One more drink? Just say Noh
/An attractive Canadian blonde ale for health-conscious consumers
With a few exceptions, beer has never been considered a health drink.
In medieval Europe, women and children drank table beer, a low percentage, sometimes unfiltered brew — porridge-like, even — because they were more likely to get sick from drinking unsanitary water.
In the mid-20th century, Irish doctors recommended that pregnant and nursing women drink Guinness because it was thought to be high in iron.
Yet to this day the jury's still out on whether even NON-alcoholic beer can be considered healthy.
Nevertheless, NA brewers continue to try to make the case by supplementing their products with vitamins, minerals, and more.
Corona adds vitamin D to its non-alcoholic Sunbrew — and a warning on the label not to consume more than two bottles per day. (Why no daily limit on the alcoholic version?). Tuesday Brewing in Calgary adds vitamins C and D to their Freebomb Pale Ale. And Muskoka Brewery-owned Rally Beer Co. adds "electrolytes" (ahem, sea salts) to their Free Run Pale Ale.
I don't know if these ingredients actually make the products any healthier, and I'm not convinced the people who brew them do either. But it sure makes them easier to market to health-conscious consumers.
The latest entrant in the non-alcoholic-beer-as-a-health-product category is Calgary's The Noh Co Blonde Ale.
Their flagship beer — a blonde ale — is brewed with organic lion's mane and reishi mushrooms, and L-Theanine, an amino acid derived from green tea that's touted to reduce stress, improve mood, and maintain normal sleep.
These ingredients give the beer "an added health and brain boost," according to their website.
The Noh Co Blonde Ale comes in an eye-catching can that wouldn't look out of place in the cooler at trendsetting craft breweries like East Vancouver's Superflux and Port Moody's Twin Sails.
True to its name, the beer pours a lovely straw blonde with a hint of haze, likely from the added wheat. A light white head dissipates into a faint, fruity aroma (kiwi?). Perhaps because it was the last non-alcoholic American-style blonde ale I drank, but the flavour reminded me of Athletic Brewing's Upside Dawn Blonde/Golden Ale. There was a tinge more bitterness than I expected (courtesy of Magnum, Centennial, Amarillo, and Citra hops), but it wasn't unpleasant.
The tasting notes suggest "hints of vanilla, spices, fruity flavours and a little malty sweetness." I didn't detect any vanilla or spice, and any sweetness was overpowered by the hops.
Still, it was full-bodied and very enjoyable. As one reviewer commented on their website, it's hard to believe there are any supplemental ingredients — the final product truly "tastes like the real deal."
While I can't claim that I experienced any mind- or mood-altering effects, I do look forward to seeing what Noh Co. brews up next. Who knows, a few more offerings like this, and maybe they'll tip the scales on non-alcoholic beer finally being accepted as healthy.
Liam Ford, Contributor
Liam is a poet, writer, and editor with a decade of experience as a bartender under his belt. His mission? To find an alcohol-free craft beer that satisfies his craving for hops.
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