What’s the Best Non-Alcoholic Alternative to an Ice Cold Beer at the End of the Day?
The flavor of beer is rich and complex and I can’t think of anything to replace the experience of beer.
If it helps, I actually like fruity beer, something sweet but with still some bitterness and that complex flavor I can’t describe that most good beers have.
Why not a softdrink or a root beer? It’s just not the same, it’s like a different branch from beer.
A fat fucken glass of cold water.
Chilled water is definitely the way
Ice cold non-alcoholic beer, perhaps?
NA beers can be great. Lagunitas sells a Hop Water that’s pretty good too - very light though. And most high-quality ginger beers pack a lot of flavor.
Athletic makes some great NA beers too. Everything from a light lager like you’d expect from something like a bud light all the way up to NA stouts.
For a long time I was in the “Non alcoholic beer can never replace real beer” camp. But in the last few years they’ve come a long way … and now you can buy low or no alcohol craft beers that are actually quite good.
Ginger Beer with lime is fantastic.
Hop Water is insanely good. Like a citrusy, slightly bitter seltzer and usually cheaper than any NA beer that’s worth drinking. It’s quite a bit more money than any store brand seltzer though (which I would’ve recommended otherwise in either grapefruit or mango flavors for basically the same reason).
I agree. Really hits the spot sometimes!
At least here in Europa NA beers have improved wo much in the last few years. I literally don’t know when I last drank one with alcohol when I just felt like drinking a beer (as opposed to when I wanted to drink alcohol).
And since OP likes it fruity, (NA) Radler/Shandy is just great. It’s 50:50 (NA) beer and lemon soda mixed. This was one of the original ways to get a fruity beer with a lower alcohol content (since the soda doesn’t have any) when NA beers weren’t good yet, great for a hot summer day.
As someone who used to have a pretty bad drinking problem, NA beers have gotten so good in the past few years. Heineken zeros are almost indistinguishable from normal ones and craft NAs have also gotten pretty good. Even though I’m not “fully sober” I mix in some non alcoholic beers if it’s going to be a long night to help pace myself.
Yup. There should be a couple where you normally buy alcohol. Check out middle eastern grocery stores too. Mine has a wide range of NA beers.
Non alcoholic beats have gotten so good with the proliferation of reverse osmosis distilling! The previous methods ruined it.
I’d like to try getting a small reverse osmosis pump such as for survival desalination, and try doing small batch dealcoholising for more variety of wine. I’m sober now and I’m grateful for my options, but I was really into exploring before.
Try a good quality kombucha. Ice cold and carbonated they have a very similar bite/finish to a lot of beers. Most have sweet notes but are low sugar.
Doesn’t kombucha have a bit of alcohol as well?
Technically yes but it’s around .5% or less which is the same as most non alcoholic beers
They sell both kinds.
I’ve never made it myself but home made kombucha is beautiful! Not as sweet as the store bought stuff, bit of a process though
My first thought. Has to be the most complex least alcoholic drink.
It might be worth a try to get into tea!
(Loose leaf tea, not tea bags, the quality is usually better and you get a greater selection and much more diversity.)
There are so many different flavours and types, find out which ones you like.
If it helps, I actually like fruity beer, something sweet but with still some bitterness and that complex flavor I can’t describe that most good beers have.
Talk to the tea seller, they should be able to help you find something. It might also be a good idea to start with a small quantity of different tea types, just to see which suits you best (but keep in mind that there might still be a lot of variety for each type): black/white/green/fruit/herbal/…
Personally on a hot day, I like cold brewed black tea with some fruity additions (orange/peach/bergamot/roses or whatever mix I find that I haven’t tried yet). I don’t add sugar (sometimes a bit of honey, but that only works when hot brewing) because that way I smell the light bitterness of the black tea better, which I like. It sounds like that could also be your thing. Another combination I frequently do is Rooibos + Hibiscus (mixing it myself, about 1/3 or less, by weight, of Hibiscus).
Experiment with cold brewing, or just regular brewing then icing. And in winter you might drink it hot.
Keep in mind, the taste is not at all like beer, but as written above it can have the same properties.
Don’t stop when you don’t like your first one, try another one, or try to prepare it differently.
Your comment made me crave for a cuppa. I’ll make something green.
I find tea to be a great solution to this as well! I have a gong fu set, and learning about the complexities and trying different types is really great. I’m a huge coffee nerd and I’ve also always loved beer but have been cutting back significantly on the latter. Coffee would fit the bill perfectly except that it’s too high in caffeine content - and a good decaf that fits what i’m looking for is hard to come by.
enter tea! It’s perfect. Much lighter caffeine content so it’s perfect to enjoy in the early evening. And there’s so much complexity and rich history to learn about in the process which feeds the beverages nerd in me lol.
when i quit drinking, i had a hard time finding something that scratched that itch. the thing i found, that a few other recovering alcoholics ive met like, is Topo Chico. they have a hard seltzer or something, but the mineral water is fantastic. when its nice and cold, it has the same bite as a fresh beer. the beauty is, you can drink as much as you want, its just water.
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A nice joint, or two.
I have my own fun little twist on this: three joints.
can we get four, anyone? anyone?
gillette be like… “the heck with that, we’re doing five joints!”
Five joints, a moisturising strip on the rizla, and a rotating sphere to match the roach to the contours of your face
Wait till you hear mine: three joints and a pipe
I some two joints before I smoke two joints, and then I smoke two more.
panic attack
Weed went and got too damn strong and nobody wants to sell anything below like 19% THC.
grow your own! If you want low thc you don’t even really have to care for it. Just throw some seeds jn a green space and bob’s your uncle.
One or two bowls on a dry herb vape.
30 minutes of high intensity cardio and a cold shower.
The idea to drink something to wind down comes from the effect of alcohol, trying to recreate the effect with non-alcoholic drinks won’t work.
Alcohol does have an effect, as everyone will attest, but there is also an effect to arriving home, cracking open a cold drink, and relaxing for a while. It may not work for all, of course.
I have a NA beer that tastes almost identical to its alcoholic brother, and there are definitely similar results from a single beer…
The good thing with the NA version is that I sleep better and can snap myself out of the relaxed state if needed. It also makes it possible to mix & match at social events, so that I don’t over-do it.
Yep. I reserve specific sodas for those occasions, for exactly this reason. I’ve trained my lizard brain i relax as soon as that exact cola opening sound hits my ears. It’s silly, but it works.
It’s the whole ritual that makes it so special. How about a tea ceremony?
Tea would be healthier but alas, I want something cold in hot weather!
300-500ml of beer will rehydrate you faster than 300-500ml of water.
Water
I still miss the waterremoveds sub from “that site”
Sparkling Water with Limo Slice and some Ice Cubes Slaps wuth Glas Straw
Theres a whole world of NA beer and mocktails.
Sparkling water is the base ingredient. Throw in a little bit of juice, tea, and/or kombucha. And if you aren’t completely avoiding alcohol, a dash of bitters or amaro will give the drink that final complexity.
Hop tea and hop water are now a thing too.
I like to mix some fruit juice into seltzer. It’s nice to have something bubbly and it’s more refreshing than just drinking straight juice. Juice is too strong! I can’t do full strength!
A tiny bit of sugar free cordial is my go to, mainly as it gives it a hint of flavour without diluting the bubbles too much!
I’m drinking cranberry juice and seltzer rn
Iced tea.
both me and my wife has quit drinking and just have tea all day.
so much better.
Ice cold lemon water and some pot ingestion
Arnold Palmer
Agreed. For anyone unfamiliar - that’s a mix of lemonade and iced tea.
My family made homemade lemonade today while I was outside working all morning and it was delicious. It’s not a common occurrence, but it just hit the spot today.
I switched from from beer to flavored carbonated water. This was 18 years ago though and the options were pretty limited back then. Mostly it was just artificially sweetened garbage. I’d rather just have a club soda and add my own fruit or juice to taste. But these days it’s just easier to buy Polar or whatever.
Highly recommend a soda stream, or soda stream alternative. My go to is 4 or 5 drops of lime juice in a glass, then the carbonated water. Tastes identical to the canned stuff, but way cheaper (and maybe less preservatives? Idk if the canned water has anything besides fruit juice and water)
I also occasionally like root beer if I’m eating something junky like a pizza slice or burger. I bought a bag in a box of syrup from the small root beer brand I enjoy, and can make my own for a few cents instead of a few bucks per bottle. Plus, I can control the concentration depending on how sweet my sweet tooth is feeling that day
Same for me. Lots of great options for sparkling water these days. I prefer it to soda.
A Sodastream with a bulk tank and adapter is righteous. I love my set-up and it’s about as basic as It gets. Then flavoring and sweetness are totally customizable according to the user. Full disclosure: I’m diabetic so the sweetener/lack of is key for me.
Do you have a hard time charging your tanks? Mine only get about half full - little better if i put them in the freezer for awhile.
I have a bulk tank that holds 15# of CO2 and a hose from it to the fitting where the small tank attaches. It’s just so much more economical. I get it refilled at a fire extinguisher shop.
You have no problem filling the little ones? Mine only fill about half way and i can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. I get my big tank filled at the keg store.
The adapter connects my bulk tank directly to the Sodastream. No small tanks at all.
Ohhhh. Got it.
I have a soda stream but not a bulk adapter. I don’t want to clutter up the counter space since we use it to entertain (it’s open to the living space). I really wish there were more options for flavors though.
It’s aggravating because soda water costs more than cola but has less ingredients and all comes from the same bottling plant.
