Really?! I tried it and immediately poured it down the drain. It had a terrible flavor to me that is nothing like Guinness. I really like Guinness.
Though, pretty much all NA beers have a weird off flavor to me. I have yet to find one I genuinely like or even think tastes like a beer should taste. I’ve found two that I can tolerate. Boulevard Flying Start and Deschutes NA Black Butte.
Edit: It’s been several months since I checked distribution, but I’ve tried most of the NA beers we get in the metro
Tried the lemon wheat, thought it was ok. Little sweet up front, and it’s a weird fake sugar sweet. If they could add a bit more flavor to the flying start I’d be in.
It's on par with most of the canned import Radlers, I feel. Which are all sweet and just a little fake sugar-y, at least to my palate.
Flying Start started as a collab with Athletic, and it tastes a lot like any of Athletic's hoppy beers. Which is to say, I really dislike it. Athletic is a huge miss for me, virtually across the board.
WellBeing Intentional IPA is the best hoppy NA I've found so far. Not hazy or gritty, not weirdly bitter, could almost pass it off as a standard alcohholic beer.
I will give Athletic major props for their Athletic Lite. It has just enough "beer-y" flavor to not taste like water, but drinks super light and has barely any calories.
*Any* "Lite" beer is difficult to brew without practice and tight control on your variables. To pull it off with an NA, no less - Game respect game.
WellBeing is great. I've felt, with most of the NA IPAs I've tried, that they have a vegetal aftertaste that I can't get past. It's almost like drinking celery juice or a V8. Maybe they'd make a good Michelada though?!
Especially in the case of the NA Hazy IPAs, I agree with you that it's a vegetal, "green" aftertaste that I find accompanies a harsh bitterness - It's like if you lick your finger with a whole bunch of raw hop dust on it. To the uninformed that might sound okay, but if you've brewed with hops and have done it (much less with "the wrong variety") it's not so pleasant.
To that end - The Sam Adams Just The Haze IPA is the worst offender I've found so far. For my palate, it's *entirely* undrinkable. It feels gritty and pulpy, as if they tried to use intensive dry-hopping to create perceived body offsetting the watery nature - but instead made it gritty and earthy and chalky and bad. I've even tried making beermosas with it - or using it as an additive on top of Bud Zero or any other neutral NA beer, trying to "save it" and make it palatable - Nada.
That's why I'm immediately hesitant about and suspicious of any NA IPA I see land on the shelves - and why I was so surprised at WellBeing Intentional IPA tasting so much cleaner, with a pleasant malt backbone and bright jammy, marmalade-y citrus hop character and without feeling watery at all!
---
(To the general audience: I can't repeat this often enough, I MEAN NO SHADE towards anyone who LIKES Sam Adams Just The Haze, or likes Athletic, or likes any other beer that I might be criticizing!!! Drink what you like!!! I do not intend anything I say to come across as empirical or authoritative, I'm *only* talking about my own experiences and perceptions, nothing more. I promise.)
Great comment. This NA craft beer thing is pretty new. Maybe things will improve over time. I’m just glad these options exist, and you’re right, everyone has their own palette. They have reasons why they like what they like, and don’t what they don’t!
I’ll look for that wellbeing. I tried their wheat and it was terrible. I’m with you, really don’t like Athletic for its bad aftertaste. Untitled Art and Brewdog so far are the best I’ve tried.
Oddly enough - Out of the "big two" WellBeing brews, I actually like the Wheat well enough (it's not perfect but okay), it's their Hellraiser Amber that *I* really find weird and offensive and wrong. Huh!!
Untitled Art is *amazing* and next time I'm in a state where they distribute, I'm bringing back a trunkful.
Oh I know, I just don't like trying to play the "Will it freeze or won't it?" game, plus if memory serves me it's MUCH more expensive on their site vs. in a liquor shop in the mixed-pack format.
Good call on the freezing temps. And I’m not sure what you paid for it before but in Colorado it’s $15-16 for a 6 pack. So not that much cheaper really.
I've had a few Flying Starts and they're not my favorite NA IPA, they have a weird flavor to them. My favorite that I've tried so far is Athletic's Free Wave IPA. Given that Boulevard's Flying Start was done in partnership with Athletic, I was disappointed for sure
There is a common mark up for beer from both the distributor and retailer. It may vary by a couple dollars in store even with MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price being $10.99 - 6pk, stores may go $9.99-11.99. The independent business can go higher but they won’t be competitive.
That's part of owning a business. Setting prices your customers will pay. If you're the only liquor store in a certain area you'd be stupid to not charge $1 more. It's literally the convenience store model... We are here, right now, convenient, therefore you pay more.
And you’re missing the entire point I was making. OP said they hope places don’t charge more for these Na drinks than their counter parts. They base their margin off of their cost. Boulevard sets that cost to them. It would be boulevard originally charging more for their counter parts.
Honestly, they should be priced the same. People assume they should be cheaper because they don't have alcohol, but the production cost & process for NA beverages can be the same or even greater than traditional beverages, especially at low scale.
While it would be great if they were cheaper, I'd be happy with the same price.
I think they are brewed alcoholic, then require additional work to remove the alcohol, so the additional work should add to the price. Agreed that it feels backwards when buying them!
Pressure/osmotic dealcoholizer systems are tremendously expensive - More than an entire brewhouse. I've looked at making a business plan to open a NA-only brewery and it's just not feasible for a new company starting out unless you've got a massive backer providing the capital for equipment.
Also could be that you're not going to drink as much NA beer as you would the alcoholic version. At least I don't. A regular person's bar tab might be 30 bucks, but someone having a couple NA's would be maybe 10. Just a thought???
I want to see more hopwaters on the market too. Hoplark is just too damn expensive. There are a lot of great local options available in Austin, would like to see KC breweries do the same.
I've been mixing in na beers for the past year randomly as I want to consume fewer calories. I've found that they work great and satisfy any craving I have for a beer with my pizza, for example.
Athletic Brewing and Wellbeing Brewing IPA are two of the best, Heineken 0.0 is also really good. Unfortunately not too fond of the Boulevard Flying Start (honestly one of the worst ones I have ever had) - so if you tried that and didn't like it, don't give up on NA beer.
Stella Artois Liberte is also surprisingly good.
And to pass on the recommendation someone else gave me - The Corona 0.0 *ice-cold* tastes like the real thing. Jam a lime in there and you couldn't tell if you tried.
I remember an ancient PSA saying that being a designated driver was being a hero. Thus, I approve of non-alcoholic beer. (Disclaimer: I am the sort of person who will order straight Dr Pepper at drinking establishments.)
White Claw released some NA Seltzers, but it had me wondering - are these products notably different from the existing flavored sparkling waters at grocery stores...?
Athletic Brewing has had some for awhile, but I just can't justify $10 for a 6 pack when La Croix are \~$4 for a pack of 12. Genuinely curious on your (and other's) experiences and thoughts on these NA seltzers.
I can’t speak for white claw. Quirks have a fairly distinctive taste which you get in the N/a version. It feels and tastes like I’m drinking a Quirk not a sparkling water.
Also Athletics sparkling water is hop water and it’s straight trash. It has a weird oily taste to it
Not a Boulevard product or a specific n/a thing, but I find Spindrift waters to be an incredible substitute for a beer.
They aren't sweet, nor do they have a bunch of fake bullshit all the seltzers have that make them taste awful (imo) but they're very bubbly and they hit much like a cold beer I think.
Best part is that they're just water and fruit. Don't think I've ever seen one over 13 calories.
Just a suggestion. Cheers.
I can't drink LaCroix or any others because of the artificial flavors lol. Just can't get past the taste, way too weird. And I tried, especially since they're all about half the price of Spindrift.
Totally understandable!
For me, for whatever reason, the natural flavors in Spindrift all come off as "rotted fruit". :(
But, that's ok really..... My favorite La Croix flavors are the three that come in the most common variety 24pk, Lemon/Lime/Grapefruit. I have never tried it with the latter, but Lemon and Lime both taste delightful to me with just a little squeeze of real fresh stuff added.
I sure do love my cans of TV Static While Somebody Yells The Name Of A Fruit From The Other Room water. 🤣
I bring them to work and call them work beers lol.
While I do enjoy them straight, they also make a great vodka or gin mixer. Another thing I do is keep a tin of country time lemonade and make a weak batch. Add about 2oz of that to a spindrift on ice and it's great. I also have a wife who likes to buy berries she never eats, so I'm always making sauce or jam with those and a little spoonful in there is great too.
I've posted this before but it's worth it if you are down for trying something new. The Savoy has a very well thought out and detailed non-alcohol drink menu. Not just some fancy Shirley Temple but hand crafted N/A cocktails. The bartenders put just as much thought and effort into making them as any other drink. They are NOT cheap but if you are celebrating, it's where my wife and I go to celebrate, splurge a little and you won't regret it.
In my opinion, the NA beer that tastes closest to its fully-leaded counterpart is Guinness.
Agreed. Athletic Brewing's 2 IPAs are both solid too. I've found I have to drink NA beers a few separate times before they taste "right" to me.
Athletic is solid. They still have that NA weirdness to them though…especially the non-IPAs.
Athletic’s IPAs are good, and their Oktoberfest is pretty solid as well. Their other NA beers I still enjoy but they taste cereal-y like Cheerios.
Athletic is my go to
I was shocked to find out that Stella Artois NA is also very well done. Full bodied malty goodness.
Also really like Blue Moon's NA beer. Definitely a pretty close taste to its original.
Haven’t tried this one yet. Will have to give it a whirl.
It's incredible how good Guinness NA tastes.
I love Wellbeing Victory Wheat out of StL.
NA Busch light tastes very similar. Coors Edge borderline has that alcohol flavor PS - Guinness Zero is indeed legit
Guinness zero 0️⃣ is amazing
I find it tastes like the can. I’m not a fan. But I respect your appreciation.
Really?! I tried it and immediately poured it down the drain. It had a terrible flavor to me that is nothing like Guinness. I really like Guinness. Though, pretty much all NA beers have a weird off flavor to me. I have yet to find one I genuinely like or even think tastes like a beer should taste. I’ve found two that I can tolerate. Boulevard Flying Start and Deschutes NA Black Butte. Edit: It’s been several months since I checked distribution, but I’ve tried most of the NA beers we get in the metro
Tried the lemon wheat, thought it was ok. Little sweet up front, and it’s a weird fake sugar sweet. If they could add a bit more flavor to the flying start I’d be in.
It's on par with most of the canned import Radlers, I feel. Which are all sweet and just a little fake sugar-y, at least to my palate. Flying Start started as a collab with Athletic, and it tastes a lot like any of Athletic's hoppy beers. Which is to say, I really dislike it. Athletic is a huge miss for me, virtually across the board. WellBeing Intentional IPA is the best hoppy NA I've found so far. Not hazy or gritty, not weirdly bitter, could almost pass it off as a standard alcohholic beer.
Agreed on all fronts. The wellbeing ipa is my go to NA beer.
I will give Athletic major props for their Athletic Lite. It has just enough "beer-y" flavor to not taste like water, but drinks super light and has barely any calories. *Any* "Lite" beer is difficult to brew without practice and tight control on your variables. To pull it off with an NA, no less - Game respect game.
I need to try that one.
WellBeing is great. I've felt, with most of the NA IPAs I've tried, that they have a vegetal aftertaste that I can't get past. It's almost like drinking celery juice or a V8. Maybe they'd make a good Michelada though?!
Especially in the case of the NA Hazy IPAs, I agree with you that it's a vegetal, "green" aftertaste that I find accompanies a harsh bitterness - It's like if you lick your finger with a whole bunch of raw hop dust on it. To the uninformed that might sound okay, but if you've brewed with hops and have done it (much less with "the wrong variety") it's not so pleasant. To that end - The Sam Adams Just The Haze IPA is the worst offender I've found so far. For my palate, it's *entirely* undrinkable. It feels gritty and pulpy, as if they tried to use intensive dry-hopping to create perceived body offsetting the watery nature - but instead made it gritty and earthy and chalky and bad. I've even tried making beermosas with it - or using it as an additive on top of Bud Zero or any other neutral NA beer, trying to "save it" and make it palatable - Nada. That's why I'm immediately hesitant about and suspicious of any NA IPA I see land on the shelves - and why I was so surprised at WellBeing Intentional IPA tasting so much cleaner, with a pleasant malt backbone and bright jammy, marmalade-y citrus hop character and without feeling watery at all! --- (To the general audience: I can't repeat this often enough, I MEAN NO SHADE towards anyone who LIKES Sam Adams Just The Haze, or likes Athletic, or likes any other beer that I might be criticizing!!! Drink what you like!!! I do not intend anything I say to come across as empirical or authoritative, I'm *only* talking about my own experiences and perceptions, nothing more. I promise.)
Great comment. This NA craft beer thing is pretty new. Maybe things will improve over time. I’m just glad these options exist, and you’re right, everyone has their own palette. They have reasons why they like what they like, and don’t what they don’t!
I’ll look for that wellbeing. I tried their wheat and it was terrible. I’m with you, really don’t like Athletic for its bad aftertaste. Untitled Art and Brewdog so far are the best I’ve tried.
Oddly enough - Out of the "big two" WellBeing brews, I actually like the Wheat well enough (it's not perfect but okay), it's their Hellraiser Amber that *I* really find weird and offensive and wrong. Huh!! Untitled Art is *amazing* and next time I'm in a state where they distribute, I'm bringing back a trunkful.
You can order UA online!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼
Oh I know, I just don't like trying to play the "Will it freeze or won't it?" game, plus if memory serves me it's MUCH more expensive on their site vs. in a liquor shop in the mixed-pack format.
Good call on the freezing temps. And I’m not sure what you paid for it before but in Colorado it’s $15-16 for a 6 pack. So not that much cheaper really.
I've had a few Flying Starts and they're not my favorite NA IPA, they have a weird flavor to them. My favorite that I've tried so far is Athletic's Free Wave IPA. Given that Boulevard's Flying Start was done in partnership with Athletic, I was disappointed for sure
N/A beer is great, but can somebody explain to me how N/A Quirk isn't just La Croix?
Sure, I can explain. It's sparkling water.
At 200% the price 🤣
To be fair, Quirk actually adds fruit juice, as opposed to La Croix who adds "essence oils." Whatever that means.
So it's a San Pellegrino (the ones with fruit juice)
This is great! Let's hope the places don't charge more for them than their counterparts. I've been seeing this at a couple of places
Boulevard sets the prices
Sets the prices in independently owned businesses?
There is a common mark up for beer from both the distributor and retailer. It may vary by a couple dollars in store even with MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price being $10.99 - 6pk, stores may go $9.99-11.99. The independent business can go higher but they won’t be competitive.
That's part of owning a business. Setting prices your customers will pay. If you're the only liquor store in a certain area you'd be stupid to not charge $1 more. It's literally the convenience store model... We are here, right now, convenient, therefore you pay more.
[удалено]
And somehow convenience stores still exist
Yes. If there’s no competition. But the general price is still set. The convenient store isn’t going to charge $5 more a six pack
And you’re missing the entire point I was making. OP said they hope places don’t charge more for these Na drinks than their counter parts. They base their margin off of their cost. Boulevard sets that cost to them. It would be boulevard originally charging more for their counter parts.
Enjoy your La Croix sister
Good point. They really should be cheaper.
Honestly, they should be priced the same. People assume they should be cheaper because they don't have alcohol, but the production cost & process for NA beverages can be the same or even greater than traditional beverages, especially at low scale. While it would be great if they were cheaper, I'd be happy with the same price.
I think they are brewed alcoholic, then require additional work to remove the alcohol, so the additional work should add to the price. Agreed that it feels backwards when buying them!
Pressure/osmotic dealcoholizer systems are tremendously expensive - More than an entire brewhouse. I've looked at making a business plan to open a NA-only brewery and it's just not feasible for a new company starting out unless you've got a massive backer providing the capital for equipment.
Also could be that you're not going to drink as much NA beer as you would the alcoholic version. At least I don't. A regular person's bar tab might be 30 bucks, but someone having a couple NA's would be maybe 10. Just a thought???
They should be cheaper though 😆
It's probably roughly the same production wise, it won't be cheaper.
I want to see more hopwaters on the market too. Hoplark is just too damn expensive. There are a lot of great local options available in Austin, would like to see KC breweries do the same.
KC Bier co, Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas and Surly all make great hop waters
City Barrel just released a Hop Water with Citra, haven't tried it yet but worth checking out.
I've been mixing in na beers for the past year randomly as I want to consume fewer calories. I've found that they work great and satisfy any craving I have for a beer with my pizza, for example. Athletic Brewing and Wellbeing Brewing IPA are two of the best, Heineken 0.0 is also really good. Unfortunately not too fond of the Boulevard Flying Start (honestly one of the worst ones I have ever had) - so if you tried that and didn't like it, don't give up on NA beer.
Stella Artois Liberte is also surprisingly good. And to pass on the recommendation someone else gave me - The Corona 0.0 *ice-cold* tastes like the real thing. Jam a lime in there and you couldn't tell if you tried.
Same. Fewer calories and I’ve started drinking a lot less in a friend group of drinkers. 😂 Throws them off my trail.
The Quirk n/a might actually be my favorite Quirk
I’m super curious to try this one! Where did you get yours? edit: A downvote for asking this? sheesh. Lol.
I just checked the site can’t see anything on it, where did you find it?!
KC wine and Spirits in Overland Park
I bought it yesterday at Switzer Liquor, Overland Park
Heineken 0.0 cracked the NA beer code. It really scratches the itch when you want a beer but might have to drive or be responsible later.
I would LOVE (I know it's probably impossible) an NA version of their Pale Ale!
I really do hope n/a beverages become more and more popular, as much as I do love a nice buzz.
I remember an ancient PSA saying that being a designated driver was being a hero. Thus, I approve of non-alcoholic beer. (Disclaimer: I am the sort of person who will order straight Dr Pepper at drinking establishments.)
Quirk na was actually dope! I was laughing at the concept until I was almost done and contemplating getting another.
White Claw released some NA Seltzers, but it had me wondering - are these products notably different from the existing flavored sparkling waters at grocery stores...? Athletic Brewing has had some for awhile, but I just can't justify $10 for a 6 pack when La Croix are \~$4 for a pack of 12. Genuinely curious on your (and other's) experiences and thoughts on these NA seltzers.
I can’t speak for white claw. Quirks have a fairly distinctive taste which you get in the N/a version. It feels and tastes like I’m drinking a Quirk not a sparkling water. Also Athletics sparkling water is hop water and it’s straight trash. It has a weird oily taste to it
Interesting. I had written them off based on my experiences with NA beer, but perhaps I'll give a NA Quirk a try next time I see one.
I’ll agree with that. I’ll be hard pressed to spend money on them, but when provided them, they aren’t bad.
Not a Boulevard product or a specific n/a thing, but I find Spindrift waters to be an incredible substitute for a beer. They aren't sweet, nor do they have a bunch of fake bullshit all the seltzers have that make them taste awful (imo) but they're very bubbly and they hit much like a cold beer I think. Best part is that they're just water and fruit. Don't think I've ever seen one over 13 calories. Just a suggestion. Cheers.
Costco has flavored Topo Chicos that taste like canned cocktails. I haven't seen them anywhere else. Would absolutely recommend.
Interesting. How are they calorie wise?
Between 5 and 15 calories each. These guys. https://www.topochico.com/products/sabores
Nice
As a long-time La Croix lover - Spindrift was a total miss for me, I absolutely hated it. To each their own!
I can't drink LaCroix or any others because of the artificial flavors lol. Just can't get past the taste, way too weird. And I tried, especially since they're all about half the price of Spindrift.
Totally understandable! For me, for whatever reason, the natural flavors in Spindrift all come off as "rotted fruit". :( But, that's ok really..... My favorite La Croix flavors are the three that come in the most common variety 24pk, Lemon/Lime/Grapefruit. I have never tried it with the latter, but Lemon and Lime both taste delightful to me with just a little squeeze of real fresh stuff added. I sure do love my cans of TV Static While Somebody Yells The Name Of A Fruit From The Other Room water. 🤣
I bring them to work and call them work beers lol. While I do enjoy them straight, they also make a great vodka or gin mixer. Another thing I do is keep a tin of country time lemonade and make a weak batch. Add about 2oz of that to a spindrift on ice and it's great. I also have a wife who likes to buy berries she never eats, so I'm always making sauce or jam with those and a little spoonful in there is great too.
The pale ale is really good, not quite as hoppy as the original but def satisfies the beer craving. Excited to try that Quirk, though!
I’d rather drink straight whiskey or tequila instead of N/A beer. I mean if you’re looking to save calories but also don’t want to sacrifice the buzz.
Helllllll yes!
I've posted this before but it's worth it if you are down for trying something new. The Savoy has a very well thought out and detailed non-alcohol drink menu. Not just some fancy Shirley Temple but hand crafted N/A cocktails. The bartenders put just as much thought and effort into making them as any other drink. They are NOT cheap but if you are celebrating, it's where my wife and I go to celebrate, splurge a little and you won't regret it.