about this. There are situations where BRULO is the better choice:

• If you're a craft beer person first - if you're in it for the brewing craft, the interesting styles, the rotating specials, BRULO scratches that itch better
• If you don't want functional ingredients - some people don't want adaptogens in their beer and that's completely fair
• If you want variety for variety's sake - BRULO's rotating range means there's always something new to try
• If you're buying for a party - BRULO's range means you can serve different styles to different people

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My Verdict: IMPOSSIBREW vs BRULO

BRULO is excellent. I mean that without qualification. If you put a BRULO IPA in front of me, I'll drink it happily and probably say something complimentary about the brewers.

But IMPOSSIBREW is what I buy. Every week. Because:

• The functional effect is real - and it's the thing that makes AF beer a genuine replacement for drinking, not just a substitute
• The Triple Hopped IPA is genuinely one of the best AF beers I've had - creamy, fruity, hazy, a different beast from BRULO's more craft-forward IPAs
• The Pale Ale is a reliable everyday drink in a way that BRULO's rotating range can't quite replicate
• The can size makes it feel like a proper drink
• The value is better once you factor in what you're getting

BRULO proved that AF beer can be genuinely excellent. IMPOSSIBREW proved that AF beer can be genuinely excellent and also make you feel like you've had a drink. That second thing is the whole reason most of us stopped buying Becks Blue and started paying attention to this market.

If you want to give IMPOSSIBREW a go, I should mention I've got a refer-a-friend link - you get £10 off your first order, I get £10 credit. I feel mildly awkward putting that at the end of a piece where I've been singing their praises, but it's a public programme and anyone can sign up. I have no affiliation with IMPOSSIBREW - just a customer who buys a lot of their beer and thought other people might want to know the link exists.^*

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More Comparisons

• The Full Functional Beer Showdown: All 5 Brands Compared
• IMPOSSIBREW vs Collider: The Two Biggest Functional AF Beers
• IMPOSSIBREW vs ON Beer: Is the Hype Real?
• IMPOSSIBREW vs NuWave: The Functional Beer Nobody Talks About
• My Full AF Beer Comparison