OT: Discovering Non Alcoholic Beer

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by old fat man

I'm an Athletic Brewing ambassador.

That's a great idea!

I've been pushing them ever since my liver doc said no more alcohol. And I turned him onto Athletic Brewing. His quote "I have lots of patients asking about NA beer...thanks for the tip!"

[C40_guy]

My favorite Athletic Brewing beer is the stout. it's very good. Their current Cerveza Atletica beer is pretty darn good too...

[Upcountry]

I managed bars and restaurants for 10 years, which involved a lot of drinking... I always looked forward to my wednesday lunch hour, as it's when the reps would come in and try to sell me on all the new beers/wines/mezcals/etc which meant free samples and tastings. It usually meant I had a good buzz at around noon...
Once I hit my 30's(37 now) even just a beer would leave me feeling like crap the next day... And based on some real bad hangovers, I'm talking not even being able to drink water for 24 hours after without throwing up, I'm pretty convinced that alcohol and I no longer get along. I still love the taste of a nice hoppy IPA, but it just isn't worth the feeling afterwards, and the negative association with the hangovers has me not even enjoying the feeling of being the slightest bit buzzed. So with that, I've been drinking Athletic for a little over a year now. Once or twice a week I'll crack one of them to scratch that itch. While they're not as good as a nice Dry Hopped Mosaic or Nelson Ipa, they offer a similar experience. I also love the Lagunitas Hop Water, and some of the Hoplark Hop Tea's I've picked up at Whole Foods.
My latest positive experience with Athletic was that upon ordering three six packs, to get free shipping, upon opening the box I discovered they tossed in a fourth for free, to fill the box...

[warren128]

I love the taste of beer but I never liked the alcohol buzz and facial redness and flushing from drinking alcoholic beverages. Since I discovered ABC NA beer, I have not needed to drink anything else. My favorite is Athletic Brewing Company's All-Out Stout, and I also enjoy their IPAs. It's great to unwind with one after a good ride.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Upcountry

My latest positive experience with Athletic was that upon ordering three six packs, to get free shipping, upon opening the box I discovered they tossed in a fourth for free, to fill the box...

Hmmm. I'll have to try that.

Right now I'm on autoship...

[eippo1]

We've been enjoying some of Athletic Brewing beers as well. Tried their hop seltzer and not huge fans, but like the Cerveza and the IPA ones the best. Gonna to to do more of this type of thing because I like to have a beer with dinner, but alcohol is affecting my sleep.

Edit: Have to revise my statement regarding the hop seltzers. We had gotten a case to try and finally got around to trying more today. We like the Blood Orange and Lime but have yet to try the Black Cherry. Neither of us liked the Mango. It just didn't work for us.

[bigbill]

When I raced in the 90s, I drank NA beer. I like beer and it satisfied that without adding to my dehydration in muggy South Carolina. I used to drink them after a race or hard ride. These days, I mostly consume brown liquor.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by Upcountry

Once I hit my 30's(37 now) even just a beer would leave me feeling like crap the next day...

I'm the same way. I love the taste of an IPA and/or a great glass of wine, but a single one of either leaves me feeling like crap the next day physically and affects my mood. I think some people just get used to that feeling. I don't like it. So, for me, drinking has become like burgers n' fries w. a milkshake or a heavy desert - something I indulge once in a while, knowing full well that it'll come back to bite me.

My two favorite Athletic beers are the stout and the cervaza - the stout to drink on its own and enjoy the burnt malt flavor, and the cervaza to have with tacos or spicy asian food, since it tastes pretty much the same as a cheap lager..

I agree with Brewsmith on HopTea. Those are mighty tasty.

Both of those are available at Whole Foods and regional organic grocers, IME.

Another great one for hop flavor is Brew Doctor Citrus Hops Kombucha: https://www.brewdrkombucha.com/raw-o...a/citrus-hops/

I don't really drink booch anymore - doesn't agree with my digestion and gives me dragon breath - but when I did, it was a favorite.

[cgates66]

I've had some nice German NAs - and you have to be careful with NA, some is "<0.5%" which is not 0%! I think the Bitburger one is decent when very cold. It works best for malt-forward beers (lagers), in my opinion. I have heard, like someone else previously mentioned, that the Budweiser one is good. Like many, I like the taste but don't always want the alcohol.

I also like IPAs with alcohol too, but be careful - hops stimulate the production of estrogen! I don't believe the effect in moderation is huge, but it is real, and if you are worried about your endocrine system, something to keep in mind.

All beer, or most anyway, has hops but IPAs in particular have quite a lot. Porters have much less, to pick one example (low IBUs = low hops).

[s4life]

If your point of reference is Budweisser, I don't think you are losing much with non-alcoholic beverage in terms of flavor

Originally Posted by alancw3

So I have been a big beer drinker (don't drink wine or liquor) for the last 55 years or so as I genuinely love the taste of beer. Never been a soda drinker. Most recently with covid, some medical issues and sports injuries I have had an abundance of time to drink even more beer to the point that I realized needed to cut back or eliminate drinking beer. Several weeks ago in the grocery store there was a display for a new product, Budweiser Zero, that claimed tasted like regular Budweiser which was my go to after mowing lawn type of drinking beer. So I bought a twelve pack. Damn it tasted like Budweiser with a little less body. Anyway this intro into non alcoholic beers got me to research what other na beers might be out there. Low and behold there are several craft breweries that specialize in na beer. So I started trying them. Some of them are really good! So much so that I don't see myself ever drinking another alcohol beer. Why put that toxin in my body if I get just as much taste satisfaction without it. I am still trying more but these two breweries are notably:

https://wellbeingbrewing.com. I like there Hellraiser dark amber best.

https://athleticbrewing.com. I like there Cervaza best.

The only thing with na craft beers is they tend to be pricey.

And now I can mow the lawn at 9am and still have a Bud or two w/o getting a buzz for the rest of the day. Anybody else out there finding themselves in a similar place I highly recommend trying non alcoholic beers. You might be pleasantly surprised.

[soupless]

I've tried them all and this is the best. It kicks Athletic's a$$.

[CAAD]

This thread is offensive. In before the lock.


Jk carry on boys.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by CAAD

This thread is offensive. In before the lock.


Jk carry on boys.

The OP lost all my respect when he stated that Budweiser is his go-to beer - and I live in St Louis.

IMO that's like saying you're a Cat 2 racer, and that your favorite bike's your big-wheel.

[Steve in SLO]

I have a few friends who swear by Heineken NA. Thoughts from the group?

[choke]

Clausthaler is my pick.