OT: Discovering Non Alcoholic Beer

[dmitrik4]

Another vote for Athletic. NA beer has come a long way in a few years; my new go-to is Go Brewing—it’s probably the best NA beer I’ve tried.

Agree with the others who have said that NA brews aren’t quite the same—but IMO they’re not too far off. I’ll usually have one really good beer after work and then switch to NA with dinner if I want more. Or start with an NA and save the good beer for an after-dinner stout.

Oh, and the whole “it’s not non-alcoholic because it’s 0.5%” thing—orange juice has about the same 0.5% alcohol content. Bread has more than that. Plenty of regular foods and beverages have similar trace amounts.

Also, Denver parks don’t consider 3.2% beer to be an “alcoholic beverage.”

[Tickdoc]

Starting year four of no alcohol or caffeine in my system.

After years of enjoying all forms of brews and alcohol in general, diverticulitis caused me to just not want it anymore. I was a big bourbon drinker and used to brew my own all grain ales from an old family recipe, but something changed when I got ill and I just haven’t found a taste for it since.

I’ll take sips of mimosas when I brunch with the kids, and maybe a sip of wine with a nice dinner, but nothing like I used to.

I like some of the amber and dark non alcoholic brews, but I haven’t really enjoyed any ipas or ales yet. There is a na German nut brown ale that is great, and although I never really loved Guinness before, I do enjoy their na version with a burger. Found a nice kolsch that is good from surreal. (All of their na brews are good)

My go to has been this lagunitas hoppy refresher.

It’s more of a carbonated water with just a hint of hops. Weird because I never enjoyed their brews, but this stuff is great.

[gbcoupe]

^ I'll have to try that. I do like their NA IPA. ^

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

My go to has been this lagunitas hoppy refresher.

I like these, but charging $18-20 for a 12 pack of canned water is pretty absurd.

I just got some of these shipped and they're really excellent -> https://athleticbrewing.com/collecti...oducts/all-out

[batman1425]

Had an Athletic Brewing IPA the other night and was really surprised. NA beer really has come a long way.

[gbcoupe]

Originally Posted by .RJ

I like these, but charging $18-20 for a 12 pack of canned water is pretty absurd.

I just got some of these shipped and they're really excellent -> https://athleticbrewing.com/collecti...oducts/all-out

Be prepared for the onslaught on emails.

[benb]

I tried Athletic's Upside Dawn last week.

Taste was good and I enjoyed that I was having a "beer" on a Tuesday which I would normally not do.

I would say the mouthfeel was really really watery though. Even more so than a really thin light beer would be. (It's 45 calories)

The taste really was OK, but they were calling it a Golden Ale but I think it tasted more like a lager or a wheat beer or something. The color was not golden ale at all. It would be interesting if whatever their process is not really an ale based on yeast/temp.

I will probably try some of the others. Some of me feeling crappy after I drink beer is apparently the Hops though, not the alcohol. I theoretically (according to the allergist) do have some kind of reaction to hops. Sometimes I feel like this is a real thing, other times I'm somewhat skeptical. I think it's possible I only have reaction to some particular types of hops, and obviously beer has hop levels that vary by more than 10x across different styles.

The point of all that being, I'd probably rather drink an alcoholic low-hop beer than a NA one that had a lot of hops. I don't drink that much anyway, but you could say I'm somewhat of a serious beer drinker as I actively search out new kinds of beer that I've never had. It's just relatively rare for me to have more than 1, and I usually have no more than 1 drink a week.

But a 45 calorie NA Beer? Seems like a better choice than either soda or diet soda or the other products that are full of chemicals. The Upside Dawn gave me 0 negative effects of alcohol or hops.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by gbcoupe

Be prepared for the onslaught on emails.

I unsubscribe from everything, problem solved.

[rothwem]

I’ve had an athletic brewing beer before and I was also impressed at how decent it tasted. I used to drink a ton of beer in my early 20s and as I’ve gotten older (I’m 38 now) it’s started messing with my sleep a lot more than it used to so I drink probably <2 drinks a week now.

With that said, like @benb I also have a minor hop allergy, I get hay fever like symptoms from drinking really hoppy beer and I wake up with a sore throat from nasal drainage every time, which is annoying. That effect isn’t diminished with the alcohol free beer.

My other objection is the calories—I rarely drink beverages other than water or seltzer, so even a 45 calorie ABC beer is more than I typically consume. As for having something in my hand to sip while in social situations, a La Croix hits a lot of the same marks that a beer does—fizzy, cold, not sweet and it’s calorie free.

[Kyle h]

For those wanting a NA beer with lesser calories, Hoplark has some really good options. I really like the 0.0 sour.

[shoota]

I've really been enjoying Dos Equis Salt & Lime lately. Especially after a ride. Scratches the post ride shower beer itch nicely.

[jtakeda]

The new Sierra Nevada trail pass IPA are actually fantastic. I bought a 6pack and went back for more and they’ve been sold out!

[VeloceNiente]

Peroni 0.0 is good. Light lager type.

[oliviabrandon36]

Now this got me thinking about the health implication of taking a NA beer....Anyone got a clue???

[Gsinill]

Clausthaler is the only one I've found that comes close to tasting like beer.