I never thought I would see the day where I participated in the non-alcoholic (NA) beer market until… NOW! Reason #1 – I’m pregnant. I never had my finger on the pulse of NA beer and always thought it was just O’Douls or Becks. I don’t really like beers like Bud, Heineken and Becks to begin with so why would I start now? I tried to have an open mind one day as I nervously crept down the NA beer aisle at the liquor store. After all, people would see I was pregnant so I had nothing to be ashamed of?
The first thing I found was something I had never heard of. WHAT?! They make NA IPA!! IPA!! I can have an IPA! I admit my expectations were low, but I had to try it. Who was this company – Partake Brewing? I better buy all of their beer to sample them all. I walked with a little more spring in my step to the register with a Stout, a Pale Ale, and an IPA in my cart.
What was the verdict?
That was just the beginning. After heading down to NM (I live in Canada where options are limited and we don’t have Total Wine!), I was beyond delighted to see a huge aisle of non-alcoholic craft beer. It was like being a kid in a candy shop. “These are… ALL…. non-alcoholic craft beer?!” I exclaimed to my husband with delight. “We better get a cart!” It was filled with a variety of beer to try and we wheeled it to the check-out, happy customers as we hurriedly headed home to sample our loot.
When I’m no longer pregnant (in just a few weeks!), I will still be drinking some of these beers. Reducing alcohol consumption is something I committed to a couple years ago for health reasons (there is a lot of research linking alcohol to cancer). I love that I can drink these and feel no guilt, not worry about health consequences, and not feel bad. I have a very low tolerance, so having a beer during the day or after a ride has simply never been an option for me. I’m excited that I found these so I can enjoy a post-ride beer or “day drink!”
Brewery Line-Up:
Bottom line- my favorites worth buying
- Surreal Hazy IPA
- Bravus Oatmeal Stout
- Partake Pale Ale
- Partake Stout
- Athletic Brewing IPA
- Surrreal Porter
- Hairless Dog IPA* (* because one batch we got was really good and the second batch was inconsistent and tasted sweet, so no promised)
The IPAs
The Darker Brews
Here are a few specific tasting notes.
Well-Being Brewery: Coffee Cream Brew
- Nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves
- Chemical flavor
- Holiday beers or pumpkin beers
- Lactose in it (not plant-based)
- I did not like it
- Matt liked it, I did not like it
- Formaldehyde taste
- Good mouth feel
- Malty flavor – not very piney
- Good bitterness
- Good Nose
- light mouth feel
- I liked it
- 80 cal
- Licorice flavor
- I thought it was average, but worth trying
- Mild but great flavor
- I liked it
- Dark chocolate and coffee flavor
- I liked it, but a little chemically.
- Didn’t take notes, but really did not like it!
- Really great stout flavor: smoky, coffee some sweetness
- Strong flavors
- good mouth feel
- Favorite stout, but higher calorie for an NA beer : 110 calories
Partake IPA, Partake Pale Ale, Partake Lager
- Both are great and pretty similar.
- IPA is very hoppy, Pale Ale is slightly less hoppy, lager is very mildly hopped
- IBUs don’t seem to match how bitter they actually taste (and I LOVE bitter IPAs!)
- All very low calorie (10 calories)
- I mentioned above inconsistency between batches. This may be my fault. I bought some an drank it in NM. I bought the next batch in Washington, left it in the car at night (a cold night), drove 5 hours with it in my roof box- so it’s possible something happened to it.
- We both really liked the first batch and I really did not like the second batch -it was really sweet. I can’t give an objective answer because of the variability, but it’s worth trying!
- Very smoky
- A little bitter
- I like it a lot!
- 10 calories