What NA Beer are you drinking now? And what NA beers are you liking?

[mergs]

Similar to the other very popular thread here "What are you drinking now?" I wanted to do one for Non-Alcoholic (NA) Beers only (and hopefully there's not already a thread for this).

Why the hell would I drink NA beer??? See below**

Tonight I'm drinking Athletic Brewing's Free Wave Hazy IPA:
https://athleticbrewing.com/collections/beer/products/free-wave-hazy-ipa-non-alcoholic-6-pack
I really like this beer. I can drink these at the trail head after rides or after rock climbing with the fellas around me drinking the full strength beers and I'm totally cool with it. Frankly I think its the hops I have an addiction to.

This past week I've also had Sober Carpenter (great), Wellbeing Brewing (great), and Sam Adam's Just the Haze (very good), Kaliber (borderline garbage). Anyone else experimenting and drinking NA beers out there? Please also give a review.

**Disclaimer: I'm day 12 of a self imposed "dry December 2021" to give my liver a break and also prove that I was capable of it. So far so good, and due to the prevalence of pretty good NS beers now, its a lot easier. Are these beers as good as the real thing? No, but I was pretty surprised that I was able to drink these.

 

[bracconiere]

the only NA beer i like is kombucha....

 

[Elric]

@mergs if you like hops so mich have you tried hop water and if so what are your thoughts? I haven't tried one yet, but a number of my local breweries have started making them so I do want to try and see what they are like.

 

[jpakstis]

I haven’t tried the Free Wave but I liked Athletic’s Run Wild. And there are a ton of great reasons to drink (good) NA beers. One particular benefit to me - after a long run, it’s an awesome recovery drink. It provides carbs and sugars but it’s not too sickly sweet like Gatorade or other sport drinks. NA beers were all the rage as a recovery drink in 2018 Winter Olympics.

I also go through some jags where my body doesn’t like the beers that I like, especially the morning after. In that case it’s nice to be able to have a beer at dinner and not get knocked down the next morning. I’ve even noticed some bars nearby that serve some of Athletic’s offerings.

 

[ThirstyPawsHB]

Two Roots has some nice IPAs. Athletic and Two Roots are my favorites so far. The only issue is they have the same carbs as any other beer so if one is on Keto they're no bueno.

 

[micraftbeer]

So I don't have much occasion that I'm interested in drinking them, but I was curious to try the recent wave. I had to drive across town to a party this past summer and it was a great opportunity to try. Here's what I tried:

1. Two Roots New West Hazy IPA. This one was great. Tasted like a beer, looked like a beer, smelled like a beer. Even had little bits of hop particles floating in it. If even say it tasted like a good beer.

2. Two Roots Enough Said Helles. This one was decent. Again tasted like a beer, but just like beer, there's some I don't really like. This just tasted like an average beer. Better than drinking Bud Light, but not one is get excited about.

3. Lagunitas IPNA. I thought this was gross and had an outdoor exactly like sweaty, unshowered body odor. Strangely, the flavor seemed decent, just couldn't get over the smell. Maybe if I drank it from the bottle instead of pouring it into a cup I wouldn't have got the odor. Tasted nothing like a beer or an IPA.

4. Hairless Dog Black Ale. Also tasted gross. Like a beer you left in a cup, out in the sun. Had an aroma kinda like vomit. After a few drinks, I decided the flavor was decent, but again couldn't get over the aroma. Probably meant to be drank straight from the can.

 

[dchmela]

My Dad had a stroke last year and now can only drink NA because of his meds. We have been trying different NA beers and, for him, O'Douls is his go to now. As a Coors light drinker, I think this one gets close to what he is used to. He also likes the Athletic stuff. I will have him try and find the Two Roots (if I can find it), I think he might like that one as well. Thanks for the thoughts on the subject! I have been trying to search through options for my Dad the past year. Cheers!

 

[MMP126]

I went on a stint of NA beer over this past summer. Here are my experiences.

1. BrewDog. I had a bunch of NA from them. Nanny State, Punk AF, Hazy AF, Elvis AF, and an AF stout (cant remember the name). These are all decent, but low in body and just a bit "off". Probably the best "beer" of what I tried.

2. St. Pauly Girl NA. Terrible. Dont even bother getting any. Cloyingly sweet, no bitterness, just terrible.

3. Laugunitas Hoppy Refresher. Super good. Better than any beer honestly. I loved this.

4. Hop Lark Hop Water. Citra was good. Mosaic was good. Decent.

5. Hop Lark Hop Tea. These were pretty good. 2nd best on the list. The Citra bomb one was great. The really hoppy one was great. The others were ok. But, definitely worth a try.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I recently had a Galactic Extra Dark from Big Drop Brewing Co. It was a pretty decent drinking beer.

https://www.bigdropbrew.com/drinks/alcohol-free-stout/
Oddly, the ingredient list on my can is different than what is on the site. The site says:
WATER, BARLEY, OATS, RYE, HOPS, YEAST, LACTOSE (MILK), COCOA NIBS.

Where my can does not use the term Lactose, but just lists Milk in the second ingredient spot...it makes me wonder if it was actually made with straight up milk:
WATER, MILK, BARLEY MALT, OATS, RYE, HOPS, YEAST, COCOA NIBS.

I am not sure how I feel about the 99 Calories and 21g Carbs in this beer. If you are wanting to drink NA beers more for the low Calorie and carb levels, this one is not going to do it for you.

 

[buckinin]

NA sours are interesting. Many sours are thinner to begin, so in my opinion do well as NAs.

 

[GBRbrew]

Iv tried the Sam Adam's just the haze, it pretty decent, and this one from athletic,its a little thin for a stout but still very drinkable. never thought I'd say that about na beers.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I haven’t tasted many NA beers, though hubby bought a 6 of Weihenstephaner hefe NA. I poured a half glass and there was an unexpected bite to it not like an enjoyable hefe. Well, it was a carbonic bite, poured the rest hard got a big fluffy head and found it to be rather enjoyable and very close to the brand.

 

[NewJersey]

I've liked all of the brewdog AF beers.
Heineken 0.0 is good for a "regular" beer.
My favorite NA of all time is Erdinger Hefeweizen

 

[Elric]

Had a gift card for one of my somewhat local breweries (about 1 1/2 hours away) so decided to order some of their hop water as well as a couple cans of beer. Figured if I like it enough I will dedicate a tap to making some of my own. If I don't like it I will aim to try a n/a kombucha instead.

 

[dnr]

It's odd seeing everyone having access to Athletic. I have met the owner a few times at the bar I worked at. He used to bring us samples. The brown ale was really good. Almost no one had heard of them the next town over a few years back. Good on 'em.
I find the Lagunitas Hop Water and Hop Lark Hop Tea to be my favorite stuff so far. I like tea and seltzer when not drinking beer. I've been saying for years, "Why isn't there a hoppy seltzer?" I even made some years ago. Just threw hop pellets into a lemon seltzer bottle.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I was at a pub recently and they had a Athletic rep there giving out samples. I have had their Upside Dawn before and I thought it was okay, but just a bit plain for my tastes in beers. I was quite impressed by their Run Wild IPA. It is hard to really call it an IPA, but it was one of the only NA beers I have ever had with some actual hop flavors. The Free Wave Hazy IPA was okay, but a bit too much of that unfermented wort character and not as much hop character as I would like (similar to the Sam Adams Just the Haze). The other one was the All Out Extra Dark. I could easily have been told I was drinking a 3.5% Dark Mild.

I suspect these samples were from pretty fresh and well handled cans. Based on my limited experience, NA beers do not seem to age well and are best when very fresh.

 

[Elric]

My order with the hopwater came in today. Have to say I am a fan. Nice hop flavor in a seltzer water with no hop bitterness. 0 calories, 0 abv, but some nice hop tastes to make me feel like I am having a treat instead of the gallons of water I drink each day.

 

[Knightshade]

I had some of Athletic's Upside Dawn yesterday. Was just odd...not a fan.

I was tossing around the idea of making some hop water based off of Clawhammer Supply's vid, but I got lazy and picked up a 6 pack of Athletic's stuff. Now I've got 4 cans of it left....maybe beer can chicken candidates.

 

[NoCornOrRice]

Brew dog Nanny State is really good, but there is no local retailer.
I am happily drinking a Partake Pale Ale now. 10 Calories, tasty and supposedly zero carbs.

 

[davidabcd]

If I'm going to do the insane amount of carbs....

 

[ThirstyPawsHB]

These are a step up.... Untitled Art does NAs now. The Weisse and Stout were over the top, NA speaking!

https://www.drinkuntitled.com/products/non-alcoholic-beer/

 

[CDS]

I’m happy to be educated (and honestly have never thought about this before, so if my question is cliche by now just ignore me) - should NA beer be called beer? As far as I know, throughout history beer has been a fermented beverage. Isn’t this a bit like calling grape juice non-alcoholic wine?

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I’m happy to be educated (and honestly have never thought about this before, so if my question is cliche by now just ignore me) - should NA beer be called beer? As far as I know, throughout history beer has been a fermented beverage. Isn’t this a bit like calling grape juice non-alcoholic wine?

N/A beer is made with a variety of methods. Some do not use any yeast or fermentation but others use yeast and fermentation. Either just a small amount of fermentation to keep the ABV below regional limits (in the US an NA beer needs to be less than 0.5% ABV), or sometimes the alcohol is removed through filtration or "boiling" (at a low temp at partial vacuum). Some times a combo of methods.

I am actually not 100% sure if and where the term "Beer" is legally used. Looking at labels I see the terms "NA Brew", "NA Lager", "NA Malt Beverage", "NA IPA", or just "NA" used. A Partake label is the only one where I saw "NA Beer" used.

 

[oakbarn]

I went on a stint of NA beer over this past summer. Here are my experiences.

1. BrewDog. I had a bunch of NA from them. Nanny State, Punk AF, Hazy AF, Elvis AF, and an AF stout (cant remember the name). These are all decent, but low in body and just a bit "off". Probably the best "beer" of what I tried.

2. St. Pauly Girl NA. Terrible. Dont even bother getting any. Cloyingly sweet, no bitterness, just terrible.

3. Laugunitas Hoppy Refresher. Super good. Better than any beer honestly. I loved this.

4. Hop Lark Hop Water. Citra was good. Mosaic was good. Decent.

5. Hop Lark Hop Tea. These were pretty good. 2nd best on the list. The Citra bomb one was great. The really hoppy one was great. The others were ok. But, definitely worth a try.

I actually like St. Pauly Girl NA if I have to drink NA for any reason. I generally only drink lagers and British style bitters or mild. Funny, I was in Switzerland in the 1960s and so a sign for Free Beer. I said OK!!!c I had no idea it meant Alcohol Free beer.

 

[mergs]

@mergs if you like hops so mich have you tried hop water and if so what are your thoughts? I haven't tried one yet, but a number of my local breweries have started making them so I do want to try and see what they are like.

Hi Elric,
I like hop water in a pinch but its a little bland. I've actually made some, been OK with it and actually started making my own Hop Tea (attempted clones of Hoplark). I tend to like it better because rather than seltzer with a splash of hop flavor its actually tea (black, green, whatever) with hops steeped in as well. I have 2 kegs of it I've been sipping on for months.

 

[mergs]

the only NA beer i like is kombucha....

I've started making it as well. Starting to scale up as I get the hang of it.

 

[mergs]

Two Roots has some nice IPAs. Athletic and Two Roots are my favorites so far. The only issue is they have the same carbs as any other beer so if one is on Keto they're no bueno.

The carb issue is my main gripe too. Sam Adams Just the Haze has a metric f-ton: 22g!. I think they're probably sweetening it. I stopped buying it due to that.

 

[mergs]

So I don't have much occasion that I'm interested in drinking them, but I was curious to try the recent wave. I had to drive across town to a party this past summer and it was a great opportunity to try. Here's what I tried:

1. Two Roots New West Hazy IPA. This one was great. Tasted like a beer, looked like a beer, smelled like a beer. Even had little bits of hop particles floating in it. If even say it tasted like a good beer.

2. Two Roots Enough Said Helles. This one was decent. Again tasted like a beer, but just like beer, there's some I don't really like. This just tasted like an average beer. Better than drinking Bud Light, but not one is get excited about.

3. Lagunitas IPNA. I thought this was gross and had an outdoor exactly like sweaty, unshowered body odor. Strangely, the flavor seemed decent, just couldn't get over the smell. Maybe if I drank it from the bottle instead of pouring it into a cup I wouldn't have got the odor. Tasted nothing like a beer or an IPA.

4. Hairless Dog Black Ale. Also tasted gross. Like a beer you left in a cup, out in the sun. Had an aroma kinda like vomit. After a few drinks, I decided the flavor was decent, but again couldn't get over the aroma. Probably meant to be drank straight from the can.

I tried Lagunitas too. Full disappointment.

 

[mergs]

My Dad had a stroke last year and now can only drink NA because of his meds. We have been trying different NA beers and, for him, O'Douls is his go to now. As a Coors light drinker, I think this one gets close to what he is used to. He also likes the Athletic stuff. I will have him try and find the Two Roots (if I can find it), I think he might like that one as well. Thanks for the thoughts on the subject! I have been trying to search through options for my Dad the past year. Cheers!

Great post, thanks for sharing. As a long time BP med taker (I'm 56, and I've been on meds since my late 30's!) I've always struggled with it and I'm active (cyclist, former runner, climber, snow sports, etc) but my BP has barely been under control. To date my streak is 6 months no booze and my BP is now low with my meds. I've always been in the borderline high BP range WITH meds and now my reading are consistently low: typically below 120/80. I haven't seen my BP that low basically ever. My change was dropping the booze and instead an NA beer or two (from 3-5 per night during covid). When I started this post I was still considering going back to full alchohol beer one day but my current plan is due to my BP readings now as low as they are to surf the NA wave for the foreseeable future in order to avoid the stroke I was probably on path for. Thanks for your post.

 

[mergs]

Iv tried the Sam Adam's just the haze, it pretty decent, and this one from athletic,its a little thin for a stout but still very drinkable. never thought I'd say that about na beers.

Yep, its pretty good times for beer loving sober folk.