Not only have nonalcoholic (NA) beers have become increasingly common in recent years, the variety on offer has expanded dramatically. So much so that today you can find more than 50 different NA beers in Columbus market. With the excesses of the holiday season in the near past, many are trying to adopt healthier lifestyles in the new year. What better time to take a closer look at NA beers. We begin with the science and processes of making NA beer and follow that up with a sampling of 13 different NA beers, including examples of lagers, stouts, wheat beers, and IPAs, including a blind taste test of regular and NA Guinness. Along the way we found some wonderful NA beers that are pretty close to their alcohol-containing cousins, some that are tasty but not terribly beer-like, and some that probably should be avoided. Whether you are looking for some good NA beer options or just curious about how far NA beers have come there’s something of interest for you in this episode.
Don’t forget you can find this episode and earlier ones on our podcast page, as well as Apple Music, Podbean, Spotify, Stitcher, and various other podcast apps. Just search for the All Things Beer podcast, and don’t hesitate to leave a comment or a rating.
Beers Featured
- Heineken 0.0
- Kaliber by Guinness
- The Logger by Bravus
- Clausthaler
- Italian Pils by Untitled Arts
- Victory Wheat by Wellbeing
- Weihenstephaner NA Wheat Beer
- Guinness 0.0
- All Out Dark by Athletic Brewing
- Special Effects Hoppy Amber by Brooklyn Brewing
- Intentional IPA Non-alcoholic by Wellbeing
- Beacon Juicy IPA Non-alcoholic by Southern Grist
- Sam Adams Just the Haze
Pat's Pints 
Really enjoyed the episode. Gotta admit, before listening I found myself in the “what’s the point” camp. That being said, I thought your discussion on the various processes for making N/A beer was fascinating. Too bad not all the breweries are forthcoming with their secrets. Liked the Guinness blind taste test too. Impressed that it’s so hard to distinguish from the original. I may have to pick up a can to try myself. Thanks for another great episode and I’m looking forward to the next.
Thanks for listening and for the comment Rob. I was also pleasantly surprised with quality of some NA beers. I have to admit in most there’s something missing in the middle, but after a few sips your taste adapt and it makes for a pleasant drink.
Very interesting. I loved some of the adjectives, ‘not terrible’, “okay’, ‘not too bad’.. But you did find some good options. The only ones I have tried lately, are from Brewdog. Nanny State is awful, but Hazy Jane NA is good.
I think you could put the NA beers we tried into three categories – (1) tastes good and tastes like real beer, (2) tastes pretty good but easy to distinguish from real beer, and (3) doesn’t taste good under any context. The number that fell into the first category could be counted on the fingers of one hand (it’s debatable whether your thumb would also be needed).