Best Non Alcoholic Beers for Dry January

Beer lovers, rejoice! If you’re doing alcohol-free this January, there are a plethora of excellent non-alcoholic beer options to choose from. Here are some of our favourites!

Best Overall Non-Alcoholic Craft Beer Brand

Libra is a small PEI craft brewery making several styles of n/a beer. Their Pale Ale is a perfect dupe for a high-end craft beer, and their Hazy IPA is a juicy, slightly hoppy brew that is as close to a real craft beer as you can get. Their Pilsner and Stout are excellent options for people who like those styles.

Buy It From: Libra Flagship Pack From: Amazon.ca ($64.95)

Best Big Brewer Grocery Store Pick: Clausthaler Dry Hopped

In 1972, Clausthaler was on a mission to create “the world’s first tasteful non-alcoholic beer.” The German brewery came up with an innovative brewing process that stops fermentation just before the alcohol begins to develop – a process many non-alcoholic brewers are using today.

Clausthaler Dry Hopped looks, smells, and tastes like beer. Period! Pouring an amber golden colour, it lands in that hearty hoppy citrus category familiar to lovers of IPA, balanced with a nice malty caramel character.

Pair the Dry Hopped with burgers, sausages, sticky ribs, tacos – basically, anything that can compete on equal footing with this beer’s bold character profile.

Sold in 6-pack of 355ml cans. Available at almost all nationwide grocery chains.

Best Big Brewer Import: Erdinger Alkoholfrei

From the brewery that brews the most wheat beer in the world comes Erdinger Alkoholfrei, a full-bodied, straw yellow, aromatic wheat beer with a twist – it’s marketed as a post-sports / workout recovery drink with minerals, vitamins, and carbohydrates.

Alkoholfrei has a velvety malty sweetness with a hint of spice and pronounced carbonation. It’s not cloudy or as hearty as a regular wheat beer but does have the flavour profile you expect with notes of bread and banana with a balanced bitterness and fruity acidity.

Normally, a wheat beer can cut through fried foods but in the case of Alkoholfrei try a chicken salad, sushi, fresh cheeses, butternut squash soup, or a creamy risotto after you get your sweat on.

Sold in 6-bottle cases.

Best Non-Alcoholic Craft Beer Options

(Available Through Online Non-Alcoholic Retailers in Canada)

Best Non-Alcoholic Pilsner

Nonny is a crisp Czech Pilsner from British Columbia’s Nonny Beer. It's a refreshing pale lager that pours golden in colour with a thick foamy head that lasts longer than most non-alc beers. Look for light toasted notes and mild honey with piney-citrus hop aromas all ending with a clean bitterness.

Best Non-Alcoholic Wheat Beer (Small brewery)

One For The Road is an Alberta-based brewery. Their wheat beer is a fan fave here. You'll taste typical bready/doughy notes right upfront and it's balanced with some citrus sweetness, and a crisp finish. There's a perfect light lingering bitterness which kind of disappears behind a slightly sweeter end which is really enjoyable.

Buy It From: AFBev.ca $13.99/4-pack

Best Non-Alcoholic Pale Ale

The Harmon’s Jack Pine Non-Alcoholic Pale Ale is making waves as craft beer lovers experience this tasty and very complex non-alcoholic craft beer. Harmon’s Pale Ale is a medium-bodied ale, with a nice balance of citrus and piney notes, with very little caramel or maltiness. It’s got a nice heavy mouthfeel, and drinks just like a full octane beer.

Buy from: Harmons.com