[Dead Man]

Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11

My curiosity was piqued by this thread, so not having tried an NA beer in a while I picked up a six pack of Athletic Free Wave hazy IPA over the weekend to give it a go. I was pretty impressed. It lived up to the claims of being very similar in taste to alcoholic IPA of the same variety. That said, it's not something I'd go out of my way to drink. It's "very similar" to alcoholic beer, but it's just not the same. I would liken it to the difference between decaf and regular coffee. Even the best decaf tastes a little "off" from regular coffee and it's the same thing here. I suspect the alcohol contributes something to the flavor of the brew, so when it's missing, that aspect of the taste is missing, too. Maybe it's something I'd buy for, say, a long road trip or something when I stop for a break and want a "beer" but need to avoid alcohol, but otherwise I wouldn't drink this regularly. That's not a knock on Athletic--like I said, I was impressed--but I suspect it's just the nature of the beast. I still may try another one or two at some point, but curiosity satisfied for now.

this is exactly how i feel like it would be to drink a "good" nonalchy beer..