![]() ![]() But it's not going to add to intoxication, it's not going to make your morning difficult." So, how do you make a good non-alcoholic beer?įor a beer to be labeled non-alcoholic, federal law requires it to have less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. "You have a second - and then for your third beer, you switch to a non-alcoholic that has the same flavors as the IPA. ![]() "You start off by drinking a full-strength IPA. Turning to an NA beer has real appeal for someone contemplating their third beer of a night, he said. "Beer is shedding a lot of its male bravado, which is great," Holl said. "It's interesting that there's sort of these little moments where we recognize maybe it's good for your body to take a break from alcohol." "I actually partake in Sobertober, which is sober October," she added. "In general, I find the younger generations are pushing for more healthy-living style beverages," Garves said, "stuff with lower calories, lower carbs, no alcohol, and that's actually starting to permeate into the older generations, as well." "We've become more accepting of other people's beverage choices," Garves said, describing how the conversation about the physical and mental health aspects of drinking has evolved.Ī woman drinks an alcohol-free beer during the annual "Fete de la Musique" (music day), in the courtyard of the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2018.Ĭhristophe Petit Tesson / AFP via Getty Images Alcohol is absent from those posts, and so is the stigma. That trend is even more prominent during Dry January, as people abstaining from alcohol post updates and their NA drink tips to social media. The early days of the pandemic might have opened the floodgates of day-drinking, but since then, it has also prompted more focus on mental health, including alcohol consumption. "This isn't people who don't drink who are trying to fully replace beer, but people who do drink and are just looking for occasions where they can substitute something that tastes like beer, but doesn't have the alcohol." NA beer gets two unlikely boosts: social media and the pandemicīy many measures, brewers are producing better non-alcoholic beer at just the right time. "A lot of the consumption is coming from people who drink ," he said. "The highest-selling week for NA beer throughout the year is the same as for total beer – the week surrounding the 4th of July."Īnd while NA beers of the past courted non-drinkers, Watson says that has changed. "That said, January doesn't drive most of the sales volume," he added. "Dry January appears to be a period where new get introduced to NA products," Watson said, adding that non-alcoholic beer's share of sales within the broader category spikes in January. While Dry January might be when many people talk about non-alcoholic beer, more people drink it in the summer, says Bart Watson, chief economist of the Brewers Association, the craft beer trade group. The advances in non-alcoholic beer are helping brewers align themselves with health trends and people who are "sober curious," said Holl, who hosts the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast and is beer editor at Wine Enthusiast magazine. Going non-alcoholic isn't just for non-drinkers "They've really been able to make it taste like regular beer, and I'm constantly impressed," said Dana Garves, who would know: she's a beer chemist who owns the Oregon BrewLab, which analyzes beer and other fermented drinks. The shift is due to a culmination of factors, including innovations in vacuum evaporation, filtration and other techniques that let brewers extract alcohol from beer while leaving its flavor largely intact. ![]() For beer fans who want the deep flavors of IPAs and porters without the baggage of alcohol, the new brews are hitting the spot. ![]() "The non-alcoholic beers of the past tasted like punishment," as beer expert John Holl put it. ![]()
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