Believe it or not, there are some non-alcoholic beers out there that don’t suck. Trust us, we find that statement as hard to believe as you do. Non-alcoholic beers have long been reviled for being flavorless or, worse, tasting really bad to the point of being undrinkable. But times have changed and breweries have begun taking their non-alcoholic offerings much more seriously than in years past — recognizing that there are plenty of people who like the “beer experience” without the beer buzz.
Before we dive in, it’s worth noting that almost all “non-alcoholic” beers are not “alcohol-free.” Most non-alcoholic beers have 0.5 percent or below ABV. We could get into how alcohol is stripped from beer and the science behind it… if we had a day or two to chat. For now, just know that a true 0.00 percent non-alcoholic beer is very rare.
Let’s dive into ten non-alcoholic beers that are pretty damn palatable and deliver on the beer vibes without sacrificing flavor or satisfaction. If you want to give any of these a try yourself, just click on the price links.
Erdinger Weissbier Non-Alcoholic
ABV: <0.5%
Average Price: $10.99 (six-pack)
The Beer:
This is a classic German wheat beer made with malted barley, malted wheat, hops, yeast, and water with a touch of added carbonation. The beer is also designed to be a post-workout sip (seriously). The beer is built with vitamin B9 and a touch of sodium that makes it fairly isotonic.
Tasting Notes:
You’re greeted with a clear sense of creamy wheat and light fruit, florals, and bottled honey. There’s a light green grass note with a hint of savory herbs next to a touch of rye bread and bright citrus. The overall texture is still very robust with a slight thinness thanks to the green grass, florals, and herbal notes.
Bottom Line:
This is probably the most crushable beer on the list, especially on a hot day. This is also my personal go-to non-alcoholic beer. You only really notice that it’s non-alcoholic beer after the second half-liter when no buzz arrives.
Lagunitas IPNA
ABV: <0.5%
Average Price: $10.69 (six-pack)
The Beer:
This crafty non-alcoholic IPA is all about amping up the hops to bring the big flavor notes to the forefront. The beer is made with a classic ale mash of barley, yeast, and water. It’s then dry-hopped with a medley of Yakima Valley hops including Citra, Mosaic, Columbus, Tomahawk, and Zeus hops.
Tasting Notes:
Like Lagunitas IPA, this balances the caramel malted base well with a dank and slightly fruity/floral hop brightness. There’s a clear bitter dankness with orchard flowers next to a dry straw that’s all countered by a rich caramel malty body.
Bottom Line:
The sip is much thinner than the classic Lagunitas IPA but still packs a nice, flavorful punch.
Beck’s Non-Alcoholic
ABV: 0.3%
Average Price: $8.99 (six-pack)
The Beer:
Beck’s German pils is a pretty classic, albeit very standard German lager. Their non-alcoholic version holds onto the traditional German pilsner traditions while stripping the alcohol away.
Tasting Notes:
This has a nice straw nature that draws you in. There’s an easy dose of bitter yet floral hops that just touch on a piney dankness. The malts are more prominent and lean towards a bready note with a hint of sweetness.
Bottom Line:
Ah, good ol’ Beck’s Blue. It feels more like Beck’s Light than a non-alcoholic beer. This is super refreshing and very easy to drink on a hot day while still feeling like a light lager. What more could you want?
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Alkoholfrei
ABV: <0.5%
Average Price: $12.99 (six-pack)
The Beer:
This is a classic German wheat beer made with simple ingredients. The beer is also very enticing when looking at the calories, clocking in at 74 calories in a half-liter bottle. The exact same wheat beer from Weihenstephaner with 5.4 percent ABV has 215 calories for the same size bottle.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a bright citrus note with plenty of grassy florals from the nose onward. A hint of banana and clove lurk in the background while a touch of salted seltzer water cuts through the creamy, wheated maltiness.
Bottom Line:
The Germans really know how to hit it out of the park with their non-alcoholic wheat beers. This list could have just been Germany’s non-alcoholic wheat beers if you could get them all in the U.S. Anyway, this is another one of those beers that you probably won’t even notice is alcohol-free, especially while quaffing it on a hot summer day. (Unless, of course, you’re chasing a buzz.)
Clausthaler Dry Hopped Non-Alcoholic
ABV: 0.45%
Average Price: $8.99 (six-pack)
The Beer:
Clausthaler is an old-school non-alcoholic beer that still delivers. The German brew sort of changed the game back in the day by dry-hopping their alcohol-free brew with Cascade hops to really amp up the body of the beer.
Tasting Notes:
You’re greeted with a mix of dry and dank hops, caramel malts, and a touch of lemon oils. The malts are really the highlight as they add a rye breadiness next to the caramel sweetness as the hops take a backseat and fade towards a mild bitterness.
Bottom Line:
This is still perfectly fine for what it is. It’s also east to find, which is a nice perk.
Brooklyn Special Effects Hoppy Amber Non-Alcoholic
ABV: 0.4%
Average Price: $10.99 (six-pack)
The Beer:
This crafty non-alcoholic beer is all about the taste. Instead of stripping out alcohol after the beer is brewed, Brooklyn uses a special fermentation that draws out the flavors without converting all the sugars into alcohol. The brew is then dry-hopped with Citra and Amarillo hops to really amp up those beer notes.
Tasting Notes:
The beer opens with a light pale ale vibe. There’s a balance between the floral and mildly lemony hops and caramelized malts. The beer has a light touch that’s slightly dry and effervescent. The best descriptor for this is that it’s “clean.” It has this clean taste of malts, hops, and fizz that work well together.
Bottom Line:
This is pretty light but still feels like a crushable beer. There’s real body there and you know you’re drinking beer.
Heineken 0.0
ABV: 0%
Average Price: $10.49 (six-pack)
The Beer:
This is the only true “alcohol-free” beer on the list and one of the only mass-produced 0.0s in the world. The beer is double brewed with Heineken’s typical mix of barley, yeast, water, and hops. Then they use a vacuum distillation process to remove all the alcohol while leaving the sudsy beer behind.
Tasting Notes:
This doesn’t really taste like classic Heineken at all. There’s a slightly floral note that leads towards an almost hard seltzer vibe that’s been touched by malts and hops. The malts have a cereal graininess (dried corn maybe) that lead towards a bitter hop note — enough to remind you this is still, indeed, a beer.
Bottom Line:
This is much more like a beer-flavored hard seltzer than a beer. That being said, it’s very drinkable and a truly alcohol-free beer.
Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA
ABV: 0.5%
Average Price: $10.99 (six-pack)
The Beer:
Athletic Brewing focuses on brewing up quality non-alcoholic beers. Their IPA is made with malts and oats from the U.S. and Germany. The brew is then spiked with Pacific Northwest hops, adding a classic West Coast IPA vibe to the sip.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a nice matrix of citrus punch with grapefruit, orange, and lime mingling together. The taste has a caramelized malty base that serves as a foundation for citrusy and slightly dank hop bitterness. The beer has a heft to the body that’s rare for non-alcoholic brews.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those beers you could blindly serve a beer drinker and they’d never guess it was the non-alcoholic pick. It’s pretty damn close to the alcohol-filled real deal and serves as a solid, yet standard IPA.
Paulaner Weizen-Radler
ABV: <0.3%
Average Price: $10.99 (six-pack)
The Beer:
This beer is rendered with a classic German wheat beer base of malted wheat and barley, yeast, water, and Herkules hops. That beer is then cut with a lemon-lime-orange soda to make it a radler. This does add a little sugar to the mix but also cuts the ABVs down even further.
Tasting Notes:
This is pure lemon soda with a wheat beer edge. The hops are an afterthought as the sweet and bready malts lean towards a hint of clove and banana while the soda pop creates a sweet and ultra-refreshing presence through the whole sip.
Bottom Line:
This is a refreshing, fizzy lemonade with a touch of beer maltiness. It’s a summer crusher through and through.
Grüvi Stout
ABV: <0.5%
Average Price: $9.99 (four-pack)
The Beer:
This Irish dry stout was formulated to bring deep and bold flavors into a non-alcoholic beer experience. The brew is made with deeply roasted barley and chocolate malts and is then hopped to add that old-school Irish stout-iness.
Tasting Notes:
You’re met with notes of dried almond, rich honey, and espresso bean bitterness. The body of this beer is much closer to a fizzy and light Guinness Export than the nitro-infused creamy stouts that most people drink. There’s a clear sense of bitter dark chocolate, honey-roasted nuts, and slightly dried tobacco leaves.
Bottom Line:
Not all non-alcoholic beers need to be light lagers or pale ales. This stout is the only one I’ve sampled that even comes close to the real thing. It’s definitely lighter than most craft stouts, which makes it a viable summer pick, but still packs a pretty big flavor punch.
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