While some of us might consider those long, dark, cold January evenings quite the worst time to give up drinking, there are a lot of people who choose the start of a new year to clamber onto the wagon, or just ease up a bit.

The good news for them is that in the last few years non-alcoholic alternatives have improved in choice and quality – especially when it comes to beer.

Those of you who remember the previous rush of low and no-alcohol beers onto the market in the 1980s might be forgiven for feeling sceptical about the drinkability of these brews, but I’ve tasted quite a few, and while they’re not all great, there are certainly those that will surprise you.

Advances in techniques now enable brewers to make beers at very low strengths without losing too much of their essential ‘beeriness’, while the craft beer revolution has opened the door to new styles and flavours.

Nirvana founders Becky Kean and Andrew Keresey

One brewer taking full advantage, among only a handful of firms in the UK exclusively brewing low and no-alcohol, is based just beyond the Borough boundary in Leyton. Set up by Becky Kean and her brother-in-law Andrew Keresey, Nirvana brews a range of styles from a helles lager and an IPA to a traditional pale ale and a stout, plus specials – the latest a London Porter.

They’re made at strengths between 0.0% abv and 0.5% abv. A little alcohol can give them a more satisfying body without any chance of getting you tipsy. You might find more booze in that carton of orange juice in your fridge.

Other names to look out for are Big Drop, which has an even wider range that includes a delicious brown ale and sours, and Lucky Saint, which is dedicated to perfecting its 0.5% unfiltered lager.

Both companies are encouraging pubs to serve their beers on tap, as is brewing giant Heineken, which recently launched its 0.0% lager on draught. That’s a potentially exciting development for low-alcohol drinkers as it puts them on a level with other pub-goers.

Online buying has also made it easier to try new beers in a bottle and can – all breweries now have web shops – while London’s first alcohol-free off-licence has been opened in Great Portland Street by ‘mindful drinking’ organisation Club Soda.

There’s never been a better time to go low.

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