3 Great Alcohol-free Beers for St. Patrick’s Day

cELEBRATE sT. pATS Alcohol-Free

My top drink picks to add to your celebrations this year.

I wasn’t a huge beer drinker before I started rethinking drinking. What I’ve discovered since is beer is the rockstar of the alcohol-free world. For whatever reason, the innovation and quality of alcohol-free (AF) beer in relation to wine, is light years ahead. 

St. Pat’s Day is approaching, and I think with the quality of AF beer available, it is absolutely possible to raise a toast and not even miss the alcohol. You won’t miss your hangover either! 

My disclaimer here is there are so many new beers on the market, I haven’t tried even a fraction of them (this is also not a sponsored post - all opinions are my own!). 

Here’s to your healthy swap for March 17: 

Photo & Food Styling: Lara Berry, @Savourberry

GRUVI Alcohol-Free Stout

Gruvi Stout - it wouldn’t be St. Pat’s without the eponymous Guinness on the tab! I tried a few other AF stouts and this was the clear winner. Gruvi’s Stout is a comparable option if you like that style of beer. Guinness isn’t actually a stout, it’s a porter, but close enough for me! This will go perfectly with your corned beef and cabbage, or Irish stew. 

Photo & Food Styling: Lara berry, @savourberry

Gruve Alcohol-free Pale Ale

Gruvi Pale Ale - this is my new top pick for AF beer. It is absolutely a dead ringer for a full-alcohol pale ale, and a great option if you aren’t typically a huge beer drinker like me. It’s crisp and flavourful, with light pine and citrus notes. Perfect for any occasion!

Erdinger Alkoholfrei Wheat Beer

Photo & Food styling: Lara Berry, @savourberry

Erdinger is a big beer brand from Germany, and unlike the two Gruvi beers, their alkoholfrei version is 0.45% alcohol - just under the 0.5% requirement to be considered non-alcoholic. I don’t usually like to promote AF beers made by traditional breweries, since it’s just bolstering the alcohol side of the business, but this AF beer goes down so smooth it’s really hard to hate. The sweet bread malty palate is soft, and slightly tart. It’s brewed with both wheat and barley, which gives it a complexity that some other AF beers don’t have. I found it easy not to miss the alcohol!  

Other Contenders

The best alcohol-free beer on the market is called Run Wild IPA by Athletic Brewing Company. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to order them in time for this review, so you’ll have to assume it is good! You can order it online at athleticbrewingcompany.ca or through soberdry.com.

Where to Buy Them

Both Gruvi beers are available online direct from Gruvi for those in the U.S. as well as a variety of other retailers. In Canada, you can find Gruvi at well.ca or soberdry.com online, and at Rowe Farms, Mercatto, Fiesta Farms, Cocktail Emporium and many more in Toronto. Click here to find a local Gruvi retailer. 

Erdinger is available all over the US - use their beer finder here. In Canada, it’s available at the SAQ, LCBO, The Beer Store and grocery stores across the country. 

Slainte!