[HN Gopher] Alcohol-free beer is fizzing
___________________________________________________________________
Alcohol-free beer is fizzing
Author : edward
Score : 99 points
Date : 2021-07-09 14:37 UTC (8 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.economist.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.economist.com)
| mariojv wrote:
| I'm a fan of IPAs, but the calories and alcohol content make them
| something that I don't like to indulge in regularly. I've found
| that Athletic Brewing's IPA has a great taste, is super
| refreshing, and only 70 calories. As someone who likes to run,
| too, it's a great way to have something tasty without the
| negative dehydratic effects of alcohol. It's great, I'd love it
| if my local stores stocked more types of NA beer from them.
| lanstein wrote:
| Check out Partake's IPA - up there with Athletic but 10
| calories
| jdminhbg wrote:
| I actually prefer the flavor of Partake's IPA and Pale Ale,
| and the almost total lack of calories is fantastic. It's so
| great for having with dinner on weeknights without having to
| worry about your sleep quality or weight gain.
| Kluny wrote:
| I prefer the stout, but yes, agreed.
|
| Weirdly, my favorite NA beer right now is a store-brand red
| ale - President's Choice from Superstore.
| itomato wrote:
| I quit beer in favor of cold sparkling mineral water.
|
| I don't miss hops. I don't miss the buzz. I don't miss my belly.
| I don't miss hangovers.
|
| I realized I was drinking beer and looking beyond all that makes
| beer what it is and focusing on the qualities of the water
| (softness, minerality, etc.) and bubble characteristics (small
| nitro bubbles or big bursty ones) and finding no limit to the
| quantity I could consume, no scarcity in variety or imposed
| limits on where I can refresh myself.
|
| I've gone so far as to consider adding hop essence and some
| barley malt for lulz, but probably have turned that corner for
| good.
| canadianfella wrote:
| Lulz?
| innot wrote:
| The next step is to drop sparkling water for regular water.
| There is no particular difference when you are thirsty, and
| bubbles have some adverse effects, some say.
| xboxnolifes wrote:
| People drink more than just water for the same reason they
| don't eat the same thing for every meal, every day.
| odiroot wrote:
| No thanks. I like my water spicy.
| cdcarter wrote:
| That "some say" is doing a lot of work. Any sources?
| eyko wrote:
| I don't know about adverse effects, but I've always
| considered the environmental impact of sparkling water. I
| still don't get why some people are unaccustomed to the
| taste of just water.
| derbOac wrote:
| For me it's not so much about being unaccustomed to the
| taste of pure water, as much as it just looking for
| variety in life.
| advanced-DnD wrote:
| No sources beyond pseudo-sciences... according to my first
| page of googling.
| hawski wrote:
| AFIAK bubbled water is acidic and it can hurt mucous
| membranes.
| res0nat0r wrote:
| I've not quit drinking (yet), but have thought the same thing.
| My go to just to get a nice fizzy drink has been the absolute
| best carbonated water around, Topo Chico. It's from Mexico and
| has a cult following down here in TX and isn't quite ubiquitous
| all over the USA even though they were bought by Coke a while
| back, but the carbonation is like 2x of any soda I've ever
| drunk and is extremely refreshing when consumed super cold.
|
| Their lime flavor is my favourite:
|
| https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61lzGXV15AL._SL1500_.jpg
| jasondigitized wrote:
| Topo Chico is simply the best. If you haven't tried it, go
| get you some as soon as possible. I buy it buy the case as
| does my workplace.
| res0nat0r wrote:
| I usually have a couple cases in my place at any time. I
| just wish it was cheaper. It's a bit stupid that a 24 pack
| of Coke costs ~$8, but 24 Topo's cost ~$20.
| seoulbran wrote:
| But their grapefruit flavor is numero uno... it's always sold
| out as a result. If you can find it, buy it. Drink it.
| cwkoss wrote:
| Heads up, Topo Chico has the highest levels of PFAS of all
| carbonated water drinks tested by Consumer Reports:
|
| https://www.consumerreports.org/bottled-water/whats-
| really-i...
|
| PPT PFAS for various brands:
|
| 1.1 - Perrier Natural Sparkling Mineral Water
|
| 1.16 - La Croix Natural Sparkling Water
|
| 1.24 - Canada Dry Lemon Lime Sparkling Seltzer Water
|
| 1.66 - Poland Spring Zesty Lime Sparkling Water
|
| 2.24 - Bubly Blackberry Sparkling Water
|
| 6.41 - Polar Natural Seltzer Water
|
| 9.76 - Topo Chico Natural Mineral Water
|
| (brands that are <1PPT in link)
| hammock wrote:
| Thanks for the link. Interesting that PFAS are so much more
| common in sparkling water vs. flat water. It must be
| leaching from the equipment used to carbonate or otherwise
| process the water - possibly facilitated in part by the
| fact that carbonated water is slightly acidic.
|
| Makes me also remember that there is PFAS in all kinds of
| food processing equipment that we know very little about.
| For example, in the US pasta extruders are coated with
| Teflon and who knows how often or how well that coating is
| maintained. (In Europe the pasta extruders are not Teflon-
| coated by regulation)
| hiidrew wrote:
| the lime flavor is good, I swear you could be fooled thinking
| it was a corona with lime in a blindfold taste test
| OldHand2018 wrote:
| On the subject of carbonated water, does anyone know why all
| the Mediterranean lunch restaurants I went to pre-pandemic
| had plenty of San Pelegrino Blood Orange, but I can never
| find it at any store? Is there some worry about "blood" in
| the name that prevents stores from carrying it?
| cheezymoogle wrote:
| For anyone that's interested in how to make a transition to
| sparkling mineral water without all the single-use plastic
| waste, the answer is to DIY.
|
| Making a DIY force-carbonation rig is trivial and costs around
| $100 upfront: https://www.seriouseats.com/pros-cons-diy-
| carbonation-rig
|
| Cloning mineral waters is also easy enough to do:
| https://khymos.org/2012/01/04/mineral-waters-a-la-carte/
|
| I've been doing this for a while and have had great results.
| Even if you're not tee-totaling, it's still a fine investment
| for cocktails and DIY alcoholic seltzers.
| vultour wrote:
| Do you not have SodaStream in the US?
| cheezymoogle wrote:
| A larger tank (filling a 5lb tank off a 50lb tank) uses
| less time and money than exchanging 1lb canisters. It also
| has the ancillary benefit of supporting local welding
| supply companies and brewing stores than foreign
| corporations and big box stores.
| Epenthesis wrote:
| The article alleges that sodastreams produce weaker fizz
| than commercial carbonated water.
|
| I personally haven't found that to be the case, but it
| seems like there's dozens of sodastream models and maybe I
| happened on a good one.
| icoder wrote:
| For those that don't mind paying a bit more there's of course
| non-DIY solutions that do the same. We went all out and
| bought a Quooker with our new kitchen: boiling water, cold
| and filtered water, and carbonated water. Of course it helps
| that here in the Netherlands, the tap water is basically
| mineral water.
|
| It's a luxury, but we really love it.
| contravariant wrote:
| Depending on your exact location it's only like mineral
| water if you don't mind the limescale.
| itronitron wrote:
| I've found that I prefer tonic water and lime over every NA
| beer I've tried so far (which all have an overpoweringly dull
| bitter aftertaste). Currently looking for a less sugary tonic
| water and considering quinine or tonic syrup.
| derbOac wrote:
| You should try tonic syrups. I love them as you can adjust
| the water:syrup ratio to your taste, and mix and match syrups
| and waters. My impression (correct or not) is also that
| there's more tonic syrups out there than bottled tonic water,
| so a lot of choice (at least last time I looked). Finally,
| the syrup concentrates take up a lot less space in the
| refrigerator.
|
| The only tricky part for me was figuring out what ratio of
| water:syrup to go with for any given brand, but that isn't
| too difficult.
|
| I've thought about making my own syrup, as I'm a lifelong
| tonic water fan, and make a lot of other things myself, but
| haven't wanted to mess with it.
|
| There's relatively dry tonics on the market now too, but
| nothing will get you to quite the same place as the syrups.
| itronitron wrote:
| Thanks, if you have any recommendations on tonic syrups or
| bitters to try out I'm interested to hear them.
| GongOfFour wrote:
| I wish 1% or 2% beers were more readily available. I like to
| drink beers socially and I like to take a little of the edge off,
| but it'd be nice to lower the amount of alcohol I consume.
| Teknoman117 wrote:
| I really enjoy a good lambic beer. Some are up there in terms
| of alcohol content, but many are in the 2 to 3 percent range.
| gremloni wrote:
| Try kombucha, that's what I shifted to after "quitting"
| alcohol.
| nemo44x wrote:
| I agree - have been enjoying session beers more and more since
| I like to be outside with a cold beer and I like to drink a lot
| of it but I don't like being drunk. Would love if I could find
| some 3% IPA's. I've found some 4% IPA and it's nice to be able
| to drink 3 tall cans and not be half in the bag like I am after
| three 8% IPA's.
| mcrider wrote:
| I haven't seen beer that low, but here in Ontario a number of
| breweries started offering beer around the 3% mark. I really
| can't handle anything much above 5, and these are good
| breweries offering a nice alternative from their usual boozy,
| hoppy IPAs.
|
| Of course, a lot of American beers are around that percentage
| point, but the ones I'm talking about are a bit higher quality
| in my opinion :)
| kart23 wrote:
| Try radlers. They're not really beers, but they taste great and
| are usually in the 2%-3% range.
| CountHackulus wrote:
| Learn to homebrew, I regularly make a 1.8% NEIPA. Tastes
| fantastic and it's a fun hobby on the weekend.
| dhritzkiv wrote:
| Out of curiosity, how do you achieve sub 2%? Did you dilute
| with RO water at packaging time?
|
| I've made a 2.9% English Mild by way of a partigyle brew that
| resulted in a very low OG. Low enough to make me concerned
| that the yeast would struggle. Perhaps that worry was
| unfounded.
| bartvk wrote:
| The image of struggling yeast is very humorous to me :)
| FourHand451 wrote:
| Minnesota is the last state in the US (as far as I'm aware)
| where 3.2 beer is common. It's sold in supermarkets and gas
| stations where liquor laws mandate that beer sold in these
| types of stores must be at most 3.2% alcohol.
|
| One state's worth of demand seems awfully small to me for the
| big brewing companies to keep bothering to produce 3.2 versions
| of their products. However that's assuming the legal climate is
| the main driver for the demand. Maybe the growing interest in
| NA or low alcohol content beers will lead them to increase
| availability of 3.2 beers, or market them more.
| jt2190 wrote:
| Note that 3.2% is _by weight_ (weird, I know), which is about
| 4% _by volume_
|
| Edit: update link
|
| https://www.americanexperiment.org/minnesota-last-state-
| stan...
| nemo44x wrote:
| Last time I was in Utah I think beer was low alcohol as well.
| boring_twenties wrote:
| Utah raised the limit to 5% a year or two ago.
| gullywhumper wrote:
| 3.2 is not just available for sale, there are still 3.2 bars
| in Minneapolis as a relic of a law from 1884.[1]
|
| 3.2 is the only beer that can be sold in grocery and
| convenience stores (grocery stores have separate alcohol
| stores that sell higher content beers, wines, etc.). From the
| article, CO, KS, OK and UT also sell 3.2.
|
| [1] https://www.startribune.com/last-call-for-3-2-beer-
| bars/2034...
| mason55 wrote:
| That article is a few years old and the laws have changed
| in at least CO. Grocery stores can now all sell full
| strength beer so there's no 3.2 any more here.
| FourHand451 wrote:
| Most grocery stores near me (in MN) have added separate
| liquor stores that are attached, but separated. But then
| they also still sell 3.2 beer in the main portion of the
| store. Seems weird to me. I assume it will disappear if
| they think of something better to put on the shelf.
| boring_twenties wrote:
| That 3.2% is by weight, while everyone else uses volume to
| measure alcohol content. 3.2% ABW is equivalent to 4.0%
| ABV.
|
| And there is no more 3.2% ABW/4.0% ABV beer in Utah, the
| limit was recently raised to 5.0% ABV.
| vanadium wrote:
| I've been seeing a fair groundswell of "all-day" lagers and
| IPAs between 3-4% as of late, so it feels like there's a market
| for lower ABV brews getting tapped.
| peteretep wrote:
| Have you tried a shandy? Easy to order in a bar, easy to make
| at home, and if you use a sugar-free mixer then you're cutting
| the calories in half too
| guilhas wrote:
| I drink beer or cider, and doubt there is anything better as
| social drink or to go with a meal. Refreshing during summer...
| maybe on a bar by the sea side
|
| Because of that I have several non-alcoholic ciders, at home, for
| when I can't drink alcohol. Before driving, taking care of
| children...
|
| I would rather quit coffee than alcohol
| MangezBien wrote:
| I don't drink because of a medication I take and I miss beer with
| certain types of food. For so long the best available was beer
| flavored water. It makes me so happy that I now have a wide range
| to choose from.
| mesh wrote:
| Note, most Non-Alcoholic beer actually has a small amount of
| alcohol (usually around 0.5%) which can add up depending how
| much you drink.
| MangezBien wrote:
| I don't think I can physically drink enough NA beer for it to
| be an issue :D
| oh_sigh wrote:
| Drinking an entire 6-pack of 0.5% beer is equivalent of
| drinking 6oz of a "normal" 6% beer. And I suspect people who
| drink non-alcoholic beer generally don't binge drink them.
| But I guess it may be important if you really can't drink any
| alcohol at all. But there are also beers labeled as truly
| 0.0%, not just "less than 0.5%"
| debacle wrote:
| Most fresh squeezed orange juice has a higher alcohol content
| than 0.5%
| LukeShu wrote:
| The only good-ish citation for alcohol content in OJ I
| could find is
| https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5421578/ which
| found 0.16-0.73 g/L ethanol content in OJ (but with low
| sample size, so...). To 1 sig-fig, ethanol has a density of
| 0.8 g/cm3, so that comes out to an ABV of 0.02%-0.09%; much
| lower than 0.5%.
| Falling3 wrote:
| Got a source on that? What I'm seeing is 0.16% as a high
| for orange juice.
| debacle wrote:
| Looking for a source, but oranges on the tree can be up
| to 4% alcohol when picked.
|
| All of my DDG searches are just telling me how to make
| swill from concentrated orange juice.
| Falling3 wrote:
| Aren't oranges typically picked well before much if any
| fermentation has had a chance to take place?
| ndonnellan wrote:
| I think the legal definition of NA beer is maximum of 0.5%.
|
| I may be misremembering, but I think Athletic Brewing
| mentioned their beers are closer to 0.2 -> 0.3% on average.
|
| But even at 0.5%, that would be 10 NA beers to add up to one
| average alcoholic beer at 5% assuming equal volumes.
| MarkLowenstein wrote:
| How timely. I like good beer and crave one most every day. About
| four weeks ago I found a store selling a good variety of NA craft
| beer. I switched to NA beer as my norm. It was a great choice. I
| sleep less but feel better, and my daily craving is totally
| satisfied. I've only had two regular beers since then.
|
| Nothing is as tasty yet as the best regular beers, so each one
| involves a bit of sacrifice, but I've found these to be good
| choices:
|
| Bravus Oatmeal Stout
|
| Surreal 17 Mile Porter
|
| Wellbeing Hell-Raiser dark amber
| liketochill wrote:
| And you can have a cold one while you are driving!
| jwuphysics wrote:
| Arthletic Brewing offers some really amazing Beliner Weisse
| beers and IPAs. I made the partial switch to NA beers over a
| year ago and it's been amazing. Only problem is that hoppy NA
| beers still trigger my GERD...
| bartvk wrote:
| Not a native speaker so I looked up GERD, which is:
| Gastroesophageal Reflux
| rel2thr wrote:
| Oh I just picked up a 4 pack of that oatmeal stout, looking
| forward to trying it.
|
| Lagunitas NIPA is the best I've tried so far, doubt I could
| tell that's it non alcoholic in a blind taste test.
| MarkLowenstein wrote:
| That sounds good - you'll probably find that it's better than
| my bottom two. The Bravus is like 3/4 quite-good stout mixed
| with 1/4 Russian "kvass" if you've ever had that malt
| beverage.
| claylimo wrote:
| you sleep less drinking NA beer? I thought it wasn't supposed
| to affect sleep based on what I've read online.
| remir wrote:
| I mostly stopped drinking alcohol 2 years ago as an experiment
| and was shocked at how ingrained in the culture it is.
|
| In some cases, in social events, it felt like I had to explain
| myself as to why I wasn't drinking. It was so strange to me.
| legitster wrote:
| I still can't justify the cost. One of the reasons I want to cut
| back on beer is to save money. A lot of these alcohol-free beers
| cost _more_ than their real counterparts.
|
| I get that these are still small-batch, artisanal products and
| eat up the same shelf space as beer. But my brain can't get past
| the idea that this is really fancy soda being sold at beer
| prices.
|
| I just want a line of dry-hopped La Croix.
| bartvk wrote:
| Yeah, it's crazy expensive, basically double. It's worth it to
| me, though. I no longer appreciate being drunk because after
| the TGIF drinks at work, I often want to read or do some gaming
| when I come home.
| MeinBlutIstBlau wrote:
| You can drink beer without getting drunk and still be
| productive. Just sip it. This is why I buy craft beers and
| make it last over the course of like an hour-ish. This is
| also coming from a regimented ex religious who has never been
| drunk until I was 26. I still retained the non-drinking thing
| afterward losing my faith but then picked it up a few years
| later to see why people do it.
|
| On a rational level I've discovered it's solely an excuse for
| people to get away with something socially that they normally
| wouldn't. I don't chase getting drunk. I drink beer the exact
| same way and reason I drink any other beverage: because I
| enjoy the taste, not the "high" it brings.
|
| All these teetotalers on here sound like they're chanting
| some sort of weird praise that quitting alcohol is the
| panacea of fixing yourself. Like losing weight, having a
| better life, or wrestling with demons when in actuality it's
| just your own individual inability to have self restraint.
| The fact that people on here consider an edible as less
| destructive to beer is nothing but astounding to me. A drunk
| with one beer at like 5% alcohol maybe lasts an hour. An
| edible can last several if not all day.
| betwixthewires wrote:
| Want to save money? Make your own. It is seriously dirt cheap
| to do.
|
| Want a low alcohol carbonated beverage? Make ginger beer with
| low sugar and only ferment long enough to carbonate. Want
| something that gets you a good buzz? Make a fruit wine or
| strong ginger beer.
|
| I make my own and the only downside is I drink more than I used
| to. I enjoy the process of making it and it has to go
| somewhere. I'll make several gallons of cider for like 10
| bucks. I haven't made low alcohol brews yet, but I'm going to
| start soon. Most of what I make is 10%-15% abv.
|
| It is very very easy.
| metalliqaz wrote:
| NA beer is made just like beer but with the added step of
| having to remove the alcohol. It is _real beer_ , it just
| doesn't get you drunk.
|
| Of course that makes it not as popular, so economy of scale
| comes into play.
|
| You might want to check out Athletic Brewing company, which has
| a line of hops-flavored seltzers.
| legitster wrote:
| $13 for a 6 pack + shipping (since it's not sold in my area).
|
| Again, this is significantly more than I pay for beer when I
| buy it. I'm not much of a heavy drinker, so I just buy beer
| still when I want some.
|
| This is kind of like alternative meats that I love the
| concept, but the price point just isn't there yet to impact
| my shopping decisions.
| kybernetyk wrote:
| I'd kill for alcohol-free Bourbon.
| selimthegrim wrote:
| Bourbon flavored coffee. Somewhere in Lexington roasts it.
| jaywalk wrote:
| Have you tried looking for it? It definitely exists.
| ukyrgf wrote:
| Not quite there yet but I've heard good things about
| https://www.ritualzeroproof.com/
| trey-jones wrote:
| Yeah. I don't know if I'd kill for it, but that would be cool.
| I guess it's easier to take the alcohol out of something that
| doesn't taste like alcohol (beer), that it is when alcohol is
| most of what's in it.
| bqe wrote:
| Spiritless Kentucky 74:
| https://spiritless.com/products/kentucky-74
|
| It's pretty good!
| JohnWhigham wrote:
| Didn't know that was a thing. I'm guessing they just take
| whiskey, heat it up enough to boil off the alcohol but not
| enough to boil off the water, and then they're done?
| Matticus_Rex wrote:
| I'd guess that they burn it off. It's fairly easy, though
| you can't get 100% of the alcohol out this way at home. You
| can make a vinegar out of liquor this way by burning the
| alcohol off of a handle of liquor, pouring a fifth back in,
| and adding a vinegar mother with some live vinegar to kick
| it off before waiting 4-6 weeks.
| shagie wrote:
| I've got no idea how it tastes...
| https://lyres.com/range/american-malt/
| watertom wrote:
| I gave up every type of drink except for water 10 years ago.
|
| After about 1 year of drinking only water I lost the desire for
| everything except water.
|
| After about 2 years I've found that I got significantly more
| enjoyment from water than I ever got from any other drink
| previously.
|
| I now find that trying to drink anything other than water is not
| enjoyable.
| ywain wrote:
| Out of curiosity, have you given up on hot drinks entirely?
| agarv wrote:
| It is common for Chinese people to drink hot water if they
| don't feel like tea, so you can still have hot drinks.
| 2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote:
| Even black coffee or tea? What about milk or kefir? May I ask
| why?
| jlhonora wrote:
| I quit alcohol a year ago, but still enjoy non-alcoholic beer
| like Athletic Brewing's [0]. It's got great selection and taste,
| although lacks the alcohol kick of course (which I don't miss).
|
| I now sleep and feel a lot better, my resting heart rate
| decreased substantially, among other benefits.
|
| It's not easy to quit alcohol, especially from a social aspect.
| But good non-alcoholic beer makes it possible for me at least.
|
| [0] https://athleticbrewing.ca/
| agloeregrets wrote:
| I'm not sure if it was related to my high blood pressure (which
| was a major health concern before managed, an IVH is NOT fun.)
| but alcohol was just never an enjoyable experience for me in
| any large amount (I'm like a 1 drink a month type due to this),
| I just felt nauseous in a bad way and generally unwell.
|
| Athletic brewing's Upside Dawn is probably the first beer I
| ever drank that I truly ever enjoyed due to this. I keep a case
| in the mini-fridge in my office. The other `upside` is that it
| is socially acceptable to drink an NA beer during work hours
| and as a programmer I don't have to worry about declining
| ability or focus.
|
| Also, it's worth noting that local vendors will sell it for
| ~60% the price as online. My local Wegmans sells it for just
| $9.99/6 pack compared to $17 at their website.
| SOLAR_FIELDS wrote:
| Athletic really seems to be the leader in this sector in
| terms of taste. I have a spouse who drinks a lot of non-
| alcoholic beer and as such I have gotten to try a whole host
| of them - so far Athletic has handily defeated competition in
| the few flavors they offer.
|
| The only thing about Athletic is that they don't offer
| calorie-free options. Lagunitas' Hoppy Refresher is probably
| my favorite of the calorie-free options available. Though
| when you go calorie-free with NA beer you're pretty heavily
| pushing what the definition of a beer is.
| dageshi wrote:
| I was going to say, if it's low alcohol and low calorie
| maybe you're just better off with a nice soda water.
| chipotle_coyote wrote:
| That's basically what the Hoppy Refresher is -- a hop-
| flavored seltzer. :) I actually really like it, though.
| [deleted]
| mason55 wrote:
| Another vote for Athletic Brewing. My wife and I are huge beer
| lovers who quit drinking recently. We both agree that the
| benefits are completely worth it but I'm not sure we would have
| gotten through some recent social functions without drinking
| (including 4th of July) unless we had a NA beer in hand.
|
| We've tried a few others, the Brooklyn Brewery Special Effects
| was pretty good too. Totally different flavor from any of the
| Athletic stuff.
| jonnycomputer wrote:
| So I like a beer or two, but any more than that and its
| downhill later on. So I've taken to bringing beer and high-
| quality ginger ale to parties. So that I can switch over and
| have something that I still enjoy and fits in to the scene
| without close inspection. An alcohol-free beer might fit in...
| if I enjoy the taste.
| dnissley wrote:
| Also worth trying are non-alcoholic hop-based beverages like
| hoptea [1], hopwtr [2], h2ops [3], and lagunitas' hoppy
| refresher [4].
|
| [1] https://hoplark.com
|
| [2] https://hopwtr.com
|
| [3] https://h2ops.com
|
| [4] https://lagunitas.com/beer/hoppy-refresher
| mikelward wrote:
| Love Hoplark. Expensive tho.
| mywittyname wrote:
| So, are these meant to taste like beer or just hops?
| dnissley wrote:
| Usually just hops, but sometimes other flavors are added.
| E.g. different kinds of tea in the case of hoptea.
|
| I like them as a beer replacement though, they get close
| enough to the feeling of beer for me personally.
| loeg wrote:
| Hops plus other flavors; not like beer.
| dillondoyle wrote:
| They also sponsor a climber close to my heart, with a themed
| LGBTQ beer - AND as a sober person myself - I love that
| company.
|
| but a lot of 'non alcoholic' beers do have alcohol in them
| which is a problem for some. A good amount more than a kambucha
| in some cases..
| jlhonora wrote:
| Thanks for sharing! Is it this one: [0]? I'm a weekend
| warrior climber, and Blood Orange beers are my favorite! And
| even better if it's for a noble cause.
|
| [0] https://athleticbrewing.com/products/rainbow-wall-non-
| alcoho...
| barbazoo wrote:
| thanks for sharing, looks great, I ordered them right away. I
| like most non-alcoholic beers, what bothers me most is the lack
| of variety so I'm always happy to try new ones
| geebee wrote:
| Have you considered very low alcohol beers? I remember one
| called, amusingly, "commercial suicide". it was a bit difficult
| to find. ABV was 3.3%
|
| https://jesterkingbrewery.com/main-blog/commercial-suicide-b...
|
| Becks also has an unusually low alcohol content beer, Beck's
| 'premier light' which is 2.3%.
|
| That may still be too high for you though, and for people who
| must never touch alcohol, even 2.3% is probably a bad idea.
|
| Neither of these or anything like them are likely to be served
| in a bar, so for socializing, probably not a helpful option
| anyway.
| jmacd wrote:
| These really are my sweet spot. I'm a very cerebral person
| (for better and neurotic worse) and the "dumbing" effect of
| alcohol is sometimes welcome but often comes on too strong.
| ~2.5% beers are something I can enjoy.
| [deleted]
| enriquto wrote:
| just mix a regular 5% beer with lemonade, as many people do
| in summer
| gfaure wrote:
| This combination is what Germans call a Radler, which
| translates to "cyclist":
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shandy#Radler
| da39a3ee wrote:
| +1 to lemonade shandies if you're feeling like limiting
| alcohol intake for an evening. They're actually a good
| way to enjoy aggressively hoppy IPAs if you find those a
| bit tough to drink neat.
| jacobmischka wrote:
| If someone is trying to cut back on alcohol consumption I
| don't think that's necessarily good advice. Sweet drinks
| like lemonade are so easy for me to suck down without
| thinking.
| flobosg wrote:
| Personally speaking, the carbonation in shandies prevents
| me from chugging them down. Besides, when I prepare them
| myself I tend to water down the mixer a bit, otherwise
| they end up being a little too sweet to my taste.
| jmacd wrote:
| I think it was in reference to my 2.5% comment. For me,
| the sweetness of most juices isn't a good thing, so it
| works for me. ymmv
| yissp wrote:
| Might sound strange, but beer and tomato juice is also
| nice if you want something more savory vs sweet. Possibly
| a Canadian thing.
| matthewowen wrote:
| It's a Mexican thing too - Michelada
| mattzito wrote:
| There a place near me that makes micheladas (beer,
| Worcestershire, lime, hot sauce), with an added splash of
| tomato juice. My wife has fallen in love with them and
| it's her regular around the house adult beverage .
| tick_tock_tick wrote:
| Tons of brunch places in CA that don't have hard liquor
| offer a beer bloody mary which is pretty close.
| jmacd wrote:
| Not sure about the US, but in Canada there are a couple of
| yellow label grocery store brands of non alcoholic beer which
| are very surprisingly good as well. Seems like there are more
| and more options every day.
| ubermonkey wrote:
| Glad to see Athletic getting mentioned here. I haven't quit
| alcohol, but as I've aged (51) I've found the margin for
| "trouble free" consumption has narrowed considerably -- in
| terms of sleep, but also weight gain and impact to my cycling
| performance.
|
| For the last year or so, there's always a couple kinds of
| Athletic in the fridge, in addition to whatever regular beer we
| have on hand, and _most_ of the time I choose the NA as a
| result.
|
| (Not for nothing, but a good IPA can be 200 calories a can.
| Athletic's is 50.)
| aix1 wrote:
| I switched almost completely to non- and low-alcohol beers. These
| days there's so much good stuff to choose from. For example,
| Mikkeller brews some fantastic beers in the 0.2-0.3% range (Henry
| and His Science is my current firm favourite).
| SamBam wrote:
| In the US, at least, anything below 0.5% can be labeled "non-
| alcoholic." So I'm surprised that Mikkeller are able to label
| themselves as being in the 0.2-0.3% range.
| deregulateMed wrote:
| Wine next please.
|
| I can't get over the taste of Ethanol. I know there are notes and
| stuff, but all I can taste is yuck.
|
| I wish soda and juice had a following like wine and beer.
| lanstein wrote:
| Gruvi's sparking white and rose aren't still wine but are
| great!
| 1ris wrote:
| sweetened wine vinegar with water? You could just grape juce
| for the sweet bit, too. Obviously not wine, but somewhat
| related?
|
| I do this this soda and my apple vinegar. I like it.
| dluan wrote:
| there's already some for wine, notably wine proxies like acid
| league.
| debacle wrote:
| Just drink juice? Fresh, unpasteurized grape juice is
| unparalleled in taste. It has a shelf life of maybe 3 days, but
| in those 3 days it is the best thing to drink on earth (milk
| fresh from the coconut right off the tree is close).
| the-dude wrote:
| Lots of wines are _melanges_.
| airstrike wrote:
| The spice must flow
| kd0amg wrote:
| > Just drink juice?
|
| Far too sweet to be a suitable wine replacement
| debacle wrote:
| Maybe Ocean Spray, but not fresh pressed. We have to cut
| our juice with water because it's so tart.
| CountHackulus wrote:
| Acid League is somewhat decent, not quite as good as a really
| nice bottle of wine but pretty good. Sadly the cost is a bit
| prohibitive, especially for what it is.
| [deleted]
| claudiulodro wrote:
| Isn't alcohol-free wine just, like, grape juice?
| 333c wrote:
| Not really, no. It tastes a lot different because of the
| fermentation process, during which the sugars are turned into
| alcohol.
| agloeregrets wrote:
| Root beer and Coffee have that type of following.
| lolsal wrote:
| disclaimer: I don't work for or have any interest in this company
| other than I like their product:
|
| These are fantastic: Non-alcoholic, hoppy, carbonated tea:
| https://hoplark.com
|
| - green, white, black teas - varying levels of hoppiness -
| varying levels of caffeine - will ship cases at a time!
| lkasdlkdad wrote:
| https://archive.is/QRAQY
| amelius wrote:
| I got stomach issues after drinking Alcohol free beer.
|
| I suspect it is because they add a lot of citric acid, and the PH
| value goes through the floor.
| bartvk wrote:
| Order a glass of warm milk to go with that beer. Milk being a
| base should settle the stomach :)
| oftenwrong wrote:
| Milk is slightly acidic: https://sciencenotes.org/is-milk-an-
| acid-or-base/
| selimthegrim wrote:
| This should be an evil advice mallard pic
| vowelless wrote:
| This might be an unpopular opinion, but non alcoholic beer tastes
| like crap. Ive tried to "quit" alcohol in the past and tried
| drinking NA beers: Lagunitas NA IPA (disgusting taste), Odoules
| (meh), and Athletic Brewing (one flavor was drinkable).
|
| Heineken 0.0 was the best tasting NA beer but still, it just felt
| like I was drinking sugar for no reason.
| jkestner wrote:
| I feel you. I've tried a ton. Athletic is one of the better
| ones, O'Doul's is decent compared to the cheap domestics it's
| replacing but that's not my style, and wheat is my style, where
| I've found some satisfaction with Well Being and
| Weihenstephaner NA.
|
| Half of drinking is the ritual of cracking open a cold
| can/bottle of something a little sharp, and so while I don't
| need the sugar, I find that nothing has worked better to
| replace beer than a Reed's Strongest ginger ale.
| mikelward wrote:
| I dislike all the ones you mention, but I like BrewDog and
| Partake.
| 1001101 wrote:
| Been on the wagon for close to 20 yrs, so I have had it all.
| Surreal Brewing(SF based) is by far and away my favorite. Very
| low cal - 17-75 cals (Kolsch is 17 cals). Might be a good
| option if you are looking for something less sugary.
| derwiki wrote:
| I recommend checking out NA beers by Surreal and Bravus, esp
| the darker beers. I agree that Lagunitas/Odoules NA doesn't
| taste good.
| pieterr wrote:
| Did you try Jever Fun? Does taste like real lager.
|
| https://www.jever.de/biere/jever-fun/
| odiroot wrote:
| I don't mind alcohol, especially at the low amounts that it is in
| a regular beer, but I wish calorie-free/low-calorie free beers
| were more common. I know they exist in the US but not really a
| thing in EU.
| chris_va wrote:
| Alcohol is intrinsically very caloric, that might be tough
| [deleted]
| rdxm wrote:
| The Athletic folks had a tent up at the Lutsen MTB race a few
| weekends back. It is actually really good, no difference in taste
| quality from the "leaded" stuff. This has definitely come a long
| way.
|
| Perhaps timely too! https://youtu.be/3Xa1L01ZNaY
| einpoklum wrote:
| I don't like alcohol (never had a taste for it). I have tried
| both alcoholic beers - just a few sips, since I can't stomach the
| stuff - and non-alcoholic beer. I can, and have, drank full
| bottles of non-alcoholic beer on occasion, but it basically felt
| like liquid barely/wheat, slightly bitter. So, I can drink it,
| but it's a pointless activity AFAIAC. I feel like I'm drinking
| bread.
|
| > beer has been relied upon both to refresh and intoxicate.
|
| I've never understood how beer could be described as refreshing.
| Is bread refreshing?
|
| ---------
|
| Having said that, I am partial to "malta" - a carbonated soft
| drink with mostly the same basic ingredients as bear: barley,
| hops and water; but with a higher ratio of water, I think. It has
| added sugar and caramel flavoring typically.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta_(soft_drink)
| [deleted]
| chmod600 wrote:
| It seems like the biggest markets for drinks all have an
| addictive hook: sugar, alcohol, or caffiene.
|
| Without any of those, non-alcoholic beer seems to fall into a
| category of drinks like flavored carbonated water. I enjoy
| drinking those, but it's not likely to be a habit that sticks. If
| it's in the fridge, I will drink it; if not, I will forget that
| it exists.
| snakeboy wrote:
| It is nice, however, when it's an option at a bar and you can
| have something kind of like a beer, while not incurring the
| usual "What, just a water?" conversations.
| chmod600 wrote:
| Oh, yeah, it's great for that niche. But it's hard to break
| out of that niche.
|
| It's also hard to grow that niche. If 20% of people in the
| bar are ordering NA beer, it would seem to reduce the
| pressure to be drinking beer at all, or perhaps going to the
| bar at all.
|
| If we time traveled to the future and you saw 90% of patrons
| drinking NA beer at the bar, you'd think it was a historical
| reenactment.
| atatatat wrote:
| What's wrong with _just_ making a small fortune these days,
| holy fuck
| r00fus wrote:
| The issue isn't profits, per se, but profit
| sustainability. Right now NA beer is trending, but what
| happens when that trend dies down?
|
| Also, our entire market economy is based on constant
| upward inflation/growth, and rewards those who grow
| faster.
| atatatat wrote:
| What happens when PBR/Michelob hype dies down again?
|
| They still make a small to medium sized fortune =^)
| atatatat wrote:
| Lots of unsavory things are financially rewarded, too,
| but you won't find me running toward them.
| snakeboy wrote:
| That seems like a great outcome, no? Allowing room for a
| gradual transition to a net positive societal outcome
| rather than requiring some phase shift.
|
| I like bars and hanging out in them, and it would be
| awesome to preserve the atmosphere with less and less
| alcohol consumed.
| hibern8 wrote:
| Ask for a lime with it and no one will ask any questions.
| mywittyname wrote:
| This used to be a signal for "I'm an alcoholic." It might
| still be.
|
| Which is probably why people don't ask questions when you
| do it.
| baby wrote:
| Boba teas are taking the world atm. I'm betting my hand that
| starbucks will have them at some point in time. But it's really
| sweet!
| k__ wrote:
| Which is interesting.
|
| I lived through 2 bubble tea hypes in Germany already, and
| they all just lasted only a year.
|
| Wouldn't have thought that I came back a third time now.
| meheleventyone wrote:
| I thought the same then started drinking non-alcoholic beers
| recently. Now I actually prefer the non-alcoholic versions,
| same taste but no harshness. It also fulfils the role where
| you'd have a beer but aren't particularly interested in getting
| drunk or being hungover.
|
| I'd also stress modern non-alcoholic beers are really good
| taste wise compared with what there used to be.
| k__ wrote:
| Non-alcoholic beer tastes like malt beer with less sugar.
|
| Quite tasty.
| aitchnyu wrote:
| IIRC a 2005 Discovery Channel episode saying 0.0 is wildly
| popular in Iran.
| mh8h wrote:
| Well... it's illegal to buy/sell/drink alcohol in Iran. So
| that's the only type of beer you can buy in store. Black market
| is a different story.
| peteretep wrote:
| I used to live in a Muslim neighbourhood with a wide variety of
| malted drinks for sale, albeit not advertised as beer. Seems
| humans just like the taste. When I lived in the Caribbean you'd
| see Supermalt everywhere too
| Scoundreller wrote:
| Around here, they're used as a run-around restrictions on alcohol
| advertisements.
|
| I'm sure growth is great, but I see it stagnating at a small
| percentage of the market.
|
| Beer-less alcohol in a can is really skyrocketing. Not sure how
| 5% food-grade ethanol in carbonated water sells for 50% more than
| beer, but it is what it is.
|
| All the buzz and less the sugar-rush calories.
|
| Maybe one day we'll grow up and replace alcohol with better
| recreational drugs that are more fun, easier to manufacture,
| better targeted and result in fewer health and social problems.
|
| There's a bazillion candidates out there.
| AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote:
| It's going to be hard to top alcohol for "ease of manufacture",
| prisoners routinely manufacture their own.
| Scoundreller wrote:
| Their constraints are different than most.
| SllX wrote:
| > Beer-less alcohol in a can is really skyrocketing. Not sure
| how 5% food-grade ethanol in carbonated water sells for 50%
| more than beer, but it is what it is.
|
| Fills the same niche as beer in the night without being beer.
| SOLAR_FIELDS wrote:
| In essence, yeah - it really targets a few previously
| underserved markets. There are a few non-obvious appeals over
| beer for some:
|
| - For one, the most popular brands are a very easy amount of
| calories to add up per can. White Claw, for instance, has
| exactly 100 calories per can, so it's very easy to calculate
| how many calories are consumed per night by counting cans. So
| it appeals to calorie counters.
|
| - Along the same lines, the carbs in the can are
| straightforward and easy to count. People doing keto are
| usually trying to stay under 30g of carbs per day. White Claw
| again has an easy-to-remember and easy-to-count 2g of carbs
| per can. So it appeals to carb-watchers.
|
| - It's gluten free, unlike beer. Obvious appeal for people
| who have some sort of gluten intolerance
|
| Wrap all of the above together and include the fact you
| mentioned that it functionally works like beer (you buy it in
| single serve containers in packs, it's relatively low ABV so
| it won't get you trashed immediately and you can drink it
| casually and it's served ice cold) but isn't beer from both a
| taste and feel perspective and it's pretty clear to see why
| it's really taken off as quickly as it has.
| zip1234 wrote:
| My understanding is that hard seltzers are mostly made in a
| fashion similar to beer. They use cane sugar rather than barley
| in the fermentation process.
| KingMachiavelli wrote:
| Sure but they filter out (almost?) everything besides the
| water & alcohol. I'm quite confident legal, tax, & cost
| factors are the reason why they don't use a food-grade
| distilled ethanol as the alcohol base.
| jdminhbg wrote:
| This is correct. What people want is a canned vodka soda,
| but vodka is taxed at a much higher rate than malt
| beverages (and depending on the state, harder to
| sell/purchase). The innovation of using sugar as a
| fermented base to get closer to that flavorless alcohol is
| what drove the hard seltzer craze:
| https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/09/how-tax-policy-
| gave-...
| gimmeThaBeet wrote:
| I remember reading about the fermentation thing before,
| it just seemed so bizarre. Just strikes me as so odd,
| that the real innovation, is a tax workaround. And that
| innovation basically created an entire market category.
|
| At that point if I were the government, I would look at
| the current policies and determine if they still made
| sense. Meanwhile, the actual US customs didn't like that
| dodge, and apparently wanted imports of it re-classified
| for tariff purposes. That apparently happened last month.
| jdminhbg wrote:
| I actually think if it were just the taxes, the
| innovation probably wouldn't have happened. The bigger
| problem is that you can't really sell a national canned
| hard liquor drink, even if the liquor in it has been
| diluted by mixers down to beer or wine levels of alcohol.
| Too many states don't allow liquor to be sold anywhere
| but licensed liquor stores, and shelf space there is too
| precious for low-priced high-volume beer substitutes. You
| can sell malt-based hard seltzer in gas stations nearly
| everywhere.
| arsome wrote:
| I don't think we're likely to replace alcohol any time soon -
| even with other relatively popular things like cannabis. The
| effects are more predictable and enjoyable by more people.
|
| There's even some evidence, perhaps of questionable quality,
| but it makes a good story at least, that we may have evolved to
| prefer alcohol despite its toxicity because it was a reliable
| source of safe drinking water.
|
| And even newer theories saying it may be related to the smell
| of ripe fruits leading to some primates getting a better source
| of energy.
|
| In any case human affinity for alcohol likely goes back very
| far.
| thisisnico wrote:
| Additionally it is a source of energy. Alcohol is digestible.
| There is a caloric benefit.
| messe wrote:
| > I don't think we're likely to replace alcohol any time soon
| - even with other relatively popular things like cannabis.
| The effects are more predictable and enjoyable by more
| people.
|
| Ease of manufacturing is also a major factor. All you need is
| sugar, water, yeast (which can come from a multitude of
| sources), and patience.
| TillE wrote:
| Alcohol-free beer is definitely used as a tool for advertising
| purposes in Germany, though it also seems fairly popular. It
| takes up a significant fraction of the beer shelf space in any
| supermarket.
| my_usernam3 wrote:
| > There's a bazillion candidates out there.
|
| Other than cannabis, and maybe psychedelic mushrooms, what
| candidates are there exactly?
| black_puppydog wrote:
| Most other research chemicals, really. Check "TIHKAL: The
| Continuation" for some discussion :P
| yao420 wrote:
| Phenibute is popular in fitness communities as an alternative
| to alcohol when going out.
| exo-pla-net wrote:
| Chronic use of Phenibut is associated with psychosis and
| physical dependence. Alcohol is no angel, but Phenibut is
| probably not the answer.
|
| https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6758981/
| drew1492 wrote:
| GHB, for one, is said to be all the best parts of alcohol
| with less of the downsides. It's still addictive and super
| illegal though, has the stigma of being a "date-rape drug",
| is _maybe_ more neurotoxic than ethanol (excitotoxicity may
| be more in play), but definitely less toxic for the rest of
| the organ systems, and non-carcinogenic.
|
| Kava, a beverage made from the roots of the piper methysticum
| plant, is broadly similar to alcohol, but milder, more
| sedate, non-addictive, non-toxic, and legal almost everywhere
| in the world. It's expensive though (only grows in the
| tropics), tastes like dirt-water, and takes a bit of work to
| prepare.
|
| English neuropharmacologist David Nutt has been reportedly
| working on a synthetic less-toxic alternative to alcohol for
| years, but it's unsure if anything will ever come of it.
| pstuart wrote:
| kratom makes a good replacement for alcohol
| JohnWhigham wrote:
| Personally, I don't see the recreational value. For me it
| was a very, very weak opiate high that wore off in an hour
| and whose tolerance builds up extremely fast. It should be
| more widely available though since people have said it
| helps them taper off actual opiates.
| anoraca wrote:
| My observation of this substance was that it was similar to
| a low grade opiate and seemed to be quite habit forming
| among several people I knew that tried it.
| uberdru wrote:
| Czechs love beer, so much so that there are two taps in the
| company cafeteria--1 with alcohol, and 1 without.
|
| Drinking beer without alcohol is no big deal. It can actually be
| quite good, though I've never found a non-alcoholic beer in the
| US that is worth drinking.
| throwaway0a5e wrote:
| Didn't everyone see this coming from a mile off? The OG skinny
| jeans and man bun demographics that popularized microbrews are
| rapidly barreling towards the age where your body starts being
| much more vocal about telling you you have poor taste. The
| question is whether this is a temporary uptick or a longer lived
| trend.
| elorant wrote:
| The one thing alcohol-free beer is ideal for is making mush if
| you want to fry something. With regular beer the temperature
| rises due to alcohol and the crust gets burned.
| SamBam wrote:
| Mush? Batter?
| elorant wrote:
| Yeap
| hivacruz wrote:
| I started drinking alcohol-free beer recently and it's really
| nice. Funny though, the best ones are not the same I used to
| drink and like before, with alcohol.
|
| For example here, the 1664 is pretty popular but I don't like it
| that much. But the blonde alcohol-free version really tastes like
| a real beer. I even doubt sometimes that I'm drinking a beer
| without alcohol: I have to double check! Maybe my brain is
| playing with me.
|
| Some beers add too much fruit Flavours or sugar like the Leffe
| ones. Not good.
| greatgib wrote:
| For all the alcohol-free beers that I have tried, none tasted
| anything close to a real beer.
|
| It was always a kind of disgusting caramel taste.
|
| Alcohol-free is just a marketing trick of the beverage
| industrials to pretend that there is a product worth buying at a
| price higher than soft drinks to target non alcoholic drinkers.
| touisteur wrote:
| There are a lot of recommendations for real-beer tasting brands
| in the comments here. But. What if one is a recovering
| alcoholic or pregnant or want to stop, but like the taste and
| feeling of beer? Why call it a marketing trick? If people get
| some repeated enjoyment from NA beer?
| greatgib wrote:
| I seriously never heard of anyone that was addicted to the
| "taste" of beer so much that they would need an alternative.
|
| At the opposite, I know close to no one that is a beer
| drinker and that would drink an alcohol-free beer. In all
| cases, it is almost always better to drink something else.
| Alcohol-free beer are targeting persons that don't normally
| drink alcohol.
|
| It is like if you would say a person loving "burgers" would
| appreciate to temporarily eat "meat-free" burgers when they
| can't eat "meat", just to have the "taste" of a burger...
|
| Looking at your examples, I don't think that they are
| correct:
|
| if you are pregnant, even alcoholic-free beer is probably
| still a shitty drink for you.
|
| If you are a "recovering alcoholic", you would probably avoid
| everything that will give you the "brain feeling" and the
| "habit" of drinking any alcohol.
|
| To say that you are "tasty" alternatives, you are probably
| North American, because alcohol-free might taste like
| american beers, but at least nothing like tasteful Europeans
| beers.
| daanlo wrote:
| We have alcohol free beer and wine in the office. Have been on a
| few 11am zoom calls with a big glass of beer in my hand - which
| was really nice (especially on a hot day with an ice cold non alc
| beer), but has sometimes confused the clients I was on a call
| with.
| daanlo wrote:
| The alcohol free wine is mainly nice to accompany lunch :)
| donatj wrote:
| There are definitely times I would love a non-alcoholic beer that
| was good. There are many a work nights where on the one hand I
| could really go for a beer, but on the other hand I'm not
| interested in getting drunk or even buzzed. I'm a big fan of
| this.
| dumpsterdiver wrote:
| A nice non-alcoholic drink I stumbled upon (I probably didn't
| invent it, but I discovered it independently through
| experimentation):
|
| Ingredients:
|
| Spicy ginger beer (the spiciest you can find, since we'll be
| watering it down in the next step). Frozen blueberries.
|
| Preparation:
|
| 1) Fill a small glass nearly to the top with frozen blueberries -
| don't skimp on these because it definitely makes a difference. 2)
| Slowly pour the ginger beer into the glass until it's full. 3)
| Let the drink stand for about 5-10 minutes to allow the blueberry
| flavor to mix with the ginger beer - give it a few stirs during
| that time. 4) Enjoy!
|
| If this looks like just a weird way to eat blueberries, you're
| kind of right about that! The drink itself takes up very little
| volume in the glass compared to the blueberries - and so you'll
| need to refill the glass from the same single serving bottle of
| ginger beer several times. Do keep in mind that ginger beer
| contains nearly an entire day's worth of sugar, so you probably
| don't want more than one of these in a night.
| TylerE wrote:
| There are some sugar free ginger beers that are fairly decent.
| deelowe wrote:
| I'm sure it's quite good. I love a good ginger beer for
| example. However, when I'm in the mood for a good beer, this
| would be a woefully inadequate substitute.
| hiidrew wrote:
| this sounds delicious, I wonder how it would be if you muddled
| the berries a bit so more flavor was released but still chunky
| enough to eat. Maybe garnish with some mint too
| florianfritz wrote:
| I was really surprised that non alcoholic beer seems to be so
| special in the US (especially when trying to find a good tasting
| one). In germany, while alcoholic beer is the norm on parties,
| when drinking to a meal or at hot summer days non- or low-
| alcoholic beer is served frequently in various forms. Personally,
| I am a fan of wheat beer, which comes in normal (5.5%), light
| (3.3%) and alcohol free (0.0%). All variations have their unique
| but good taste. Also, beer-mix variations are popular on summer
| days: Wheat beer with cola, wheat beer with sprite or normal beer
| with sprite. All these variations are served in exactly the same
| glasses and bottles as regular beer. So if you don't want to
| drink you can easily do so. We even have a soft drink variations
| served in typical beer bottles, which is also good to fit into
| the social norm while not drinking. Overall, you can choose taste
| (sweet softdrink to bitter beer) and alcohol amount quite freely.
| subpixel wrote:
| Having lived in Bavaria for years, and drunk beer for many
| more, I am of the opinion that nothing beats sub-6% helles,
| pilsner, or hefeweissen.
|
| Hops and alcohol are like white pepper - great but just a
| little too much ruins the recipe.
| Teknoman117 wrote:
| My primary beer consumption at this point is imported
| hefeweissen. It's so good.
| rhino369 wrote:
| Bavarian beer is so great. It's a shame the bottles don't
| seem to hold up well when they are imported into the USA.
|
| A local restaurant gets kegs and it's almost like being
| there.
| blt wrote:
| Still waiting for the day when USA brewers master Pilsner.
| It's my favorite beer for hot weather. The European versions
| are light and crisp without being bland. All the American
| ones I've tried have too thick of a body, not enough
| hops/brightness, or both.
| sunny--tech wrote:
| Ever since my wife got pregnant, we've been trying to cut out
| alcohol so she doesn't feel left out as much. And even now that
| our son is here, she still can't drink much due to breast-
| feeding.
|
| While I still drink alcohol from time to time, I find myself
| drinking alcohol-free far more often. Usually as a post-workout
| drink or something to relax with in the evenings without wanting
| to disturb my sleep.
|
| For anyone looking for great alcohol-free options, my favorites
| so far have been Athletic Brewing[0] for NA beer and Lyres[0] for
| NA cocktails and spirits.
|
| [0]: https://athleticbrewing.com [1]: https://lyres.com/
| Animats wrote:
| I'm still irked about the declining availability of caffeine-free
| diet soda. It's getting hard to get caffeine-free Diet Pepsi or
| Diet Coke, and I haven't been able to get caffeine-free Diet Dr.
| Pepper since Febuary 2020. Shelf space was apparently needed for
| the various new flavors of Coca-Cola.
| gnulinux wrote:
| Quit drinking a year ago. I still drink one beer max if social
| setting requires it and I limit it to like once a week tops,
| ideally once a month.
|
| Best decision I made in my life. If I want to get tipsy to enjoy
| some movie or music, I just take an edible. Weed is orders of
| magnitudes more practical than alcohol. Alcohol hangover is the
| worst. Edibles (especially sugar/calory free edibles they make
| now) are a lot healthier than alcohol and my mental health
| doesn't take a toll.
| k__ wrote:
| Weed always pushes my heartrate to the max.
| throwaway73851 wrote:
| I found that I had a bad reaction to indica strains. One
| time, I started shivering uncontrollably, though I didn't
| feel cold. Hit me super hard, super quickly (though it was
| with someone else's vape - not sure how well I can compare
| versus edibles, my vape, or smoking flower).
|
| I've never had a problem with sativa, though. Maybe whatever
| you've used is due to a particular strain?
| l33tbro wrote:
| You likely vaped something with poor genetics and/or was
| grown with too many synthetic nutrients.
|
| Also, the majority of strains are hybrids - so it's
| unlikely you have a bad reaction to indica (unless you only
| ever vape landrace sativas - which is highly unlikely).
| mrfusion wrote:
| Has anyone tried kava as a beer substitute? Does that even make
| sense?
| drew1492 wrote:
| Kava's nice but getting the desired effects can be a bit hit-
| or-miss. It's milder and more of a clearheaded serene/sedate
| effect, tastes like dirt-water, and can be a bit expensive,
| about on par with craft beers. But it's non-toxic, non-caloric,
| and non-addictive. I enjoyed kava for quite awhile before
| quitting after realizing that it was exacerbating my seasonal
| allergies (it seems to have a pro-histaminergic side effect).
| For awhile it totally filled the glass-of-wine-or-beer-to-
| unwind-at-home niche (I actually think its effects are superior
| for that purpose), though I still drank/drink alcohol in social
| situations.
| tombert wrote:
| I was cursed (blessed?) to find the taste of nearly all alcohol
| kind of repulsive (especially beer), and I almost never drink
| anymore as a result.
|
| While most bars will happily serve me Diet Coke when I ask for it
| (sometimes for free depending on the city), I gotta say that it
| does a pretty good job making me look fairly lame around my
| friends or coworkers.
|
| Maybe some alcohol-free booze would help with that.
| burnte wrote:
| I'm also a super-taster, especially bitter far more than
| anything else. So until I discovered some German hefeweizens
| like Weihenstephaner (especially the kristalweiss) or
| Franziskaner, and sometimes Paulaner, I ghated all beers. Now I
| only hate ALMOST all beers. :D
|
| Note, the hops in beer has a much stronger bitter effect than
| the alcohol, so I looked for beers without hops, which are the
| hefesweizens. Non-alcholic beer with hops tastes just as bad as
| alcoholic beers.
| leetcrew wrote:
| if appearances are important, consider ordering a club soda
| with lime. bartenders will usually understand that it ought to
| look like a gin and tonic.
| semicolon_storm wrote:
| A Diet Coke in a class is indistinguishable from a rum & coke.
| Kluny wrote:
| Where I'm from, they go to a lot of effort to make it look
| obviously different. Soft drinks will come in a large glass
| which is different from a pint glass that's used for beer,
| and will always have a straw and ice unless you ask them to
| leave it out. Rum and coke comes in a highball glass, no
| straw, usually a garnish, and no ice unless you ask for it.
| mattwad wrote:
| i haven't found a truly alcohol-free beer. most of them have at
| least .03% or so. If you have medical reasons to avoid it
| (pregnancy), it's still questionable
| zucked wrote:
| I feel like once craft took a more dominate position, basically
| everything was 6%+ ABV and anything IPA was 7% or more, sometimes
| up near 9%. That's, IMHO, too much.
|
| For a lot of health and wellness reasons mentioned throughout, I
| much prefer a 4-5%. They're often marketed as "sessionable" and I
| like that trend. I'm not sure I'm looking for a NA brew (yet) but
| I'd much rather something just as flavorful without the race to
| high ABV.
| eyko wrote:
| Most craft I drink is 4.5% - 6% for IPAs, 2.5-3.5% for Session
| IPAs. DIPAs are generally 7-9%, which I avoid. I normally go
| for Sessions.
| spaginal wrote:
| My favorite feature of NA beer is social. I found myself enjoying
| one too many beers sometimes with my group of friends I play
| hockey with, which made for terrible mornings after and the poor
| health effects overall.
|
| What I do now is enjoy a real beer or two, and then finish the
| rest of the evening with NA. Athletic brewing is my favorite. I
| wish bars had it on draft. It fits both needs, I get to enjoy the
| taste and effect of the real at first, but continue socially with
| the NA after that won't lead to drunkenness.
|
| Alcoholism runs in my family, I could very easily go down that
| road if I'm not careful, but I found combining the two short
| circuits the desire to binge on the real thing. I can easily do
| most events with just NA beers and enjoy myself all the same.
| CubsFan1060 wrote:
| This describes me as well. Sometimes I have a couple of beers,
| and want to have a couple more. But I don't really want anymore
| alcohol. I find N/A beers to have a nice harmony with regular
| beers.
| xor99 wrote:
| Non alcoholic Guinness (or maybe its like <0.5%) is excellent and
| is definitely approaching the real thing. I think people respond
| well when it's not puritanical and provides a viable alternative.
| asjdflakjsdf wrote:
| Its frustrating that it often costs the same price as its
| alcoholic counterpart. In many countries the tax on alcoholic
| drinks is taken as a acceptable reason for the high prices in
| bars. But when the non-alcoholic versions are just as
| expensive, it feels like robbery. There seems to be huge
| interest from customers but bars and govts haven't pulled the
| right strings to enable a change that would benefit society in
| general.
| selectodude wrote:
| Beer is _very_ cheap to make. Bars are expensive to run.
| Furthermore you 're taking up a chair that they could be
| selling alcohol to. Making NA beer cheaper than the real
| stuff would be very counterproductive for everybody involved
| in trying to run a business.
| haddr wrote:
| I am surprised that nobody mentioned non-alcoholic wheat beers.
| They really taste better than other kinds of non-alcoholic beers.
| Bavaria for instance is really tasty.
| rjsw wrote:
| Also supposed to be one of the best post-exercise drinks.
| throwaway210222 wrote:
| Now that I have Uber, WTF do I need alchohol-free beer for?
| senorjazz wrote:
| finally a sensible comment
| Gregordinary wrote:
| I've been drinking hop tea and hop seltzer from HopLark. It's not
| trying to replicate beer. I like that with the exception of some
| limited releases, they're just carbonated tea and hops or
| carbonated water and hops. Unsweetened and have both caffeinated
| and caffeine free variants.
|
| My favorite so far has been a spruce tip tea with sabro hops.
|
| I haven't quit alcohol consumption entirely, but I limit it to
| once every few months if I feel like having one, typically with
| family.
|
| https://www.hoplark.com
|
| Also working on just making it myself, with tea, hop pellets, and
| using a "drink mate" (like sodastream but can carbonate any
| liquid, not just water) to carbonate it.
| mikelward wrote:
| BrewDog have some great "AF" beers, such as Pale AF and Nanny
| State. They're a bit different from normal beer, but they're nice
| and hoppy and carbonated, and also low in calories. Partake is
| another one I like.
|
| Not a fan of most other brands of alcohol free beer. They taste
| like they're just wort they stopped fermenting early, so it's
| oversweet and smelly.
|
| Heineken 0.0 isn't too bad in a pinch.
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2021-07-09 23:01 UTC)