Session #145: A critique of ZeroDegrees

For Session #145 Matthew Curtis has asked everyone to write a critique of beer, or pubs, or some aspect of beer and pub culture.

His point, picking up on something he raised last year, is that beer writing still tends to be cosy and uncritical.

He wants people to get out of their comfort zone and think more like a newspaper restaurant critic – and less like a fan or cheerleader.

Now, see, we reckon we’ve been ahead of the curve on this.

We listened when people grumbled about the “cheery beery” problem a decade or so ago and have tried, ever since, to be honest about what we think, good or bad.

So, in theory, this shouldn’t be much different to one of our normal blog posts. We just need to think of an interesting target for our critical eyes.

Changes at ZeroDegrees

The ZeroDegrees brewpub chain fascinates us.

For one thing, it’s 25 years old, making it one of the first players in the UK craft beer boom, and the Bristol branch has been operating since 2004.

Housed in a colossal space that feels a bit like a Ken Adam design for a Bond villain’s lair, it never quite seems to click as a space.

It’s either too loud and echoing; or utterly deserted, like an airport terminal or hotel lobby.

The only seats that are actually good are out on the terrace on a warm day, overlooking the interesting rooftops of the city.

It also has a business model that seems to shift constantly, and subtly. As a result, every visit (we go a few times a year) feels like a game of spot the difference.

On our most recent trip, we found that the wall of cocktail ingredients that had covered the back bar was gone, or at least reduced –which is good news.

Why would a bar with its own brewery, whose selling point is unique beer brewed on site, want customers to wait for 10 minutes while bar staff fiddle around muddling mint leaves and so on?

We’ve been contrarian champions of ZeroDegrees’ in recent years, despite some of the oddities above, because the beer often delights us.

The beer range has also changed recently, however, being reconfigured around four core beers:

• Sunset Calling Pale Ale, 4.3%
• Perfekt Pilsner, 4.8%
• Every Day Session Lager, 4%
• The Black Lager, 4.6%

There are also now four specials at a time, which are now intended to be available for longer – so, sitting somewhere between ‘core’ and ‘special’.

Currently, those include So Good Mango (4%), a version of a ZeroDegrees flagship novelty that drinkers seem to like more than its brewers, and Sucker Punch IPA, at 4.3%.

Unfortunately, our impression is that, after this rejig, they taste thinner, lighter, and blander than before.

We sometimes compared the old black lager, which has had various names, to the dark beer at U Fleků in Prague. That is, mouth-coating, rich, and intense, without ever being leaden or sickly. 

In its current incarnation, it’s closer to Köstritzer. That’s no tragedy in itself but that ephemeral fizziness doesn’t feel like a treat. It inspires no joy.

You might think, ah, well, it’ll have a broader appeal now. But our companions on a recent visit were irritated by it for different reasons, finding it too dark, too heavy, and insufficiently lager-like.

So, it’s potentially a compromise that pleases nobody.

Perfekt Pils, which replaces The Bohemian, also seemed to have lost some oomph, along with its evocative name. Now as light-bodied as Budweiser it also seemed slightly acidic when we drank it last weekend.

If the goal of these tweaks is to make it more refreshing, more summery, and less specifically Czech in influence, then we suppose it makes sense. It’s now an answer to the question “What have you got that’s like Madrí, mate?”

The tension at the heart of ZeroDegrees has always been between its identity as, on the one hand, a party venue with pizzas; and, on the other, a serious brewery with a focus on obscure styles like Vienna lager.

In 2025, it feels as if it’s shooting for mass appeal once again, perhaps overlooking the fact that, in that context, you might as well sell Madrí and save yourself a lot of bother and energy.

Main image: an old photo of ZeroDegrees in 2017.