30 Best Nonalcoholic Beers That Taste Like the Real Thing

The greatest beer revolution of the last decade has been the creation of nonalcoholic beer that tastes like great beer. It's been driven by advances in brewing science as well as the trend toward abstaining from alcohol and moderating intake. Luckily, that no longer means giving up great-tasting beer.

“Shifts in drinker perceptions and advancements in brewing technology suggest we’re on the brink of a nonalcoholic beer renaissance,” says Jim Koch, chairman of Boston Beer Company. These nonalcoholic beers prove that when it comes to flavor, nothing really is something.

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Top craft breweries are now including premium zero (or near-zero, see below) ABV offerings in their lineups—as are many major beer festivals, which proudly slate “nonalcoholic” as one of their most lauded categories of late. In other words, NA no longer stands for “not applicable” for serious beer fans. Keep ‘em in your fridge, so you can enjoy them crisp and cold. Also keep in mind that some NA beers actually do have a very (very) low alcohol content, which will be specified on the label. In the U.S., beers with less than 0.5 percent ABV are considered “nonalcoholic.” Okay, ready for your NA happy hour? Here are some of our favorite picks. (And if you want more options, check out our list of the best nonalcoholic drinks of all kinds.)

30 Best Nonalcoholic Beers That Taste Like the Real Thing

Partake Dunkel

We’re fans of this Canadian NA brewer’s lineup, which is typically dryer and lighter-bodied than its thicker peers—which often have a cloying malt note. Lately we’ve been reaching for Partake’s Dunkel, a toasty, roasty German-style dark lager which stands out as one of the best dark NA beers.

Good Time IPA

The newly-launched Good Time IPA from New York is among our favorite hop-forward nonalcoholic beers. The brewers behind Good Time nail a perfect level of background malt to deliver the full, bright aroma and flavor of a 6- or 7-percent beer without veering toward sweet or too much body—a fault of unbalanced NA IPAs. Even better, the hop blend is dominated by fruity, white wine-like Nelson Sauvin hops to make this a delicious and distinctive brew, when so many (good) NA IPAs hit similar juicy citrus notes.

Hoplark Mosaic Hops Sparkling Water

Hoplark sparkling water strips the malt away to focus on the herbaceous taste of hops. Its flavors are an exercise in favoritism for IPA fans—are you more of a Sabro lover or a Citra person? Personally, we enjoy cracking open the brand's Mosaic Hops cans, which feature well-rounded piney flavors that refresh us on hot days. And don't worry—if you miss the bitterness, Hoplark also makes 0.0 beers and hop teas.

Wolters Pilsener 0.0

While it doesn’t quite have the dry bite of a true German pilsner, Wolters certainly tastes like a real German lager—we’d put it in the maltier helles style. Wolters is crisp, refreshing, among the more affordable NA beer options, and a tasty alternative to seltzer or soda.

Sierra Nevada Trail Pass IPA

Few brewers—craft or international juggernaut—agonize over the finer details of a beer like those at Sierra Nevada. So their recent announcement of the brand’s first NA beers (there’s also a lovely Trail Pass Golden) was met with our whole-hearted enthusiasm. Trail Pass IPA feels like a real IPA in body and bite, with zesty, pine-forward American hops you’ll recognize from their Pale Ale and Torpedo IPA.

Karbach Free and Easy NA IPA

With a name like “Free and Easy,” you should have a pretty good idea what's in store with this non-alcoholic IPA. This beer, from the popular Houston-based brewer, gets its bright grapefruit, orange zest, and lemon peel flavors from the addition of Citra, Mosaic, Herkules, Simcoe, and Jester hops. With a strong starting lineup of aromatic, flavorful hops like that, it’s extremely surprising this is an NA beer.

Guinness 0 Non-Alcoholic Draught

Guinness Draught, often referred to as a meal in a can, is already a surprisingly low 4.2% ABV. If that’s still too much for you, but you want your dry Irish stout fix, we encourage you to grab the newly released Guinness 0 Non-Alcoholic Draught. This beer retains the robust roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate flavors of the original Guinness Draught. Brewers start by brewing that beer, then slowly remove the alcohol using cold filtration.

Sober Carpenter Non-Alcoholic West Coast IPA

IPAs seem to be the most popular choice when it comes to non-alcoholic beer. That’s probably because you can mask anything with great hops. Luckily, Sober Carpenter isn’t masking anything. This award-winning IPA is made with premium malts as well as aromatic and flavorful West Coast hops. Even sans alcohol, it’s well-known for its floral, earthy hop flavor that pairs perfectly with notes of mango, guava, and grapefruit, all with a gentle, pleasing bitter finish.

Untitled Art Non-Alcoholic Italian Pilsner

If you ask us, even in this world of over-the-top beer styles, it’s difficult to beat a classic, crisp, well-made European pilsner. That’s why we enjoy Untitled Art Non-Alcoholic Italian Pilsner so much. Hallertau Mitterlfruh hops give it a spicy, floral, herbal aroma and flavor while Strata hops bring dank, pine, and juicy tropical fruit flavors. Crisp, fruity, and lightly spicy. What’s not to love?

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Alkoholfrei

Weihenstephaner touts itself as the oldest continuously operating brewery in the world with its genesis in the year 1040. Over those centuries, it's perfected many classic German beers. Its non-alcoholic wheat beer doesn’t have the history of the others, but you wouldn’t know it. It’s made the traditional way, but the alcohol is removed using a “falling film evaporation” technique created in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich-Weihenstephan. Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Alkoholfrei is a classic, yeasty, wheat beer brimming with flavors of citrus, banana, and honey.

Al's Classic Non-Alcoholic Lager

Part of the appeal of a great lager is the concept that it’s light, refreshing, crisp, and easy to go down. Of course you want it to have some flavor, too. (Yellow, fizzy water doesn’t really cut it.) Luckily, the folks at Al’s created the most balanced, flavorful, crushable non-alcoholic lager on the market. Al's Classic is bready, herbal, and loaded with fresh, floral Noble hops.

Brooklyn Brewery Special Effects IPA

Brooklyn Brewing seems to only produce bangers. Even its non-alcoholic IPA doesn’t change that notion. Special Effects IPA is loaded with bright, floral hops flavors and citrus zest, all with the crisp, dry, bitter finish IPA drinkers are accustomed to.

Wellbeing Heavenly Body

This non-alcoholic American wheat beer’s recipe was based on a Great American Beer Festival award-winner. While it’s primarily a wheat-centric beer, Heavenly Body gets citrus, floral, and grassy flavors from the liberal use of Cascade as well as traditional German hops. This old-world-meets-new-world NA beer is made even more complex because of the use of light, flavorful malts to temper the wheat and hops.

Two Roads Brewing Co. Non-Alcoholic American IPA

Two Roads is a big name in the beer world. Well known for its bold, flavorful IPAs, it should come as no surprise the Connecticut-based brewery got in on the non-alcoholic beer craze. While there’s less than .5% ABV, American IPA still delivers memorable IPA flavors like citrus peels; sweet malts; and floral, earthy, resinous hops. It’s the kind of beer that'll have you rethinking non-alcoholic beers.

Athletic Brewing Company Upside Dawn Golden Ale

Athletic Brewing is one of America’s fastest-growing nonalcoholic breweries, thanks to a proprietary brewing process that leads to boldly flavored bevs. Upside Dawn unites organic German and American malts in a floral, 50-calorie package that drinks light and easy. As such, it’s become popular among the adventure set.

Suntory All-Free

Japanese brewers ran through more than 400 formulas before cracking the code on All-Free, a beer-inspired refresher made with malt barley and hops. It’s reminiscent of a seltzer, full of strong carbonation and flavor, but with zero calories, sugar, and alcohol since they nixed the fermentation process altogether. What’s more, there are no artificial flavors or sweeteners.

Related: 9 Best Non-Alcoholic Spirits That Taste Like the Real Thing

Lagunitas Brewing Company IPNA

Clever name, eh? Lagunitas spent a year refining its first nonalcoholic brew. Like its flagship IPA, this dank little number packs a pungent profile of citrus and pine trees, since it’s dry-hopped with several Pacific Northwest hops like Citra and Columbus from the Yakima Valley. It clocks in under 100 calories to boot.

Samuel Adams Just the Haze IPA

Hundreds of yeast strains were tested to create this nonalcoholic hazy IPA. Wheat and oats amplify the body, while Citra, Mosaic, Sabro, and Cascade hops impart a fragrant profile of pineapple, peaches, and grapefruit. The head retention and gold color are similar to Samuel Adams' New England IPA. How wicked is that?

Ceria Brewing Company Grainwave

Blue Moon creator Keith Villa’s second act is Ceria, a Colorado brewery focused on nonalcoholic beers made with (and without) THC. Grainwave is a medium-bodied, Belgian-inspired witbier flavored with blood orange peel and coriander and just 77 calories per serving. THC-infused brews (5mg) are available at licensed dispensaries.

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Surreal Brewing Company Natural Bridges Kölsch Style Ale

Surreal Brewing Company's 17-calorie bev is named after a California marine preserve and based on a German kölsch—an ale fermented at colder temperatures for a balance of subtle fruitiness and refreshment. The beer’s soft malt profile goes great with salads and roasted chicken.

Heineken 0.0

Heineken has pulled off a delicious magic trick: This gently fruity 69-calorie lager tastes nearly identical to the full-strength original thanks to a unique process of brewing several batches of beer, then blending them.

Bauhaus Brew Labs “Nah” Helles Lager

After Bauhaus co-owner Matt Schwandt was hospitalized with acute pancreatitis and had to give up alcohol, he began developing the “Nah” line of nonalcoholic beers. This bright take on a German-style helles lager (meaning pale in color) is made with German hops and malts for a traditional character of fresh-baked bread.

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BrewDog Wake Up Call

BrewDog's brunch-ready stout offers a different kind of buzz. It’s brewed with coffee for a pleasant pick-me-up, while oats and a sprinkling of milk sugar lactose lend smoothness to the roasty sip. FYI: The beer contains 39 mg of caffeine per 12-ounce serving (a bit more than a can of Coke).

Clausthaler Santa Clausthauler

For a jolly, alcohol-free holiday tipple, sip Santa Clausthaler. The latest nonalcoholic beer from Germany's Clausthaler—a leader in the category since 1979—is flavored with cinnamon and cranberry for a festive kick.

Bravus Blood Orange IPA

There’s a lot to love about this NA craft beer, which is brewed and dry-hopped with Columbus, Centennial, and Simcoe hops for nuanced depth of flavor. A refreshing choice with citrus-forward notes, this tempered IPA is mellowed by a mild bitterness from hops and blood orange peels.

Rightside Brewing Citrus Wheat

This classic wheat beer has a nice tropical aroma, with notes of fresh tangerine juice, banana, and a bit of spice. The medium-body beer has a crisp and invigorating finish, making it a go-to pick to slip into our hiking pack. Along the same route, check out our favorite summit beers, which include several NA choices in the mix.

Clausthaler Grapefruit

Germans know beer—and alcohol-free German brewery Clausthaler certainly knows how to make some very tasty suds sans booze. A great combo of brewski and juicy, this citrus-infused drink is as light as a feather and perfect for happy hour.

Bravus Breakfast Dark (Stout)

You don’t need to take the “breakfast” moniker too literally for this stellar stout beverage brewed with cinnamon, chocolate. and coffee. But if you do, your usual non-fat latte won’t be the least bit offended. Rounded out by caramel and mocha notes, we especially love this medium-bodied beer during cooler months.

Rightside Brewing American IPA

This superb NA IPA knows the most direct route to our hoppy hearts. A moderate hop aroma, slight malty flavor, and fruit-forward waves of pineapple, mandarin orange, and citrus define this heady beverage. Also featuring hints of stone fruit and earthy spices, it’s a fave of ours particularly with Mexican and Indian food to mellow out the heat.

Aurora Superior Sparkling Hops Aurora Sparkling Hops

Yeah, we know, it's technically not a beer, but this hops-infused nonalcoholic beverage is so good we’d be doing you a disservice excluding it. Available in Pomelo Sage and Yuzu Orange Blossom, these nonalcoholic beverages are great for awakening your taste buds before a meal. Pomelo Sage showcases Citra hops, with bold grapefruit-esque flavor complemented by piney sage. The Yuzu Orange Blossom is a mix of Mosaic and Citra hops, bursting with citrus, a touch of floral notes and earthy peppercorn.

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