As I’ve gotten older, my tolerance for alcohol has dropped significantly.
The nights of taking 10+ shots are over.
Now I’ll feel woozy the morning after just two or three beers.
So instead of drinking beers, I started drinking other alternatives like GT’s Kombucha, Culture Pop, or Liquid Death.
But I like the taste of beer, so I eventually went back to having a few drinks here and there.
Then a friend turned me on to non-alcoholic beers and I was hooked.
I started trying different beers and figuring out which ones I liked better.
Fun fact, the first time I had a non-alcoholic beer, even though I knew it was non-alcoholic, I still felt buzzed. It was weird.
I’ll still have an alcoholic beverage here and there, but non-alcoholic options allow me to enjoy a nice, cold, crisp beverage, without getting too weird.
Before talking about my favorite ones, it might help to explain a little about non-alcoholic beers.
What do you mean non-alcoholic beer?
The main question I’ve gotten from friends is, “Is it actually a beer?”
Well, yeah. These beverages often go through the same process as any normal beer. There’s just an additional step to significantly lower the concentration of the alcohol.
I’ll add a caveat that “alcohol-free” or “non-alcoholic beer” doesn’t necessarily mean 0% alcohol. It means the alcohol by volume (ABV) is less than 0.5%.
How do you make a beer non-alcoholic?
Non-alcoholic beers are brewed using one of four methods:
- Controlled fermentation
- Dealcoholization
- Dilution
- Simulated fermentation
Controlled fermentation
Controlled fermentation is the most common method for producing non-alcoholic beers.
In this method, the beer is fermented but the fermentation process is stopped right before the alcohol-producing stage.
This is done by making sure the wort (the liquid containing the sugars that are normally fermented by the yeast to and produce alcohol) doesn’t get hotter than 60°F.
Dealcoholization
Remember that alcohol has a lower boiling point than water. So the most common method to dealcoholize beer is to heat up the beer to 173°F, the point where the alcohol evaporates.
Dilution
Dilution is simply the process of adding water to the beer to reduce the alcohol concentration.
This can be done before or after fermentation.
Simulated fermentation
In this process, the brewer will completely skip the fermentation process. Instead, they add ingredients and enzymes to simulate the effect.
The 6 best non-alcoholic beers
Okay, so I’ve had many non-alcoholic beers, but definitely not all of them—especially as more come to market.
Athletic Brewing
This is a brand rather than a specific beer, but they’re my favorite. They’re one of the first craft non-alcoholic beer brands I heard of and the first I tried so I have a soft spot for Athletic Brewing.
They have a range of options, but their main ones are:
- Upside Dawn: An alternative to your classic craft golden ale. This is my favorite from Athletic. Perfect for a warm sunny day.
- Run Wild: An alternative to your session IPA. Hoppy but not too hoppy.
- Free Wave: A hazy IPA, great for one of those cozy nights.
- Athletic Lite: Only 25 calories and 5 carbs. You can have a few of these and feel great.
- Cerveza Atletica: I think of this like a non-alcoholic Corona. Recommended served on a beach with some fish tacos.
- All Out: I’d compare this to a stout. It’s rich and smooth and has notes of nuts and dark coffee and chocolate.
Heineken 0.0
A non-alcoholic version of a classic. Heineken 0.0 is a Dutch non-alcoholic beer that has a light, crisp taste and a refreshing finish that many of us are familiar with.
Okay, maybe not everyone’s a fan of Heineken, but it’s one of my favorites.
Suntory All Free
I’m a big whiskey guy so that’s how I know Suntory. When I learned they also brewed not just beer but non-alcoholic beer, I had to give it a try. Great, refreshing beer and what they call Nodogoshi, a Japanese expression for the enjoyable sensation of beverages/food passing through the throat when swallowing. I think that’s all I need to say.
Clausthaler
Clausthaler has a family of non-alcoholic beers and my favorite is the original non-alcoholic. It’s a crisp, light-bodied beer that has a light malt flavor and a slight hoppy bitterness.
Kaliber
I would’ve never guessed that the Irish, the brewers of Guinness would create a non-alcoholic beer. I spent 6 months living in Dublin and never saw a single bottle nor tap of this. I ironically found it in the US.
Erdinger
Erdinger is a German non-alcoholic beer that has been around since 1986. I’m a big fan of weissbiers and this tastes just like the alcoholic version.
Which non-alcoholic beer will you try next?
The world of non-alcoholic beers continues to expand every day. I’m personally excited to continue trying more of them.
Which one are you picking up next?
Let me know if there’s any you’d recommend.
