Beer

The Non-Alcoholic Guide

The non-alcoholic beer options are vast, and there are so many good ones to choose from. Though we didn’t love every single beer, it’s important to note that this is a phenomenon not limited to non-alcoholic beers. As a whole, the category is producing beverages of extremely high quality, and so many brewers are constantly experimenting and innovating. Some of these beers might get tweaked even before you have a chance to taste them. For most of us, this sounds like an adventure, but if it doesn’t to you, stick with the larger companies who are keeping their recipes consistent. One quick note about the tasting notes: we don’t always go into a lot of details about the way these taste, mostly because if you’re reading this, you’ve probably experienced an IPA or two. Instead, I tried to provide information that might help you make a decision about which beers are most your style, but in the end, it’s going to be a matter of personal choice. All of the offerings below are made by brewers who are excellent at their craft, on whatever scale, so it’s hard to go too far wrong. The IPA style seems to be the most common, but I was happy to be able to taste a few darker beers and even sours. My best advice with NA beer is to pay attention to whether you need to refrigerate (some of these require it all the time) and drink it in a timely manner for the best taste. 

 

Light Beer

  • Untitled Art Cerveza Sin Nombre Mexican Style Light Brew

    We found this beer to have almost a pale ale or IPA taste, but with so many characteristics of a light beer. Our panel was blown away to note that this was non-alcoholic.

    • Self Care Block Party Fest (ival) Bier
    • Atmos Alturas Golden
    • Self Care Scoot Scoot Italian Pilsner
    • Untitled Art Italian Style Pils
    • Self Care Fresh Stuff Fresh Hopped Pilsner
  • Omission Good To Go Golden

    This was a good example of a golden with a nice hop taste, notes of barley and hay, and a good smell.

    • Athletic Brewing Upside Dawn Golden
    • Grüvi Golden
    • Fungtn Non-Alcoholic Brew with Chaga
    • Fungtn Reishi Citra Hop
 

IPAs and Pale Ales

  • Self Care Freak Flag IPA

    We found this to taste like a hazy IPA on the lighter side. Some panel members are familiar with this Olympia brewery’s alcoholic wing—Three Magnets—and noted that all of the beers of theirs we tasted were on par with their alcoholic offerings. Additionally, a glance at their website shows us that they are constantly making new things in short runs, meaning that if you’re interesting, it’s probably wise to order when it’s available.

    • Self Care Freaky Fresh! Fresh Hopped Freak Flag Strata Hazy IPA
    • Self Care Fresh Jams! Fresh Hopped Modern IPA
    • Self Care Fresh Cut! Fresh Hopped Pale Ale
    • Self Care Palisade Pale
    • Barrel Brothers Non-Alcoholic Hazy IPA
  • Barrel Brothers Cryo Currency Non-Alcoholic Cryo Hop West Coast IPA

    We found this beer to be very tart, which was unexpected.

    • Untitled Art Juicy IPA
    • Untitled Art Citra Session
    • Atmos Wayfarer IPA
    • Atmos Kora Double Hop IPA
    • Athletic Brewing Free Wave Hazy IPA
    • Best Day Brewing West Coast IPA
  • Fungtn Lion’s Mane IPA

    We really liked the smell on this one. It was a little spicy and one of our panel members detected a dandelion flavor.

    • Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA
    • Grüvi Pale Ale
    • Grüvi Juicy IPA
    • Omission Bright Eyed IPA
    • Lagunitas IPNA

 

 

Dark(er) Beers

  • Barrel Brothers ¿Por Que No? Mexican Style Amber

    Our panel didn’t find this to be a Mexican-style beer or an amber, but we enjoyed it. It had a good smell and was smooth in character.

    • Atmos Oktoberfest! NA Marzen
    • Athletic Brewing All Out Extra Dark
    • Grüvi Mocha Nitro Stout
    • Untitled Art S’mores Dark Brew
  • Deschutes Brewing NA Black Butte Porter

    This is very similar to their alcoholic offering, if a bit lighter. It smells good with some citrus notes.

    • Atmos Cosmos Peanut Butter Milk Dark
    • Barrel Brothers Dark Sarcasm Porter
    • Guinness 0
    • Untitled Art Chocolate Milk Stout

 

 

Sours and Hard to Categorize

  • Untitled Art Mango Dragonfruit Fruited Sour

    We loved the smell on this sour. We got all the notes from the name and found it stacked up nicely against alcoholic sours. Plenty of depth and sour enough for our sour fans.

    • Barrel Bothers Morello Barrel Aged Sour with Cherries
    • Clausthauler Grapefruit
    • Clausthauler Holiday Brew
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