There are times I just need a beer…and often at those times, I also need to keep my wits about me. Luckily, non-alcoholic beer is said to be the fastest growing segment in beer. There are a myriad of reasons that non-alcoholic beers have become so popular these days. While we will not delve into all of those reasons today, my goal for this post is to share that many NA beers are delicious. They taste like the “real” thing, but you won’t pass out by halftime (in my world you are watching football while drinking beer). Maybe they are, in fact, the “real” thing… refreshing beer taste without the anxiety and regret.
To give a skosh of background info - Non-alcoholic beer can be created either by brewing it without alcohol or by removing the alcohol after the brewing process. Alcohol can be removed by steam distillation, reverse osmosis, or water vapor/gas stripping (science!). Please note that there are typically trace amounts of alcohol in non-alcoholic beer. Due to the Volstead Act of 1919, non-alcoholic beer can have up to 0.5% ABV (history!). While I've had a few non-alcoholic beers that have not been amazing – I want to focus on the positive and rank my five favorite non-alcoholic beers. I knew I liked each of these going into this research – but for purposes of this ranking we tried tasting them blind just to see which ones we wanted to keep drinking the most. After a scientific tasting done in the backyard, I am pleased to share my tasting notes and final ranking. While I haven’t counted a calorie since the ‘90s, I’ve also included the calories for a can or bottle of each beer. It just blew my mind that the non-alc versions could be about half the calories of their alcoholic cousins (wild friends?).
5) Stella Artois Liberté (59 cal): So, while I think this beer is good and tastes like a Stella…I don’t drink much Stella so this goes to the “bottom” of my list, ranking-wise. Remember – this is a list of favorites so there are no real losers here. This has the hoppy bitterness that people (other than myself) love from a Stella – but it falls just a wee bit flat for me, personally.
4) Guinness 0.0 (75 cal): This is wild… this tastes exactly like a Guinness! Guinness was the first beer that I tried as a kid (long story), so I recognize that flavor anywhere. While I appreciate how they are able to make a Guinness non-alcoholic, I just can’t drink very many of them ( similar to a “real” Guinness). They are super filling – so while tasty – this doesn’t get the top spot for me.
3) Figueroa Mountain Hoppy Poppy Non-Alcoholic IPA (70 cal): This one surprised me! I don’t love IPA, so I didn’t think this would rank very high – but Figueroa Mountain has really figured it out. Love the flavor of this one… but it is still an IPA so I would struggle to drink a six pack with ease.
2) Heineken 0.0 (69 cal): This tastes like a beer! It has the quintessential beer flavor that is perfect for those prototypical beer moments. You know what I'm talking about… at a baseball game, just ordered a hot dog, and craving an ice-cold beer. This fits the bill!
1) Peroni Non-Alcoholic (76 cal): The top spot goes to Peroni! I love Peroni with alcohol so it was no surprise that I would love the non-alc version! This is crisp and refreshing, just like the Peroni we know and love. Even though it has the most calories of the non-alc options above – it doesn’t feel heavy at all. It pairs well with everything from pretzels to BBQ and, of course, my favorite combo – Peroni & pizza.
My hope is that more delicious non-alcoholic beer comes on the scene as I feel these options truly create a more inclusive environment at bars, restaurants, and nightclubs (it’s been a minute since I’ve been to the club – but I’m imagining). The more enjoyable options there are, then the more people will request them, which will hopefully result in more restaurants offering them. The goal is to receive less blank stares when asking whether a bar has a non-alc beer available. Now we just need to work on the non-alc wine options...
