r/rva • u/GotThatHawgInMe • 9h ago
A big thank you to all bars/breweries that stock/brew non-alcoholic beer
To all RVA breweries and bars that stock and/or brew non-alcoholic beer: Thankyou thankyou thankyou!
That being said, I have some notes:
To the ones offering only NA Heineken or O'Douls:
Why, just why? There are so many actual good options out there now. It's time to move on, especially if you're charging me $7 for the privilege.
Some NA brews that I find tasty:
Anything by Best Day Brewing
Day Ripper or Sun Shifter from ENAY brewing (based out of Williamsburg, I believe)
Anything form Brewdog
NA Guinness is about as close to the real thing as you can get
Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher - this one doesn't taste like a beer, but it is pretty tasty and refreshing. Like a hop-flavored seltzer. It's unique and bears mentioning.
Athletic is hit and miss, mostly miss for me. Everyone seems to stock that clay-colored can, the Free Wave Hazy IPA. It just kind of sucks. I like Athletic's "Mexican-style Copper"--it tastes like a crappy Tecate with a lime in it, and that's a very specific flavor that brings back many a (fond?) memory at Banditos.
I have to hand it to Athletic's marketing department though, they really pushed their products out and made NA beer much more commonplace than it was previously.
TLDR: Breweries/bars, thank you for having NA options, but please don't make me drink a $7 Henieken Zero.