Ask Lemmy

Athletic brewing company has a a stout...that if they billed as an ESB would be amazingly convincing.

I swear to you, I am (or I guess used to be) a BJCP certified beer judge. (former) Cicerone ii

Athletic is the best out there for NA, that I've seen. And that stout... I was intrigued to see how you could make beery. And you can't. But... an ESBs flavor profile is, for all intents and purposes, a watered down (Still spritzy) dry stout.

I'll bet there are better for hopheads. Hell, I prefer lagunitas's NIPA offering more than athletics pale ale. So... yeah.

Guinness has the best NA stout because it tastes just like regular Guinness. When I had to stop drinking, I really missed this and none of the other NA stouts scratched the itch. Once this came out, I was really happy. Other than that, anything from Athletic Brewing Company is awesome. They have some good IPAs, their sour and gose options are really good, there’s a cerveza that tastes similar to negra modelo and a bunch of their seasonal offerings are really good. A big problem with a lot of NA beers is that they don’t get the carbonation right (brew dog has some good tasting ones, but their carbonation is no good). Athletic nails it. After that I’d say Brooklyn Brewing and Partake both have a few really solid ones; just pick whatever looks interesting from them and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

I've never had a NA beer, so this is kind of a joke answer, but I actually wonder it technically counts.

Root Beer?

I love Athletic Brewing Company. Their Oktoberfest is very good, and their Blueberry Lemon Mango sour is my favorite NA beer on the market. I also really like Best Day, especially their Kolsch.

Agree with everyone on Athletic I like their upside dawn golden. I also like Black Butte Port which is a NA I’ve only seen at BiMart of all places. I go through a lot of the Claushaller dry hopped.

Guinness 0 is remarkably good I have to say.

So far the Athletic IPA

Solid hops hit. It’s a bit thin in the mouth feel. But the. Hops hit home.

Another mention of Athletic, sours for me.

For IPAs: Brooklyn Special Effects and BrewDog Punk AF

Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher is fantastic, but it's not trying to be a beer or anything.

Lagunitas IPNA tastes fucking awful, DO NOT BUY.

Brew Dog NAs are great.

All Athletic Brewing offerings are great as well!

I had a NA Guinness Stout that I really enjoyed. Had I not followed it up with an actual Guinness, I may have been convinced it was the real thing.

Clausthaler Dry-Hopped (the brown bottle, not the green). It actually tastes like a beer.

Anything root!

Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0 -- really scratches the lager itch.
Sam Adams, Just The Haze -- my fav NA IPA
Athletic Brewing Company -- many offerings but Upside Dawn Golden is my favorite.

Fremont Brewing Non-Alcoholic IPA. Tastes real.

Guinness 0 is surprisingly good as well.

For the Aussies: Free Time Pale Ale

https://bridgeroadbrewers.com.au/products/free-time-alcohol-free-pale-ale

Non-alcoholic beer makes my brain go crazy. I do not like it at all. WHERE IS THE JUICE?!

I actually prefer malt drinks like Barbican. For me it is significantly cheaper than NA lager. I also like the flavored Barbicans (pomegranate) but they're closer to a soft drink than a NA Radler.

Molson Excel. I'm a recovered alcoholic, and it does it for me. There are some nice other options, but I go through so many of the Excels.

Spicy virgin bloody mary

Alcohol free Guinness was amazing, until Celiac ruled that out.

If they'll ship to wherever you are, you should give Mash Gang a try. My personal favourite is a fruited west-coast IPA, but mostly I just like that they're constantly trying new things. Since giving up alcohol, it's the closest I've gotten to that feeling of trying a bunch of crazy craft beers and not knowing exactly what you're about to get.

Non-alcoholic beer has come along in leaps and bounds and there are many very drinkable beverages available now.

For the past 2 years, I've bought a non-alc beer Advent Calendar, which is basically a case of beer with perforated "doors" that you get a can from for the first 24 days of December and then about 4 cans for 25 December itself. Only one or two that I didn't like enough to not drink them and several I thought were amazing.

As I live in Australia, the majority are from here. There were some from the US and Europe, though. Some that spring to mind are : Athletic, Løwlander, Vandestreek, Sheep in Wolf's Clothing, Bravus, Big Drop.

Brewdog does some really good NA beers

Lagunitas IPNA

Dr Pepper.

Piss