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.

This smelled delicious and was both smooth and hoppy with some sweetness. It’s a take on a German-style lager. Very easy to drink.

We found this one lacking in nuance and more bitter than we were hoping for in a golden.

This had a great mouthfeel, seemed true to style, and was a favorite of our panel. The taste was slightly sweet.

This beer had a great color and was not sweet. We would have liked a little more depth and roundness.

We found this beer to be multi-dimensional, another panel favorite.

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

If you’ve only had one non-alcoholic beer in the last few years, it’s probably from Athletic Brewing. We found this golden hoppy, bright, and lighter than some goldens we tried.

We found this beer malty and flavorful with a slight tinny flavor on the finish.

Lightly sweet smell. Almost a toasted barley taste with a bitterness that lingers for a while before mellowing into a sweet aftertaste. It’s not terribly dark, but gives us some darker beer flavor vibes as well.

This beer company is in a class apart, using functional ingredients (mushrooms) to add to the experience. We found this beer to be earthy and muted and we wondered if it was quite balanced. Even so, we’d never tasted anything like it, which is always interesting.

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.

Though this beer is informed by the flagship Freak Flag, we found this fresh hopped version very different, taste-wise, noting tropical notes including pineapple.

We found the smell of this one somewhat off-putting. Our panel was a little torn, with some saying they would order again, and others not loving the flavor. This one has a mix of several different kinds of fresh hops and a pilsner malt.

This one fooled us in terms of having what we were looking for from an alcoholic beer. It was true to style and it was our favorite of the fresh hopped beers. (Just a note: fresh hopped beers are fairly uncommon even in alcoholic beer, so it’s very exciting to see it in non-alcoholic beer).

The smell was just what we were hoping for from a pale ale. It was light enough that we thought it would be a good introductory pale ale, or something for someone who doesn’t like extremely hoppy beer. There were some citrus notes and a finish we couldn’t quite put our finger on that proved polarizing.

We loved the smell of this one. We found the beer to taste a bit flat, although it was juicy. This one has a blend of five different kinds of hops, which we thought was cool.

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

This IPA had a great smell and was a bit sweeter with some tropical notes. It had a good mouthfeel, though part of our panel wanted to note that some juicy fans might not find the texture like an alcoholic juicy beer.

We found this beer to come at us in layers which each tasted good. The carbonation wasn’t excessive, which we liked.

This is a light golden color and one of the beers that tasted like it might be non-alcoholic. It was very light and had less flavor than we were expecting.

This one was a hit with our panel, it hit all the right IPA notes and tasted convincing. The finish was lingeringly bitter, expected with this style.

We found this on the bitter side without accompanying sweetness.

This beer had a subtle flavor. We found it slightly sweet and mellow with a baking smell.

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

A balanced IPA that easily holds its own with alcoholic varieties.

This beer has a good smell with a mellow hop character. It tasted like an IPA to the panel. There is a slight sweetness but it finished with a nice bitter character.

This didn’t taste like a juicy to us. It had a slight orange sweetness and light hops. It was a bit more one-note than we were hoping for.

We didn’t miss the alcohol in this beer. It had a satisfying bitter finish.

This is a smooth IPA, a favorite of our panel. It drinks very true to style.

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.

We really liked the smell on this one and the way the spices lingered on the finish.

This had notes of very dark chocolate and was very dry. Slightly thinner than expected, but that’s often the case with the darker non-alcoholic beers.

This one was polarizing for the panel—some loved it. It was on the dry side with a creamy head.

This is definitely a dessert beer, so it’s on the sweet side. We were so impressed by how nuanced the flavors were, it really tasted like a s’more in beer form.

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

This one had a coffee flavor and was on the bitter side. For us, the peanut butter pairing wasn’t ideal.

This porter was on the bitter side and had almost a wine flavor to it.

This was another polarizing beer. Several members of the panel found it very close to alcoholic Guinness, while others struggled with what they described as increased bitterness and a thinner texture.

This was a favorite of our panel. Exactly as it sounds, it’s a stout that tastes like chocolate milk. Obvious, it’s a dessert beer, but it manages to take something quintessential to many childhoods and give it a sophisticated spin.

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.

This beer is about as sour as it gets, which was good news for the hardcore sour fans on our panel. If this is you, you know who you are. There was a lot of nuance to this, including the slightly caramel notes from the barrel and the tart sweetness of the morello cherries. This is a treat for sour fans.

This is two quick steps away from soda, with just enough of an edge to remind you that you’re drinking something more grown up. Perfect for the summer.

We loved the spiced smell on this. We thought it tasted like mulled beer, and it was lightly sweet, which is exactly what we expected with a Christmas beer.