Dry January might be the most popular month for taking a break from alcohol, but Sober October is a close second. If you’re spending this month sans alcohol and you’re getting tired of simply drinking sparkling water, there are options aplenty, especially if you’re usually a beer drinker.
If you didn’t know it already, the non-alcoholic beer world has improved a lot in the last decade. When I first started writing about alcohol twenty years ago, I wrote an article where I taste-tested NA beers and the results were fairly brutal. While I won’t name the beers, pretty much all were fizzy, yellow, and at best fairly flavorless. In essence, they didn’t really taste like beer. That’s definitely not the same today. It’s a whole new world of non-alcoholic beer.
More choices than ever, brewers are crafting flavorful stouts, IPAs, lagers, and other styles so well-made you won’t even realize they have little to no alcohol. That’s why it’s one of the fastest-growing segments of the beer market.
Why drink non-alcoholic beers?
Besides simply enjoying the idea of partaking in something called “Sober October”, there are myriad reasons why someone would want to drink a non-alcoholic beer. First of all, they don’t drink alcohol for whatever reason. Secondly, they’d rather go at least a month without having to deal with the dreaded hangover.
Another reason is that they live a healthy lifestyle, and beer isn’t part of it. Non-alcoholic beers have fewer calories, less sugar, fewer carbohydrates, and some even have electrolytes and other healthy additions. All that, and they’re less than 0.5% ABV.
Speaking of health, cutting back on alcohol consumption is known to give you better sleep, help with brain function, and even lower anxiety.
Another reason is that it’s just time for a reset. Maybe you had a post-holiday reset, and now it’s time for another after all the summer revelry.
All in all, you don’t really need a reason to drink non-alcoholic beers. I’m not here to judge you for your likes or dislikes, or why you choose to eat or drink anything. I’m merely here to hopefully guide you towards some tasty, frosty NA beers. Let’s get going, shall we?
How I picked my NA beers
Like any beer style, selecting NA beers is all about balance and overall flavor. Sure, it’s a little different since they are more or less alcohol free. But as non-alcoholic beer quality has improved, there’s a lot more to choose from. Honestly, I’m looking for NA beers that taste as close to the real thing as possible,
The best NA beers to drink this sober October
Now that you’ve learned a little about the rise of non-alcoholic beers, why they are a better option, why someone might choose an NA beer, and what I look for, it’s time to add some to your fridge. Below, you’ll find my favorite NA beers to drink for sober October (and pretty much the rest of the year).
Deschutes Black Butte NA
If you enjoy porters, you’ll love Deschutes’ NA take on the classic style. This award-winning NA American porter is brewed with Dark Chocolate malt, wheat, 2-row malt, Carapils, and Crystal 75 malt. It gets its hop aroma and flavor from Cascade and Tettnang hops. The result is a memorable, well-rounded beer that opens with notes of roasted malt, dark chocolate, and lightly floral hops. The palate is centered on notes of freshly brewed coffee, dark chocolate, toffee, candied nuts, and lightly floral hops. The finish is creamy and smooth, ending with dry oak and roasted barley. This NA beer packs flavor, with only 110 calories per can and 0.5% ABV.
Guinness 0
On a crisp fall day, a well-poured pint of Guinness is hard to beat. But if you’re partaking in sober October, you’re going to want to crack open a Guinness 0. It’s made with the same ingredients as traditional Guinness Stout (water, malted barley, roasted barley, hops, and yeast). After brewing, they remove the alcohol through cold filtration. The result is an NA stout that still keeps the original’s beloved flavors. It starts with notes of roasted barley, fresh-brewed coffee, and dark chocolate. Sipping it reveals hints of roasted malts, coffee beans, dark chocolate, and candied nuts. The finish is creamy and rich, ending with roasted barley and a gentle caramel sweetness.
Bravus Pumpkin Dark
If the fall means pumpkin beers to you, there are non-alcoholic options. One of the best is Bravus Pumpkin Dark. This non-alcoholic pumpkin stout is brewed with malted barley, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger extract, natural flavors, select hops, and yeast. It’s only 0.5% ABV and 110 calories. It makes up for its low alcohol with flavor. It all starts with a nose of roasted pumpkins, cinnamon candy, nutmeg, cloves, roasted barley, chocolate, and other fall spices. Drinking it brings flavors of roasted barley, ginger candy, baking spices, sweet pumpkin, chocolate, coffee, and light hop bitterness. The finish blends baking spices, caramel sweetness, and ripe pumpkin. This is the perfect fall-flavored beer for a cold autumnal evening.
Samuel Adams NA Octoberfest
No fall non-alcoholic beer list is complete without an Oktoberfest beer. And while you certainly can’t go wrong with a can or two of classic Samuel Adams Octoberfest, did you know the popular brewery also makes a non-alcoholic version? Samuel Adams NA Octoberfest is a 0.5% ABV Märzen-style non-alcoholic lager. It’s brewed with Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Munich 10, Caramel 60, and Samuel Adams Octoberfest malt, and Sam Adams lager yeast. It gets added aroma and flavor from the liberal use of Tettnang Tettnanger and Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops. This results in a balanced, flavorful NA beer that starts with a nose of caramelized sugar, roasted malts, fresh-baked bread, honey, toffee, and floral Noble hops. The palate delivers fresh bread, caramelized sugar, roasted malts, and floral, earthy hops. The finish is medium-length and dry, ending with a mix of caramel malts and floral hops.
