If a beer has zero alcohol, zero sugar and zero calories, is it still beer? That's the question baffled drinkers are asking after Heineken's latest release.
The beer giant has unveiled Heineken 0.0 Ultimate - an alcohol-free beer that's also zero calories and zero sugar - that has prompted baffled customers to ask: 'Is it just water?'
The drink, first piloted in 2025, is now rolling out across select US states including New York, Texas and Florida as part of Heineken's push into the fast-growing non-alcoholic market.
The Dutch company pioneered the US non-alcoholic beer boom with the launch of Heineken 0.0 in 2019 - which was booze-free but still had sugar and calories. A six-pack range is around $11.
'Heineken 0.0 Ultimate is for the consumer who wants even more choice: world-class taste, zero alcohol, zero sugar and zero calories,' the brewer said of its latest lager.
But that promise has raised eyebrows.
Traditional beer is brewed from grains, which naturally produce calories and carbohydrates - making a true zero-calorie beer tricky to make.
Even rival alcohol-free options still contain some calories. Budweiser Zero's non-alcoholic lager still comes in at 50 calories per serving. Michelob Ultra Zero has 29 calories and 6g of carbohydrates.
When the beer company announced on Instagram last Friday that the drink was rolling out across the US, customer reactions were split.
Some who already tried it in the US said that they liked it. Others didn't understand how it could be zero alcohol, zero sugar and zero calories.
'Is it just water?,' one commenter joked while another simply asked: 'Why?'
'I've already had it, it's been out a while,' one Reddit user wrote. 'Posted my review here actually. Kinda good in a sense, more so in a 'wow they did it and it's not undrinkable' way than a 'I would love to have this all the time' way.'
Another Reddit user noted that Heineken 0.0 had a similar taste and 'mouthfeel' to Keystone Light, an American light lager known for its budget-friendly price point.
According to a press release, Heineken 0.0 Ultimate tastes like soft fruity notes and a 'delicate malty body.' It's double-brewed to remove alcohol, which customers noticed is a similar process used by other beer-alternatives.
'Notice they talk a lot about the 0.0 beer and then they always refer to this new product as a 'brew,'' another Reddit user wrote. 'So yes, basically Heineken hop water, which is not a bad thing but it seems like they are being a little coy with it.'
Hop water, now a popular drink in America, is predominately flavored with 'hops,' which is a primary flavoring of alcoholic beer.
Heineken, originally founded in Amsterdam, is now offering non-alcoholic alternatives to customers in the US.
The demand for alcohol alternatives is undeniably increasing - according to a Brewers Association study, non-alcoholic beer has surged in recent years, with US sales rising 159 percent and volume growing 111 percent between 2021 and 2025.
This category now accounts for 2.5 percent of total beer products.
Even if these products are marketed towards 'health-conscious' customers, there is some debate regarding to long term effects of alcohol-free beer.
One study suggests that drinking two bottles a day is enough to drive up blood sugar levels - increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes. The Daily Mail previously reported these drinks 'led to a build-up of insulin in the blood, another warning sign that diabetes could set in.'