Falling for these non-alcoholic beers

Thank you to AFBev.ca and Harmon's Non Alcoholic Craft Beer for providing samples of all the below beers.

Moving from the crisp and clean non-alcoholic beers of summer to the heartier styles of fall is always fun for any beer enthusiast. With the multitude of offerings in the non alcoholic space now, you can reach for toastier lagers and ales, or perhaps an amber, red, or brown ale with a solid malty backbone. Or head to the spicery side with some pumpkin brews. Maybe a trusty for-all-seasons bold IPA is your thing. Or, perhaps this is your chance to dip your toes in the velvety waters of a stout as the weather starts getting downright cold.

All the styles showcased this time around are ready to warm you up as the barometer starts to drop. On the fall shopping list, we have a few options from British Columbia’s Central City Brewers + Distillers, Toronto’s Harmon’s Craft Brewing, and across the waters to the North Sea Scotland’s Brewdog (via the U.S.), and Denmark’s Mikkeller microbrewery.

Central City Brewers Street Legal one of Canada’s first non alcoholic craft beers

First up, a few from Central City Brewers + Distillers’ Red Racer ‘Street Legal’ series, the company’s dealcoholized beer offerings. Street Legal was one of Canada’s first non alcoholic craft beers, when is was launched several years ago. Their non-alcoholic beers are traditionally brewed before having the alcohol removed, dropping the ABV down to 0.5%.

Pouring golden in colour, the Street Legal Pale Ale captures the style perfectly. It’s medium-bodied, a bit sweet with the mild bready malt flavours and puckering hops you’ve come to associate with a good pale ale.

The Street Legal Mango Wheat Ale is a smooth, velvety beer worth picking up. It has all the robustness of a wheat ale and, in this case, a sweet mango essence that punches up the tropical flavours.

And finally, the Street Legal Nitro Stout. Honestly, most non-alcoholic stouts don’t keep up with what the style is like, which is dark and hearty with a powerfully foamy head. Stouts have a noticeably toasty flavour, which picks up on the bitter hops. This Nitro Stout captures the spirit of the style nicely with notes of dark chocolate throughout.

Harmon’s Non Alcoholic Craft Beer moves from hazy to harvest

Next on the cracking-can list are from the crew at Harmon’s Craft Brewing who have brewed two very traditional fall beers as an add on to their Hazy IPA, Jack Pine IPA and Lager styles.

First, we have the False Start Marzen. It pours a burnt orange with notes of orange biscuits and a bubbly head that disappears quickly. It’s a classic smooth German amber lager with a slightly sweet maltiness and a subtle hop character.

On to their Harvest Ale, which pours a light amber with a very nice citrus zest character and a crisp finish. A harvest ale is not a defined style of beer per se, but those brewed at this time of year are tied to the fall harvest and are often unique seasonal beers. Harmon’s Harvest Ale is definitely one to pick up.

BrewDog Non Alcoholic Craft Beer

Founded in 2007, Scotland’s BrewDog brewery touts itself as the "#1 Craft Brewer in Europe". From their Ohio, U.S. facility first up is their Hazy AF. Pouring a very hazy yellowy-orange with pronounced notes of citrus – any kind you want, but grapefruit is the strongest. It’s a very juicy New England style IPA, with lots of mouth-puckering from the hops.

Ghost Walker is a collaboration between BrewDog and American heavy metal band Lamb of God. This is a complex brew that’s very hop-forward with lots of tropical notes as well as hints of grass and pine. There’s also a nice mellow sweetness from the malt that brings the various flavour profiles together.

This Danish non alcoholic beer is definitely not a tragedy

And finally, two from Denmark’s Mikkeller microbrewery. Founded in 2006 in Copenhagen, the company originally partnered with other breweries to produce their standard beer recipes and one-off brews.

Weird Weather is a New England style hazy IPA with a perfect description: “You never know how the weather is going to be… But you can always have a Weird Weather beer and say that it made your day…” It pours full-bodied and hazy with floral, grassy and piney notes and a pronounced bitterness.

The IPA was so good, a can of Henry & His Science was immediately cracked. This brew sits squarely in the experimental zone with a non-alcoholic producing yeast strain perfectly suited for brewing this ‘microbiologically flavoured ale’. Not sure what that means, but you get pronounced notes of passionfruit and tropical aromas from the yeast.

When considering fall beers, food pairings match the warmth of the beers. Yes, each non-alcoholic beer style has some unique food pairing options, but in general they all go well with hearty fall fare like stews, roasted chicken and sausage as well as spicy curries, and warm salads with mixed roasted vegetables. They are also great to pair with pub foods like burgers, wings, and fries. On the sweet side of things, you could always try a butter tart, pumpkin pie or with the stout go for a slice of chocolate cake.

Antoine Tedesco,
Contributor, Alcohol-free Beer & Cider

Antoine brings his love of food and life to Some Good Clean Fun’s beer and cider reviews. From journalism to government to charities and non-profits, Antoine’s passion is telling compelling and impactful stories. He loves anything that makes his taste buds smile and his ears dance.