Upham Inns is the latest hospitality group to fully embrace alcohol-free beer by putting Big Drop’s 0.5% ABV Paradiso Citra IPA on draught across its estate.

Upham is a unique collection of 11 premium pubs and inns with bedrooms located in beautiful villages and towns in Hampshire and the surrounding counties of Wiltshire, Berkshire and Surrey. The brand also owns and runs the three strong Harper’s Steakhouse concept with venues in Haslemere, Southampton and Swindon.

Paradiso is one of the most acclaimed alcohol-free beers in the world, having won World’s Best at the World Beer Awards, King Of Craft at the Casual Dining show, World Champion at the International Brewing Awards, a Gold medal in the European Beer Challenge and Best Buy from Which?.

At just 17 kcal per pint, the golden-coloured beer contains the fewest calories of any beer produced anywhere in the world and about 10% of the calories you’d find in a regular pint. Not only is Paradiso low calorie and alcohol-free but it’s also vegan-friendly, gluten-free and contains five different hop varieties, making it rich in gut-friendly phenols, vitamin B and amino acids.

Rob Fink, Founder of Big Drop, commented: “Whether you’re moderating or not, Paradiso is just a really approachable beer and we’re delighted that it’s now being introduced to a whole new audience of consumers via the tap badges at Upham.”

Figures from IWSR show that half the UK adult population has bought a no/low product in the past and the market is expected to see a volume growth at a CAGR of 7% until 2026. Meanwhile recent studies by the University of Bristol and the University of York found that pubs replacing a draught full-strength beer with one that is alcohol-free pubs do not suffer financially.*

David Butcher, CEO of Upham Inns, added: “We love Big Drop at Upham. Customers and staff alike. It’s had a great start sales-wise and, encouragingly, we’re seeing it steadily improving in all pubs with a growing fanbase.”