We’ve made it!
Dry January 2024 is here, so it’s time for another roundup of the best NA beers to drink all month long. This list is a blend of personal favorites and high-quality “seasonally appropriate” beers for newcomers and N/A veterans alike. Try something out, and find a new favorite!
For the uninitiated, Dry January is a month where participants abstain from alcohol to reset their relationship with booze, and hopefully see some health benefits along the way like better sleep and weight loss. In recent years, the trend has picked up steam with an estimated 35% of drinkers participating in 2022. And the drinks industry has noticed: with all of the craft alcohol-alternatives available now, it’s never been easier to find something that tastes like your favorite tipple. If you’re a beer lover, you’re in luck today. Read on for a curated list of tasty, non-alcoholic brews for the whole month (and beyond!).
Contents
Best Hoppy
2023 is the year that I became a believer in Untitled Art, specifically with their Juicy IPA. I have yet to taste a better N/A hazy IPA: Hop flavor is one thing, but this one hits so well on the body and thickness of regular IPAs, an effect which seems to be so elusive in the Alcohol-Free category. Grab as many cans as you can find.
Also Great
Athletic Free Wave
Notch Hazy IPA
Best Easy-Drinking
For the lager lovers, this is a great European-style pilsner that brings some punchy complexity to the N/A lager space. It seems that the industry has gotten pretty good at the straightforward styles (American pale lager, golden ale, more generic pilsners, etc.), but there haven’t been as many craft lagers that add that second layer of depth. Being that this is the “easy-drinking” category, we’re not looking for anything too complicated, but Notch’s Craft Pils brings you to that next level of flavor without dominating your palate.
Also Great
Big Drop Coba Maya
Best Wheat
Weihenstephaner
Hefeweissbier
Hefeweizen
I’m reaching back to last year’s pick for this one. They’ve still got the oldest brewery in the world, archetypal German beers, and solid non-alcoholic versions of their full-strength brews. This hefe has no big surprises, but it will leave you satisfied and reaching for another with its creamy body and citrus notes. Still good.
Best Macro-Replica
Corona
Corona Non-Alcoholic
Mexican Lager
Yeah, it’s the dead of winter here in the US, and I just chose the beer of summer. Grab some limes, put on your sunglasses, and crank the ambient beach waves — it’s time to kick the frosty doldrums and pretend you’re on a beach.
Non-alcoholic Corona is one of the most accurate “replica” N/A beers that I’ve tasted yet, absolutely nailing the iconic taste profile of Corona Extra. I’m working on a writeup for a taste comparison as I’ve done with Guinness, but the short version is that beyond
Also Great
Heineken 0.0
Best Stout
There are some good, newer options, and I think we will see some more really great N/A stouts in the years to come, but man does Guinness always hit the spot.
Also Great
Athletic All Out
Best for First-Timers
This is kind of the cool new kid on the block when it comes to golden ales similar to Athletic’s Upside Dawn. It’s fresh, it’s juicy, it’s refreshing. Nice.