10 Non-Alcoholic Beers That Don't Suck
I haven't had alcohol since New Year's Eve. But before that, I was a serious beer snob with more than two thousand unique check-in on Untappd. I love the taste of beer. So I've had to find some options that don't suck. Surprisingly, my favorites aren't the sexy micobreweries, either. Here they are.
1. Clausthaler Original
I'd never heard of it, ever, but after grinding my way through all of the selections around me, this is my stand-alone favorite. To me, this tastes exactly like the beers I used to love.
2. Clausthaler Dry Hopped
A little too sweet to make it better than the original in my opinion, but it's close.
3. Buckler
Supposedly when George W. Bush was President, this is what was stocked at the White House (George quit drinking when he was 40). It's a very solid beer that - like Clausthaler - could fool most beer snobs.
4. Heineken 0.0
Full transparency: in my days of drinking alcohol, I wasn't really a Heineken fan. However, 0.0 does a remarkable impression of the regular stuff. And when you go to restaurants, this is the one that gets stocked most often (even more than O'Douls in places I go to). If you want to embrace the non-alcoholic beer life, Heineken 0.0 should be part of your plan.
5. Guinness Non-Alcoholic
Like 0.0, if you like Guinness, you'll also like this. It's not quite as tasty as the original, but it's close enough.
6. Weihenstephaner
Truth is, I don't like this beer, but not because it's non-alcoholic. I simply don't like many wheat beers and truth is - this tastes exactly like a wheat beer. If you like the style, you'll love it.
7. O'Douls
What Budweiser is to beer, O'Douls is to non-alcoholic beer. It's a fun grass cutter.
8. Athletic Brewing Lite
When I started drinking non-alcoholic beer, I fully expected to fall in love with Athletic Brewing. They're good marketers and are doing a lot of things right. Still, they don't tantalize my taste buds as much as I wish they did. Their new Lite beer is pretty good, though, and it's as close to zero calorie as any beer is likely to get.
9. Athletic Brewing Upside Dawn
This was the first non-alcoholic beer I tried to fall in love with. Truth is, I'd take any of the top 5 options on this list, first. However, if you're anti-big bev and you're pro-non alcoholic, here we are.
10. I Wish I Had a #10
After six months, I'm only able to share 9 non-alcoholic beers that I think beer drinkers will love. There are numerous micro-breweries going after the space and I'm eager to improve this list over time. But as of yet, they're not converting me.
No comments.