BEER ALL DAY

For many, nothing says summer like a sudsy cold one while hanging outdoors. These boozeless beers can help you keep the party going all day and night.

WORDS Lauren Buzzeo

The draw is almost too enticing—perhaps it’s a baseball game with friends, or a beach outing with family, or just lounging around the backyard soaking up some sunny summer vibes when the craving hits. I could really use a beer right about now.

Warm, blue-skied days spent outdoors and often in the company of those you love and who make you laugh can evoke those cravings of a refreshing summer sip, and to many, that ideal quaff is a tasty, cold beer. The chill of the liquid. The enlivening tingle of the carbonation. The hint (or more, depending on your style of choice) of final bitterness that leaves you begging for more. It all just works.

But what if you’re looking to limit or skip the alcohol, yet don’t want to skimp on the flavor or experience? Do you have to nurse that one can you’ll allow yourself to ensure you keep your stamina up through the evening’s engagements, or worse yet, forego a frothy one altogether?

Thankfully, there are more and better non-alcoholic beer options than ever before. What once could have been kindly described as beer-flavored carbonated water has been replaced with full-on proxies for the real deal thanks to brewer innovation and improvements in technology.

According to federal law, a beer must be less than 0.5% alcohol by volume (abv) to be labeled as non-alcoholic.­ There are many ways that brewers can accomplish this, including vacuum evaporation, filtration methods such as reverse osmosis, and other techniques of alcohol extraction.

But beyond the tech, more players in the space have also seriously­ upped the overall NA beer game. Brewers continue to experiment with key ingredients­ such as modified yeasts that don’t break down maltose, the main sugar in beer, to retain mouthfeel and a flavor profile more parallel to a traditional alcoholic pour.

As such, there’s much more variety­ in the NA beer category today­ as we move beyond the largely flavor­less lager-dominated options of yesterday. Sure, those are still available (and there are also some great ones), but so are full-throttle hazies, generous hefe­weizens and robust, mouth-filling porters.

Thirsty yet?

A Tasty Guide to Great NA Beers

Lagers

Athletic Brewing Trailblazer Hoppy Helles

Grüvi Golden Lager

Two Roots Enough Said Helles

Untitled Art Italian Pilsner

IPAs

Athletic Brewing Free Wave Hazy IPA

BrewDog Hazy AF

Lagunitas IPNA

Samuel Adams Just The Haze IPA

Other Ales

Best Day Brewing Kölsch

Brooklyn Brewery Special Effects Hoppy Amber

Ceria Grainwave Belgian White Ale

Partake Hefeweizen

Stouts/Porters

Big Drop Brewing Co. Galactic Extra Dark

Bravus Oatmeal Dark

Deschutes NA Black Butte Porter

Surreal Pastry Porter