If you ever want to see a beer lover squirm, try offering them a non-alcoholic beer. For most of us, one of these near beers is more than weird; it's downright wrong. Why take a lovingly crafted beer and then pull its teeth?
We can thank (or blame?) the Prohibition for the existence of non-alcoholic beers. The Temperance Society pushed regulations that ultimately reduced the legal alcohol limit of beer to 0.5% or less. Even after the 21st amendment reinstated regular brewing practices thirteen years later, near beers stuck around.
It's hard to make a good non-alcoholic beer, as anyone who's tasted one recently can probably attest. These beers start off their lives as regular, fully-alcoholic brews. After fermentation and before bottling, the beer is cooked at a low temperature, sometimes under vacuum. Since alcohol has a lower boiling point than water, it evaporates quickly and leaves behind the newly non-alcoholic beer.
Cooking does change some of the flavor and aroma compounds in the beer, much like pasteurization does for milk and other beverages. The most delicate flavors and aromas, particularly of hops, are lost during processing. This creates beers that tend to be malty, lightly flavored, and without much nuance of flavor.
Not all the alcohol is ever fully evaporated. That 0.5% limit from the Prohibition is still the legal limit for beverages marketed as non-alcoholic. This is generally not enough to make you intoxicated, but is good to know if your aim is avoiding alcohol altogether rather than just avoiding getting tipsy.
What do you think of non-alcoholic beers?
Related: 5 Non-Alcoholic Drinks for Showers of All Sorts
(Image: Flickr member ctoverdrive licensed under Creative Commons)
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I buy non-alcoholic often for my grandfather. While I don't think he was alcoholic, he did vow to not have alcohol again after the war. However, beer is more than a drink - it's a culture. Non-alcoholic beer is his way to not have alcohol, but still enjoy a cold one with family/friends.
There are several recovering alcoholics and pregnant ladies around who would tell you they're a godsend. :)
When I studied abroad in Spain my host dad had a non-alcoholic beer just about every night. Not sure of the specific issue, but he had had to stop drinking due to health reasons, but still wanted to maintain the ritual of having a beer every night.
In fact, most bars I went to there had non-alc on tap and advertisements for Mahou Sin were very prevalent. Wonder what caused it to be so much more prominent there?
I think non-alcoholic beers would be fine if they were made from tasty beers. Old Milwaukee, Miller, or Budweiser turning their bland boozy beers to non-boozy ones doesn't interest me. Let me know when Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, or Troegs decides to make one.
I have several friends who have quit drinking and like taking these to BBQs and parties. Also nice for pregnant ladies, though I never found one I particularly liked.
My father-in-law no longer drinks alcohol due to health reasons (not alcoholism!) but still likes to have a beer on a night out (or in too). Here in Switzerland, he was delighted to find quite a few of the Wheat beers available as alcohol free as well as normal lighter beers. The culture here is very different to that of the US and UK where drinking is often done in order to get drunk (or at least a bit tipsy). People here go out to have a good time & they don't seem to need alcohol to do it (I'm thinking of a group of pregnant women in a club recently, dancing, singing, no alcohol in sight!)
Alcohol free beers are a godsend and should be encouraged, but I think the main problem is that bars should stock are GOOD ones, not just the drivel that's usually available.
As a nursing mom who still wants to avoid alcohol, but would like to have a beer now and then at a summer barbeque I am a fan of the non-alcoholic beer. The only one I like that is readily available is Odouls Amber. Granted, i haven't had a real beer in over a year, but it tastes the most like what I remember beer tasting like :)
@pahiker6
St. Pauli Girl and Guinness both make pretty decent non-alcoholic beers, called St. Pauli N/A and Kalibur, respectively.
My parents are both recovering alcoholics (21 years sober) and like some other commenters have mentioned, it's a good way to participate in the "ceremony" without having to avoid it altogether.
Also, pregnant women are SO grateful to find out that you have non-alcoholic beer or wine on hand if you have a party! So are recovering alcoholics or even designated drivers!
I love N/A brews...especially Japanese ones (unfortunately, I can't find them here).
It's around for 2 reasons: For recovered alcoholics and pregnant women, and for tricking teenagers into thinking they're drunk! Hilarious!
I agree. And for those who can't find their favorite 'exotic' near beers, try ethnic restaurants. The indian place near my house has quite a few options;)
I have never met a non-alcoholic beer that approached the flavor of a decent alcoholic beer. Imitating the watery taste of a macrobrew is of no use or interest to me, though I think Kaliber(?) makes a decent non-alcoholic cider.
I'm a beer lover, and I do like non-alcoholic beer. Sure, it's nothing like a good stout or a bitter, but sometimes I get a craving for a cool tall pint but for whatever reason don't feel like drinking anything alcoholic, so n/a beer works well for those occasions. It still has enough of that "beeriness" in it, even if the taste isn't the most aromatic.
When I was pregnant, my husband abstained from alcohol in solidarity (nice guy!). We had fun trying all the different brands of NA beer we could find... our favourite one was a grocery store brand, who knew? But I agree with Pirata - beer is just as much about the tradition, the ritual, sometimes you just want to join everyone, and so while NA beers don't taste especially marvelous, they do satisfy the craving for a cold one!
Last summer we attended a family wedding in the countryside and the weather just claimed for a cool beer. For those among us who were pregnant, nursing, designated drivers or simply abstemious, they had put Clausthaler beers. Although I still prefer the real deal, they aren't half bad.
That was SO thoughtful of the bride and groom!
Ah, when I was pregnant, I became quite the NA beer connoseiur. It's certainly better than non-alcoholic wine that I was offered once! Blech.
A previous poster mentioned Clausthaler, and I heartily endorse their amber NA beer (they have a pale lager-style as well, but it's not nearly as good). It's as close to real beer as I've ever found -- good flavor and enough zing to feel real.
This. I'm 25 and came to the conclusion that I was drinking too much ever since college. I still wanted to enjoy beer while watching sports with my buddies, but didn't want the alcohol. NA beer is great. I can be better to my body and mind, and they still think I'm boozing it up with them. Pour it in a frosty beer mug and no one knows.