u/HashtagStache

Another one from my German order.
Franziskaner really nailed this one.
It pours extremely hazy and has a genuinely full body, with plenty of classic wheat beer character. Banana, spice, grainy wheat—it’s all there.

The interesting part is that I’m struggling to identify the “main” flavor. And I mean that as a compliment.
The banana doesn’t dominate. The spice doesn’t dominate. The wheat doesn’t dominate. It’s not overly sweet. It’s not worty. There’s no single flavor I can dramatically point to and write three paragraphs about.
Very inconsiderate beer for a review.

Instead, everything just works together. Full-flavored, satisfying, and pleasingly drinkable. It tastes like the goal was simply to make a really good wheat beer rather than to make an NA beer with some clever trick to cover up what’s missing. Probably the most balanced NA wheat beer I’ve tried. It’s also the most full bodied and satisfyingly weighty of any NA I’ve had.

I kept looking for something to complain about and eventually ran out of beer.

That said, Weihenstephaner will scratch this itch and no special orders from Germany required.

Augustinerbräu München Alkoholfrei Hell made a nice companion to some football yesterday.

First thing I noticed was the body. A solid medium, which immediately makes it feel more substantial than a lot of NA lagers. The nose is excellent too. It genuinely has that fermented, almost slightly alcoholic beer aroma rather than smelling like wort.

Flavor-wise, I get cereal grain and a bit of that soft malt character, but there’s also a surprisingly noticeable citrus element. To me it comes across as pithy grapefruit — slightly bitter, slightly zesty — and it gives the beer a character I wasn’t expecting. While not really citrusy, it reminds me of Sierra Nevada’s Golden NA in some aspects.

Carbonation is right where I want it, the finish is pretty clean, and most importantly, it tastes fully fermented. No obvious “carbonated wort” character here. Medium-bodied, grainy, citrusy, clean, and actually tastes like finished beer.

I would buy again. Would I place a special order from Germany? Probably not.

Has anyone else tried this and if so, any thoughts? I read somewhere that Augustinerbrau is a favorite among Bavarian locals.

Just tried Tsingtao’s Non-Alcoholic White Beer and this is fantastic.

It reminds me a lot of Weihenstephaner NA which i like, but honestly, I like this better. It has that classic German style wheat beer character, but with a slightly fuller body and noticeably more banana flavor. That was always the thing I wanted more of from Weihenstephaner, and Tsingtao delivers it.

Soft, wheaty, full-bodied for an NA, with a really nice banana note and no issues with thinness. I have also had age issues with Weihenstaphaner. When I find a more recent batch, its great. When it's older, it is much more bland, maybe even a tad sour. This batch of Tsingtao is from July 2026, and also comes in a can which I think preserves more of the flavor.

This one seriously surprised me. If you like Weihenstephaner NA, Erdinger NA, or just want an NA wheat beer with actual banana character, I highly recommend hunting this one down. I was able to find this on an online Asian store called Yami.

Happy to see the NA’s selling. They were clean out of Dark & Gourdy and Best Day variety pack.

Found some interesting NA’s during recent travel to the west/midwest. Both found at Walmart.

Shiner Bock NA

This is an enticing beer in the glass. Lovely dark caramel color with a khaki head, although unfortunately the head dissipates pretty quickly.

The aroma is malt, and that’s also the story of the flavor. It’s very malt-forward. Mostly just a nice, straightforward malt character, with maybe something slightly floral in there as well.

I appreciate what Shiner is doing with this one because it fills a spot that still seems somewhat empty in the NA market. There aren’t nearly as many malt-forward, darker NAs as there are IPAs, golden ales, and pale lagers. It also doesn’t really remind me of Athletic Copper, which was what I was expecting going in.

The biggest weakness is the body. It’s okay, but a little thin, and I think it’s slightly too effervescent. More heft and slightly softer carbonation would do a lot for this beer.

The good news is that it’s clean. I didn’t get any major NA off-flavors. There’s a slight wort note on the back end, but nothing particularly distracting.

Overall, I’d drink it again. This is a new release, so I’d be interested to see where Shiner takes it. Give this a little more body and I think they could have something really tasty.

Boulevard Space Camper NA IPA

This one impressed me.
It pours a bright, cloudy yellow and has a surprisingly creamy mouthfeel. The body is solid, lighter side of medium, and the carbonation is pretty much exactly where I want it.

There’s a nice, firm bitterness, and crucially it doesn’t turn medicinal. It actually reminded me somewhat of Brooklyn’s NA IPA, except without the medicinal quality I get from the bitterness in that one.

There’s also a slightly sour/tart edge to Space Camper that gives it some brightness. There’s lime/citrus, and a faint melon character.

Overall, this is just a great NA IPA. Nice creaminess, solid body, proper bitterness, good carbonation and enough brightness to keep it interesting. I was especially impressed to find something this well executed from a brewery that doesn’t have a huge NA presence.

If you can find Space Camper NA, I recommend it.

Found this on American Airlines. Had to ask for an Athletic, the flight attendant wasn’t sure what it was, but dug around and found one! Can has seen better days 😂

Of the watery American macro NAs, it fits the bill. There just isn’t much flavor here. I get a vague graininess, but I struggle to pick out much else, and the finish is very watery. Penn’s Best gives me more for a fraction of the price.

But I have to give Coors credit for two things: head and mouthfeel. The mouthfeel is remarkably soft and creamy for such a light beer, and they’ve executed that part really well. It feels much more substantial in the mouth than the flavor would suggest.

Which leaves me wondering, maybe Coors 0.0 is actually doing what it’s supposed to do? Coors Light isn’t exactly known for being a flavor bomb. I don’t particularly like what they replicated, but they may have replicated it quite well.

Four New NA Reviews: Lawson’s Sipn IPA, Sam Adams Oktoberfest & Two Athletic Oktoberfests

1. Lawson’s Sipn IPA
This is fantastic. The nose is grassy and grapefruit-forward, with a little dankness and mango. The head is the weak point. Large bubbles and not much retention.
The flavor more than makes up for it. This may be one of the most balanced NA IPAs I’ve had. Strong hops and a strong malt backbone, but neither overwhelms the other. Light-to-medium body and incredibly drinkable. One of the best NA IPAs out there.

2. Sam Adams NA Oktoberfest
This one frustrates me because there’s so much I love. The nose is gorgeous: sweet, malty, very bready, and remarkably beer-like. Beautiful head too…thick, tight bubbles with great retention.

The back end is excellent, with rich, bready malt. But I cannot get past a strange flavor right at the beginning. The closest description I have is latex/plastic/paint-like, almost like chewing on a plastic toy as a kid. I got something similar from Best Day Oktoberfest. Whatever it is, it ruins an otherwise excellent beer for me. Maybe I can’t appreciate the style. I bought two sixers at Wegman’s thinking I would love it, but glad I kept the receipt because the unopened one is going back.

3. Athletic Oktoberfest Fest Brew
A really pleasant surprise. Lovely dark-golden color with a substantial mouthfeel and medium body. It also avoids that issue I sometimes have with Athletic releases tasting too similar to each other.

I get grass, wheat, hay and straw, with a really pleasant grain character. Interestingly, similar profile to Go’s Sunbeam Pils, but more flavorful. It’s balanced, satisfying, and bordering on luxurious with the weight. Really enjoyable.

4. Athletic Oktoberfest Dunkel
This is Modelo Negra, 100%. Roasted malt, slight coffee, dark chocolate and a touch of smokiness. As it opens up, there’s a really pleasant mocha character.

It’s crisper, drier and lighter-bodied than the Fest Brew, but still has good depth of flavor. It also poured with a lovely head. A very good dark lager.

Ranking:
Lawson’s Sipn IPA
Athletic Oktoberfest Fest Brew
Athletic Oktoberfest Dunkel
Sam Adams NA Oktoberfest

Roast me or Toast me!

This is surprisingly good! Local find carried by Total Wine.

It’s labeled a pale ale, but it drinks much more like an IPA. There’s citrus and a touch of tropical fruit up front, plus a really interesting subtle rose/floral note. The malt shows up more toward the back, lightly crackery and grainy.

Good bitterness, flavorful without turning into fruit juice, and none of that obvious sweet/worty NA character. It has sufficient body and dryness too. Head could be better, it disappeared fairly quickly.

Definitely one of the better NA surprises I’ve had.
Nice Job DC Brau!

Some of these cans/bottles are just too cool to crush and toss, so I started cutting the front panels into baseball card size souvenirs.

Now every new beer I try gets a little place in the collection, especially the hard to find ones and the vacation discoveries. It takes up almost no room, looks great in a sleeve, and gives the can a second life.

A little rough around the edges for now, but I’m dialing in the process. Anyone else save cans or labels from their favorite finds?

Let me know if you have any tips or tricks for me!

Went to Wegman’s and built my own 6-pack out of singles. 4 beers, 0 rebuys, 2 drain pours.

Founders Nonetheless Golden — pool water. Chlorine-like minerality. Thin, watery, okay breadiness. 30 calories.
4/10.

(2) Lagunitas IPNA — IPA-flavored soda. Little body, little flavor, disappearing head. Wanted to like this but it doesn’t hold a candle to better IPA’s.
5/10

(2) Best Day Kölsch — better than a funky can I had before, but still unpleasantly bitter with a medicinal edge. Maybe I just don’t like the style.
4/10

Brooklyn East IPA — fooled me at first. Fantastic creamy body and a head that actually stuck around… then the medicinal bitterness arrived.
5/10

Roast me or toast me!

Thanks to this group for prodding me to find Tecate after my last post. After striking out at Walmart, every 7/11, and Oxxo, I finally found Tecate 0.0 at a random neighborhood convenience store.

The hunt made it a fun find. Clearly distribution is more limited on this one.

My first impression is that it’s a very light, easy-drinking macro lager. The most distinctive flavor is a honey-like malt sweetness that reminds me of Honey Smacks cereal. Alongside that I picked up an earthy, slightly worty character that gives it a little more depth than I was expecting based on the commentary.

The body is definitely pretty thin, kind of leaning in to soda territory. It is refreshing though, smooth, and clearly brewed to be light, probably for warm weather.

Main criticism would be that I wish the finish were crisper and drier. The honeyed malt lingers enough that it comes across as sweet.

Having never tried a fully leaded one, curious to hear if this sounds familiar.

Not the best, not the worst.

5.5/10

I had seen on r/NABEER that you could find NA Modelo in Mexico and was really intrigued by that. I took a detour to the Cancun Walmart and found these there.

Modelo 0.0: A solid macro lager with great malt character. It’s a little on the light side, but very clean, easy-drinking, and unmistakably “beer.” Not skunky whatsoever. It reminded me of some of the lighter European macro lagers I’ve enjoyed. Not a standout favorite, but comfortably in the middle of the pack and one I’d happily drink again. Was very keen to try this as apparently Modelo is the best selling beer (revenue) in the US. I wanted to love it, but it’s just fine.

Modelo Negra 0.0: This one surprised me. It tastes very faithful to what I’d expect from the alcoholic version, deep, bold, malty, and has a distinct wood-smoke note. Definitely has a “boozy” smell, not sure how they accomplished that. A little chocolatey, but not veering in to coffee yet. The closest comparison I could make is if someone blended a Guinness and a Corona and landed somewhere in between. Really well made, even if it’s not quite my personal favorite style. Sober Carpenter NA Red Irish Ale is the closest thing to this I’ve had before.

Curious why these haven’t made it to the states, would probably be a part of my rotation.