Ghost Ship Alcohol Free has been named the UK’s best indie draught Non-Alcoholic & Low ABV beer, after scooping Gold at the UK’s biggest independent beer competition.
Congratulations are due to our brewing team, after Ghost Ship Alcohol Free won Gold in the Keg Non-Alcoholic & Low ABV category, as well as a Silver for the can, at The Indie Beer Awards 2026. Finalists from Scotland, Wales, the East of England, the North East, North West, Midlands & West, South East, and South West all fought it out to take home the top spots.
On receiving the award, Adnams head brewer, Dan Gooderham, said: “We have been producing Ghost Ship Alcohol free since 2018 and it’s incredible that I see it now as part of our core beers. I’ve travelled on the journey through the space of low and no alcohol beers whilst being here at Adnams and to see it win an award is a reflection to the commitment Adnams have in constantly innovating and investing in the brewery. The award reflects the hard work of the packaging, brewing and engineering teams to consistently deliver a phenomenal beer. The expression of hops, the balance of malt all mean I never go without bottles and cans in my fridge at home. Great effort everyone."
Our independence has given us the freedom to innovate and develop products like Ghost Ship Alcohol Free, the low-&-no version of our best-selling beer. There are various routes you can follow when making low-alcohol beer, but we didn’t want to restrict fermentation and miss out on the wonderful flavours it contributes. We therefore commissioned a reverse-osmosis filter, which allows us to brew Ghost Ship in the normal way, then simply smuggle the alcohol away at the end. This latest award is indicative of the success of that project.
The Indie Beer Awards are organised by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA and are judged across a huge range of beer style categories including pale ale, IPA, stout, lager and no/low ABV beer).
The awards were presented by Sunday Times columnist Pete Brown on 19th March 2026, at SIBA’s annual BeerX UK event, in Liverpool. To earn a place in the national finals, brewers must first win Gold in the regional competitions, which Ghost Ship Alcohol Free did in the SIBA East rounds at the end of last year.
Speaking on the awards, Andy Slee, SIBA Chief Executive said: “The demand for independent beer has never been higher and it’s easy to see why when trying some of these award-winners; varied, exciting and all absolutely delicious.”
SIBA currently represents over one thousand independent breweries, like Adnams. This year’s BeerX was the event’s biggest ever, attracting a record 3,700 Delegates to a packed conference of talks, seminars, tasting sessions, and of course the beer awards which name the very best of the best in the independent beer industry.
Ghost Ship Alcohol Free is available on draught, in 500ml bottles, and in 440ml cans.