EatLeadCommie
Tommy Elrod
The wife and I have started to test out the world of non-alcoholic beverages. I have found after enough years of parenting now that I am rarely drunk anymore (if I am, it's usually during football season), and pace myself enough to where my buzz is slight most of the time. So it's not the drunkenness or buzziness that I feel an attachment to (and definitely not the hangovers, which are ten times worse as you get older and completely incompatible with parenting), but rather the whole ritual of sitting down and having a drink. And with that in mind, I have delved into the NA beer world.
My observations are as follows...
Guinness is far and away the best one I've found so far. It has the same taste and feel/weight of the real product. Very impressed.
Peroni. Having my first one now. Tastes like a Peroni to me. I will say that Peroni normally has kind of a bite and funk to it that is probably helpful in masking what is sometimes that NA bite and funk, but it's hard to tell if that's going on here.
Becks. Didn't care for it too much. A bit too funky. Had the weight to it though.
Coors Edge. Tastes like a shitty Coors. Coors is fine when it's 100 degrees out, but this didn't move the needle for me.
Heineken. Didn't much care for it and doesn't help that it feels like I'm drinking a Red Bull with that skinny can. Not bad if you like Heineken I guess.
Clausthaler Original. I like this one. It has its own kind of funk, but when there were no other NA options around other than O'Douls, it was the only one that was drinkable. The funk to me gives it a unique aftertaste, but one you get used to. And again, the weight of it in the mouth feels like a beer.
Shiner Rode0. Really liked this one and was surprised. It will be my go-to lawnmowing brew. Seems pretty perfect for that purpose. It is more of a golden type beer and not a bock. Shiner makes a lot of beers these days, but their bock is what is mostly sold outside of Texas.
Athletic Brewing Extra Dark. Didn't like it at all. Tasted like stout flavored water. A good example of an NA beer that lacks "the weight" of a beer.
Athletic Brewing Upside Dawn. Didn't like it either. Same issue with the Athletic stout and sickeningly sweet, almost like a cocktail or a soda. Of course my wife liked it.
Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA. Lukewarm on this. I don't care for IPAs, but it didn't just taste like IPA flavored water to me at least. If you like IPAs, it seems like a reasonable alternative.
I've never been big into liquor so I don't have anything to review there. The wife purchased some NA bourbon, but of course it has none of the bite or burn of the real deal. I think that the NA liquors have gotta be strictly for mocktails, but maybe I'm mistaken. I don't see much need for that unless maybe I feel like a margarita with some Mexican food.
My observations are as follows...
Guinness is far and away the best one I've found so far. It has the same taste and feel/weight of the real product. Very impressed.
Peroni. Having my first one now. Tastes like a Peroni to me. I will say that Peroni normally has kind of a bite and funk to it that is probably helpful in masking what is sometimes that NA bite and funk, but it's hard to tell if that's going on here.
Becks. Didn't care for it too much. A bit too funky. Had the weight to it though.
Coors Edge. Tastes like a shitty Coors. Coors is fine when it's 100 degrees out, but this didn't move the needle for me.
Heineken. Didn't much care for it and doesn't help that it feels like I'm drinking a Red Bull with that skinny can. Not bad if you like Heineken I guess.
Clausthaler Original. I like this one. It has its own kind of funk, but when there were no other NA options around other than O'Douls, it was the only one that was drinkable. The funk to me gives it a unique aftertaste, but one you get used to. And again, the weight of it in the mouth feels like a beer.
Shiner Rode0. Really liked this one and was surprised. It will be my go-to lawnmowing brew. Seems pretty perfect for that purpose. It is more of a golden type beer and not a bock. Shiner makes a lot of beers these days, but their bock is what is mostly sold outside of Texas.
Athletic Brewing Extra Dark. Didn't like it at all. Tasted like stout flavored water. A good example of an NA beer that lacks "the weight" of a beer.
Athletic Brewing Upside Dawn. Didn't like it either. Same issue with the Athletic stout and sickeningly sweet, almost like a cocktail or a soda. Of course my wife liked it.
Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA. Lukewarm on this. I don't care for IPAs, but it didn't just taste like IPA flavored water to me at least. If you like IPAs, it seems like a reasonable alternative.
I've never been big into liquor so I don't have anything to review there. The wife purchased some NA bourbon, but of course it has none of the bite or burn of the real deal. I think that the NA liquors have gotta be strictly for mocktails, but maybe I'm mistaken. I don't see much need for that unless maybe I feel like a margarita with some Mexican food.
