6 easy FREE drinks to claim in March including beer, G&T, wine & soft drinks

Phew! We've made it to March. Who knew 2020 would be such thirsty work? If you're feeling celebratory – or just really fancy a beer – we've rounded-up some easy ways to bag a totally free drink this month.

Now, we're not for one second suggesting anyone try to claim all these drinks (as always, be Drinkaware), but hopefully there's at least one freebie to suit everyone – including soft drinks if you don't do alcohol.

Most of these freebies involve a sign-up, which usually means opting in to marketing emails, but you can always unsubscribe after you’ve claimed your freebie. Unfortunately, most of these aren't available in Scotland due to alcohol promotion laws being different from the rest of the UK.

Without further ado, here are some tips for a free brew...

Free pint of beer, cider, G&T or soft drink via your phone or tablet

Until Saturday (14 Mar), if you register with Great British Pubs on your phone or tablet, you can claim a voucher for a free drink – various pints of beer/cider including Budweiser, Strongbow, John Smith’s and Heineken – or a bottle of Old Mout cider, a single Gordon's gin & tonic, Pepsi Max or a J2O soft drink. There are 700ish participating pubs in England and Wales (find your nearest). The freebie’s apparently been laid on to celebrate the fact it’s a leap year (any excuse, right?) and it's one free drink per person.

  • See all included drinks

    Depending on what’s available at your pub, you can choose from the following: Corona Extra, Stella Artois, Budweiser, Guinness, Hop House 13, Gordons Dry London, Gordons Pink Gin, Heineken, Kronenbourg, Amstel, Fosters, Bulmers, Strongbow, Strongbow Dark Fruit, John Smiths Extra Smooth, Carling, Sharps Doom Bar, Rekorderlig, Coors Light, Heineken 0.0%, Rekorderlig Strawberry & Lime (alcohol free), Old Mout (alcohol free), Pepsi Max and a variety of J2Os.

  • More info

    There are 70,000 free drinks available (about 100 per pub) – the deal may end sooner if all drinks are redeemed. Unfortunately downloading the voucher won’t guarantee you a free drink – you’ll have to take your phone or tablet to your chosen pub and have the voucher redeemed by a staff member (if all 100 haven’t gone) to secure your freebie. Pubs will be removed from the postcode search option once their allocation has been claimed.

Free drink for you and a friend every Friday (O2 mobile customers)

If you or a pal are with O2, then every Friday between 12pm and 7pm, you can cheers to the weekend with two free drinks (one drink each) at 800+ participating Greene King pubs – find your nearest – excludes Scotland.

Go to (or download) the O2 Priority app to claim the drinks on any Friday until 22 May (excluding the 8 May bank holiday), and choose between selected lagers, ales, wines, spirits with mixers, or soft drinks.

  • See all included drinks

    Choose from lager (Carlsberg, Fosters, Carling, or 330ml bottle of Budweiser or Heineken 00), a pint of ale (Greene King IPA), a glass of red or white house wine, a spirit and mixer (Gordon’s Pink and tonic, Smirnoff Red and Coke), or a soft drink (Coca-Cola, Diet Coke or Schweppes Lemonade).

Free pint of beer, ale, G&T, wine or soft drink at Ember Inns

Download the free Ember Inns app, then register, and you can claim a free drink, valid any day within two weeks of registering.

You can choose from a single Gordon's Pink gin & tonic, 125ml glass of Canyon Road merlot, 125ml glass of Oyster Bay white or rosé, pint of Twilighter ale or Hop House 13, Robinson Mint & Lime cordial, or a regular draught soft drink.

There are 140+ Ember Inns – find your nearest – the offer excludes Scotland.

Free pint of Fosters, ale, wine, J2O or Pepsi at Marston's pubs

Sign up to Marston's pubs and you can get a voucher for either a free pint of Fosters, any draught ale (excluding Guinness), 175ml glass of house wine, J2O, Pepsi, or lemonade. If Fosters is unavailable, Carlsberg may be offered as an alternative.

There are over 1,000 Marston's pubs – find your nearest to select your chosen pub and then look for the 'sign up today' box. The free drink excludes Scotland, where you can get a free dessert instead.

Free Guinness at Stonegate pubs

If you’re a fan of the 'Black Stuff', selected Stonegate pubs in England, Scotland and Wales are pouring free pints of Guinness at specific times on certain Six Nations rugby days. They’ve been doing this a while now, but there’s still one last remaining date if you fancy it (Sat 14 Mar, 12pm-2pm – before Wales v Scotland).

To get it, you'll need to download the free We Love Sport app and register.

  • More info on how to claim

    Open or download the We Love Sport app and select the 'Offers' tab. When match day arrives, you'll see a code and a map of participating pubs nearby. Show the bartender your code during the specified times and you'll receive a pint of Guinness in return.

    If you'd prefer a non-alcoholic tipple, you can opt for a pint of soft drink instead.

Free G&T at Pitcher & Piano bars

MSE Becky received this offer in her inbox, so we tested it out (the things we do in the name of research, eh?) and it turns out anyone can sign up to get it too.

Until Tue 31 Mar, Pitcher & Piano is offering a free double measure of Hendrick’s gin with a bottle of London Essence bitter orange and elderflower tonic, when you sign up to its newsletter. There are 18 bars in England and Wales (find your nearest).

  • More info on how to claim

    Once you've received your email, you'll be given a unique code to show at the bar.

    If you'd prefer a free soft drink instead, just ask a member of staff.

£1 pint of cask ale or a G&T at Nicholson's

Okay, so not quite free, but £1 for a gin & tonic or a pint of Nicholson's pale ale isn’t too shabby.

To get the deal, you simply need to download and register using the free Nicholson’s app – then you’ll get a voucher to show at the bar.

There are 70 Nicholson's pubs across the UK – find your nearest (excludes Scotland).

What if I'd rather have a cuppa?

Of course, not everyone drinks booze, and while most of the freebies above include a soft drink alternative, you might prefer a hot drink instead.

See our free tea & coffee deals for a full round-up including a free hot drink at Caffè Nero via O2 on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, a free tea/coffee at Waitrose when you make a purchase and use a reusable cup, and a free hot drink at Ikea on weekdays with its Family card.

Other ways to blag a free drink

To end, we've a couple more imaginative ways to blag yourself a free drink...

Ask a friend to buy your drink in a Wetherspoon pub

Wetherspoon's free Order & Pay app lets you purchase food and drink, and have it brought to your table without having to go to the bar. You just need to know the pub you're in and your table number.

Naturally, some Wetherspoon customers (Spooners, if you will) have found a loophole in this, where they ask absent mates – say, someone who promised to meet you but didn’t show – to buy them a drink via the app by way of apology. Or maybe you're out for your birthday and there's a friend or family member who couldn't make it but still wants to buy you a drink – tell them which pub you're in and give them your table number and they can have a drink brought over to your table, which they'll have paid for in the app.

Perform a stand-up comedy routine

This is not for the faint-hearted.

There’s an open mic night at the Cavendish Arms pub in Stockwell, South-West London, called Comedy Virgins that gives a free half-pint to any comedian who manages to convince the audience they're funny.

The crowd need to shout "Buy ‘em a drink" before you've finished and then the free beer is all yours.

MSE Becky actually tried it herself and funnily enough, was successful getting a free beer – the lengths she'll go to for a freebie.

We hope you can enjoy a nice cold FREE beverage, and once again, please be Drinkaware.

Have you tried out any of these freebies or spotted any we haven't included here? Let us know in the comments below, or on Twitter @MSE_Deals.