26 Best Nonalcoholic Beers That Taste Like the Real Thing

Overdoing it on beer was too easy as the pandemic and pugnacious politics upended the last several years. Cold IPAs were accessible salves for frayed nerves. One could quickly lead to two, four, or more—today’s stress relief bringing tomorrow’s hangover. But in a world off its axis, people are increasingly looking to assert control when it comes to drinking. There’s a real trend toward abstaining from alcohol and moderating intake. Luckily, that no longer means giving up great-tasting beer.

Brooklyn Lager Enters the Men’s Journal Craft Beer Hall of Fame (3:06)

“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.

Related: The 50 Best Beers in the World

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.)

28 Nonalcoholic Beers That Taste Like the Real Thing Good Times IPA Good Times IPA

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The newly-launched Good Times IPA from New York is among our favorite hop-forward nonalcoholic beers. The brewers behind Good Times 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.

Wolters Pilsener 0.0 Wolters Pilsener 0.0

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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 Sierra Nevada Trail Pass IPA

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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 Karbach Free and Easy NA IPA

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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 0 Non-Alcoholic Draught

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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 Sober Carpenter Non-Alcoholic West Coast IPA

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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 Untitled Art Non-Alcoholic Italian Pilsner

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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 Hefeweissbier Alkoholfrei

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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 Al’s Classic Non-Alcoholic Lager

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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 Brewery Special Effects IPA

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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 Wellbeing Heavenly Body

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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 Brewing Co. Non-Alcoholic American IPA

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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 Company Upside Dawn Golden Ale

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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 Suntory All-Free

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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 Lagunitas Brewing Company IPNA

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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 Samuel Adams Just the Haze IPA

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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 Ceria Brewing Company Grainwave

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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.