Cheers to NA Beers

As the sun shines brighter and the days get longer, spring in the Brandywine Valley is the perfect time to get outside with a cold drink in hand. Whether you’re gearing up for thrilling polo matches, cheering on horses and riders at a local steeplechase, or enjoying a sporting event or picnic, there’s no better way to enjoy the action than with a well-stocked tailgate. This year, in addition to equestrian tailgate classics like Champagne and mint juleps, consider adding nonalcoholic beer to the mix.

NA beer is on the rise, and it’s got wide appeal — from designated drivers to craft beer fans looking to dodge a hangover or calories, anyone can drink NA beer. And with recent recommendations from the American Cancer Society, World Health Organization and other experts that there’s actually no safe level of alcohol consumption, there’s no better time to be on trend.

Here’s the scoop on NA beer — some history, how it’s made and recommendations for your tailgate spread.

Some Background

As the name suggests, nonalcoholic beer is like regular beer — made with water, grain, hops and yeast — but little to no alcohol (less than 0.5% ABV). Today, most NA beers are made through a process known as controlled or arrested fermentation, where beer starts the usual fermentation process but is stopped before it starts producing alcohol.

Though NA beer is having a moment, it’s been around longer than you might think. As it turns out, it dates back to at least the Middle Ages. Medieval Europeans brewed low-alcohol “small beer,” which was thought to be safer to drink than water (sadly, often polluted) and cheaper than high-alcohol options like stouts, porters and ales.

NA beer saw a resurgence in the United States during Prohibition. After the 1919 Volstead Act limited alcohol content in beverages to 0.5%, brewers had to get creative. Anheuser-Busch and Pabst were among the first to brew “near beer” using a process called dealcoholization, essentially boiling off the alcohol produced when fermenting beer.

When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, demand for near beer diminished. While some NA beers cropped up over the years — most famously O’Doul’s in 1990 — the industry didn’t really take off until the late 2010s, following the craft beer craze.

In 2017, Athletic Brewing Company was founded as the first U.S. brewery dedicated solely to producing NA craft beer. Many others followed, including Untitled Art, Best Day Brewing and Tom Holland’s BERO. Today, many of the biggest names in beer have NA brews — Heineken 0.0, Coors Edge, Corona Cero, Stella Artois Liberté, Guinness 0 and Samuel Adams’ Just the Haze, to name a few.

Local Options

Beyond the national brands, we recommend, as always, choosing local for NA brews in your tailgate spread. Here are a few to try.

With locations in Ardmore, Kennett Square and Philly, and soon in West Chester and Newtown Square, Tired Hands Brewing Company has been getting a lot of buzz lately. Their NA beer, N/Alien Church, is brewed with oats, experimental yeast and the same hop bill as their popular 7% ABV Alien Church but with double the hops for a juicy citrus and tropical flavor, with notes of lemon-lime soda, peach rings and pineapple.

Started in Skippack, Brothers Kershner Brewing Company recently released their Pacer line of NA beverages: Pacer Amber, Pale, Pils and Hop Water, all less than 0.5% ABV. Find it at their Skippack Brewery & Tasting Room, Brothers on the Brandywine Beer Garden in Coatesville and The Barrel by Brothers Kershner, slated to open this month in Avondale.

For something a little different, try hop water: a nonalcoholic sparkling beverage combining carbonated water with hops, offering many of the same flavors of beer in a light, refreshing drink. Originally a limited-time release for Dry January, Iron Hill Brewery’s Hop Water has a permanent place on the menu. This zero-calorie drink uses a blend of six hops — Azacca, Jarrylo, Cascade, Chinook, Cashmere and El Dorado — for a juicy, tropical fruit flavor. Order it at one of Iron Hill’s 20 locations, including West Chester, Exton, Media and Wilmington.

Hershey-based Troëgs Independent Brewing offers hop water as well. Their Sidekick Sparkling Hop Water is infused with Mosaic hop oil to deliver a tropical, hoppy finish to this bubbly beverage with notes of citrus, lime and passionfruit. Plus, it’s 100% gluten-free, sugar-free and zero calories.

Adding NA beer to your tailgate spread is a great way to elevate the experience for everyone, from the stone-cold sober to the sober-curious to those looking for a new brew. With a growing variety of options, you’re sure to find a beer for every taste. Cheers to good company and a not-so-boozy brew!