MAR 17, 2026

IMPOSSIBREW vs NuWave: The Functional Beer Nobody Talks About

NuWave claims to be the world's first probiotic beer. IMPOSSIBREW claims to replace your evening glass of wine. Both are functional. Only one is easy to find.

Dave Dave A Shaw - 7 min read

I found NuWave the way you find most interesting things on the internet: by accident, while looking for something else. I was trying to work out if any other AF beer brands were doing functional ingredients and NuWave kept appearing in the results with a claim I hadn't seen before - probiotics in beer.

That got my attention. Probiotics. In beer. The world's first, apparently.

Now, I'd already been drinking IMPOSSIBREW for months at this point. The Triple Hopped IPA had become my Friday evening treat, the Pale Ale was my weeknight default, and the lager was what I grabbed when I just wanted something uncomplicated.1 So NuWave wasn't going to displace an established habit. But I was curious.

Here's what I found.

If you want the full picture of how all the functional AF beer brands compare, there's a five-brand showdown that covers everyone. And if you're choosing between the two biggest names in the space, my IMPOSSIBREW vs Collider comparison is over there.

The Quick Comparison: IMPOSSIBREW vs NuWave

IMPOSSIBREW NuWave
ABV 0.0% 0.0%
Products Lager, Pale Ale, Triple Hopped IPA + seasonals Lager, Hazy Pale
Functional angle Nootropics + adaptogens (ashwagandha, L-theanine, magnesium) Adaptogens + biotics (gut health + mood)
Gluten free? No Yes
Reviews 1,200+ (4.8/5) Limited
Availability DTC + expanding retail DTC mainly
Overall winner IMPOSSIBREW - on taste, range, availability, and track record

What NuWave Is Doing

NuWave's pitch is different from most functional AF beers. While IMPOSSIBREW and Collider are focused on your brain chemistry - relaxation, focus, winding down after work - NuWave is focused on your gut. Biotics. Probiotics in beer. They claim this is a world first, and I can't find anyone credibly disputing that.

They also include adaptogens, so there's some crossover with the nootropic crowd. But the headline is gut health. Their lager and hazy pale are both gluten free, which is a genuine differentiator if that matters to you.

The science behind gut-brain connection is actually well-established at this point - your gut microbiome does affect your mood, your sleep, your immune system. So putting probiotics in beer isn't as mad as it sounds. Whether the specific strains in NuWave survive the brewing process and reach your gut in meaningful quantities is a question I can't answer from the outside.2

The Taste

NuWave's lager is decent. It's light, clean, drinkable. The hazy pale has more character and is probably the better of the two. Neither is bad. Neither would embarrass you if someone tasted it without knowing it was AF.

But here's the thing - "decent" and "not bad" are different from what I'd say about IMPOSSIBREW. The Triple Hopped IPA is the one that really gets me - creamy, fruity, hazy, the kind of beer you'd drink even if you weren't avoiding alcohol. It's more expensive than the rest of the range but it earns it. The Pale Ale is the solid everyday drink. The lager does what lager should do and doesn't embarrass itself.

NuWave tastes like a good AF beer. IMPOSSIBREW tastes like a good beer that happens to be AF. The gap is noticeable.

The Availability Problem

This is where NuWave really struggles, and it's hard to compare fairly because availability is partly just a function of how long you've been around and how much capital you've raised.

IMPOSSIBREW is in expanding retail, has a well-established DTC operation, delivers quickly, and has the kind of word-of-mouth presence that means people actually search for it. They were on Dragons' Den. They have 1,200+ reviews averaging 4.8 out of 5. They have TikTok presence. When you Google functional AF beer, IMPOSSIBREW comes up.

NuWave is harder to find. Their website works, you can order from them, but it's not the kind of presence that makes you feel confident the brand will be around in two years.3 That matters when you're choosing an evening drink you plan to make a habit.

I don't want to pick a favourite and then find out they've stopped trading. I've had that happen with regular craft beer and it's genuinely annoying.

Gut Health vs Brain Chemistry

The fundamental question here is what you want your beer to do beyond taste nice and not contain alcohol.

NuWave says: we'll improve your gut health, which will cascade into better mood, better sleep, better immunity over time. It's a long game. You're not going to crack a NuWave and immediately feel different. You're investing in your microbiome.

IMPOSSIBREW says: we'll help you wind down tonight. The ashwagandha, the L-theanine, the magnesium - these are targeting your brain chemistry right now, this evening, when you're trying to transition from work mode to home mode.

For me, that's not really a contest. I already take a probiotic supplement. I don't need my beer to do that job. What I need my beer to do is replace the ritual and the feeling of an evening drink - and that's the nootropic angle, not the gut health angle.

If you're interested in gut health and you don't already supplement, maybe NuWave has an angle. But most people reaching for an AF beer in the evening want what IMPOSSIBREW is offering: the wind-down.

My Verdict: IMPOSSIBREW vs NuWave

NuWave is an interesting idea from what seems like a genuine team. The probiotic angle is novel and the science behind gut health is real. The beer itself is decent.

But IMPOSSIBREW wins on basically everything that matters for a daily drinking habit:

NuWave is the functional beer nobody talks about. And honestly, after trying it, I think there's a reason for that. Not because it's bad - it isn't. But because IMPOSSIBREW already does the job better, and word gets around.

One last thing - I've got a refer-a-friend link for IMPOSSIBREW. You get £10 off your first order and I get £10 credit. It's a public programme anyone can sign up to - I'm not affiliated with them, just a customer who put his hand up for the referral scheme. I wasn't sure whether to include it in a comparison post but it seemed worse to mention IMPOSSIBREW twelve times and then not tell you the link existed.*

More Comparisons

  1. The pub thing is a whole separate issue. Most pubs have Heineken 0.0 and nothing else. It's like going to a restaurant and being told the vegetarian option is "just have the bread." IMPOSSIBREW isn't in pubs yet as far as I know, which is a genuine limitation, but at least I can bring cans to a house party without feeling weird about it. The Triple Hopped IPA in a 500ml can is a much more convincing party trick than a Heineken 0.0.
  2. This is the standard caveat with all probiotic products. The strain matters. The quantity matters. Whether they survive your stomach acid matters. Most probiotic claims in food products are, to be charitable, optimistic. I'm not saying NuWave's don't work - I'm saying I can't verify it from the label.
  3. This is not a dig at NuWave specifically. The AF beer market is growing fast and lots of small brands are entering. Some will make it, some won't. IMPOSSIBREW has crossed a threshold of visibility and review volume that makes it feel established. NuWave hasn't yet.
  4. * Referral link: IMPOSSIBREW's public refer-a-friend scheme. You get £10 off, I get £10 credit. Not a sponsorship, not an affiliation - just the scheme anyone can join from their website.
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