Pub quiz question: which beer style is the fastest-growing sector of the market? You might be tempted to say India Pale Ale or such recent additions to lager as Madri or Heineken Silver.

You would be wrong. The surprising answer is what are known as NoLos – no or low alcohol beers.

Just as surprising is the fact that the heaviest consumers of NoLos are young people between the ages of 18 and 25.

The rise of low alcohol beers knocks on the head the media hysteria that suggests the Brits are a bunch of heavy drinkers and young people in particular are falling down in drunken heaps.

An American writing in the Guardian recently said she was “horrified by Britain’s booze culture.” It’s nonsense on stilts.

Every year a Japanese university produces a league table of beer-drinking countries. Britain is not in the top 10. It’s not in the top 20. We come in at number 23.

Drinking sensibly and in moderation makes life seem better. In particular, a pint or two in the convivial atmosphere of the pub soothes away the stresses of the day and gives us the opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones.

Moderation is the key word. I try to have at least one dry day a week and now I can brighten those days with a tasty drink that’s beer without the alcohol.

It wasn’t always easy to enjoy NoLos. Some of you may recall back in the 1980s the first such beers, Barbican and Kaliber.

I described them at the time as tasting like cold Horlicks. Kaliber was advertised by Billy Connolly and the experience put him on the wagon for life.

Technology has moved on and the beers are now much better and have a taste that is enjoyable rather than offensive.

Adnams, the Suffolk brewer, introduced a 0.5 per cent version of its leading brand Ghost Ship that is a pleasure to drink.

It’s made using a system called reverse osmosis. The beer passes through a vessel with a membrane that filters out solids such as yeast.

Now the Cornish brewer St Austell has launched a 0.5 per cent version of its Proper Job IPA. The draught and bottled versions of the beer are available widely and now they are joined by the low alcohol version.

It’s been two years in the making. Head brewer Georgina Young has experimented with several systems until she was satisfied that the beer has a fine aroma and taste of malt and hops.

She has used a special yeast to ferment the beer. In common with the original version, it’s brewed with three American hop varieties, Cascade, Willamette and Chinook.

The malted barley is Britain’s finest, Maris Otter, specially grown for St Austell by Cornish farmers.

The beer was then extensively taste tested with consumers in the West Country to gauge their impressions and to refine the final version before it was launched.

I tested a 5.5 per cent bottle of Proper Job alongside the 0.5 per cent version. The full-on beer has a luscious aroma of tart citrus fruit with grapefruit and pineapple to the fore.

Tangy fruit and spicy hops dominate the palate balanced by juicy malt. The finish is tart, hoppy and fruity with big citrus notes. It’s a wonderfully refreshing beer.

The 0.5 per cent version has a good fruity aroma, with pineapple rather than grapefruit to the fore. Malt dominates the palate but there’s a good balance of citrus and light bitter hops.

The finish has honeyed malt, citrus fruit and a gentle note of spicy hops. It’s drinkable and refreshing and is a well-made beer.

I shall drink this version of Proper Job, along with Adnams’ 0.5 per cent Ghost Ship, on a regular basis and my liver will breathe a sigh of relief.