Comparison
Alcohol-free IPA vs Alcohol-free stout
What is the difference between Alcohol-free IPA and Alcohol-free stout?
The short answer
The main difference is roast: Alcohol-free stout has far more of it than Alcohol-free IPA. Alcohol-free IPA also leads on hop aroma and citrus; Alcohol-free stout on coffee.
Generated from the two style records. No editor has written this comparison up, so it carries no verdict beyond what the data supports.
Where they overlap
They share comparable bitterness, sweetness, body, overlapping strength ranges, the same style family — the boundary between them is narrower than the comparison suggests.
Side by side
| Alcohol-free IPA | Alcohol-free stout | |
|---|---|---|
| Family | No & low alcohol | No & low alcohol |
| Fermentation | De-alcoholised or arrested | De-alcoholised or arrested |
| Origin | United States | Ireland |
| Category status | Emerging | Emerging |
| Strength | 0–0.5% ABV | 0–0.5% ABV |
| Bitterness (IBU) — IBU measures iso-alpha acids in the lab. It does not track perceived bitterness, which residual sweetness, body and roast all alter — compare the sensory rows below for how each actually tastes. | 25–55 IBU | 20–40 IBU |
| Colour | Gold to light amber — 4–10 SRM, 8–20 EBC | Black — 28–40 SRM, 55–79 EBC |
| Original gravity | 1.026–1.045 | 1.026–1.045 |
| Final gravity | 1.008–1.020 | 1.008–1.022 |
| Serving temperature | 5–8°C | 6–9°C |
| Carbonation | 2–3 vol CO₂ | 1.8–2.4 vol CO₂ |
| Glassware | Tulip glass, Nonic pint | Nonic pint |
| Clarity | slight-haze | opaque |
How they taste different
| Character | Alcohol-free IPA | Alcohol-free stout |
|---|---|---|
| Roast | Not characteristic | Moderate–High |
| Hop aroma | Moderate–High | Not characteristic |
| Coffee | Not characteristic | Moderate |
| Citrus | Moderate | Not characteristic |
| Tropical fruit | Low–Moderate | Not characteristic |
| Chocolate & cocoa | Not characteristic | Low |
| Resin & pine | Low | Not characteristic |
| Carbonation | Moderate | Low |
Which should you choose?
- You want more roast → Alcohol-free stout
- You want more hop aroma → Alcohol-free IPA
Derived from where the two actually differ. Neither is better — this is a question of which difference you want.