Since the summer, I have been on a mission to lose weight.
A job I had for a couple of years got much less enjoyable toward the end, which took a toll; I was not being a very good boy in the diet department. As an obvious lover of craft beer, this presented a challenge—because beer has calories.
The last time I tried to cut calories, I did not have the benefit of the recent explosion in both quality and quantity in the nonalcoholic beer sector (to use that execrable marketing term). Of course, I could just go without beer … but now that we’ve got that ridiculous idea out of the way, let’s explore some N/A beers and the variety of styles that have emerged with the boom of N/A beverages.
I’ll begin with a brewery whose beer I know and love, and in whom I had total confidence before I took my first sip: Fremont Brewing. They currently have some fresh hop regular beers available at Total Wine, but I went to the N/A section and grabbed a pack of their Dark and IPA offerings. Dark is reminiscent of an English porter, with chocolate, raisin, nuttiness, toasted malt and just the right amount of creaminess and carbonation to finish. The IPA is tropical and citrusy, and I was shocked at how much flavor was contained therein. We’re talking somewhere in the neighborhood of 65-70 calories per beer, and the flavor is undeniable. According to their site, they have an Orange Wit and a Hoppy Spritz hops water. I’d be ecstatic to try both of these.
Next is a beer I chose simply because of what it promised, even before I noticed its brewer’s name: the Mocha Nitro Stout from Grüvi. After finding an ocean of nonalcoholic pale lagers and IPAs on shelves, I’m seeking out anything that’s different, even if it has a name that makes me not want to buy it. (Seriously: Am I supposed to pronounce the “ü” properly? Is it possible to say the name with a straight face?) Thankfully, the beer itself looked like a nitro stout after a vigorous shake and pour. The nose had a little chocolate and roast, and the flavor followed suit. There’s no actual chocolate or coffee in this, but stouts often have these flavors just from the malts and unmalted roasted barley. There was also a distinct taste of malted barley—and by that, I mean what it tastes like to actually munch on a grain of it. This flavor is also present in other N/A beers, and I’m OK with it; it’s almost rustic. And for 80 calories, my shrinking stomach is happy. I will have to try their pale ale and juicy IPA at some point.
This is a good time to discuss the angle that some purely nonalcoholic beverage companies take, and that’s one of fitness, activity and health. Grüvi exudes this vibe, as does Athletic Brewing. (Of course, it’s not always a congruous message; Grüvi’s webpage for the aforementioned stout recommends it for pairing with s’mores and cinnamon coffee cake.)
Speaking of Athletic Brewing, which is taking the N/A beer world by storm, I reviewed their Geralt’s Gold in my previous N/A beer column. They recently bought the gorgeous 107,000-square-foot brewery in San Diego’s Miramar neighborhood from Ballast Point Brewing to essentially double their volume of beer production. I’ve since tried a few more beers of theirs, and I have been very impressed. The Run Wild IPA is very tasty and more like a California IPA with light bitterness and lots of bright, hoppy flavor—in this case, citrus and pine. The Free Wave IPA is a hazy IPA in style, but it drinks more like a very citrusy West Coast IPA. If you know me, you know that’s a good thing in my book. I even tried their Oktoberfest recently and was really pleased; it hits all the notes you’d want (and it has that straw-like quality I mentioned before with the Grüvi stout). All of these are in the 65-70 calorie range, and Athletic’s beer portfolio is incredibly varied. I wish we got more of it here, but many places that have craft beer have Athletic, and I heartily recommend it if you’re teetotaling.
Best Day Brewing is yet another contender in the ever-expanding nonalcoholic arena. In addition to an IPA, they have a kölsch; I was very interested to see how they tackled this hybrid ale, so I grabbed a pack. It looks like a kölsch and drinks like a Kölsch, outside of the lack of buzz; I am suitably impressed. Best Day’s selection isn’t as impressive as Athletic’s, but if you do something well, having fewer options is just fine. I’m looking forward to trying their IPA and pilsner.
I cannot adequately express how lifeless and sad widely available N/A beer was before the recent boom. Now that the technology and the desire to innovate have improved, good N/A beers are really very nice to have around. I may even have to go down to San Diego and visit Athletic. I would never have dreamed of visiting a nonalcoholic brewery even five years ago, but now it just makes sense. Considering that making an N/A beer actually takes more steps than it does to make a regular beer (again, see my last column on the subject for more on that), N/A brews are at least as much of an art as regular beers are, and I’m excited to see where it will be taken from here.
Just please: No nonalcoholic pastry stouts, OK?