I don’t always drink non-alcoholic West-Coast IPAs, but when I do… well, it’s apparently a bit of a special occasion.

While IPAs are in vogue, the New England Hazy reigns supreme over all on the beer market. As a result, it’s been a bit difficult finding a robust, resiny, chewy, mouth-punching West Coast IPA under 0.5% ABV, even in this golden age of craft NA beer – but Best Day is aiming to change that. 

Best Day is a younger NA brewery out of Northern California leaning into beer styles slightly out of range of most NA breweries. A Kölsch or a West Coast IPA isn’t exactly obscure to most beer enthusiasts, but non-alcoholic versions are still significantly less prevalent these days than your Hazy IPAs and your Pilsners. Best Day has been filing shelves across the country with their takes on these more adventurous styles, and I’ve been largely pleased with what I’ve tried so far. If Athletic is going to have any real competition for solid, widely distributed craft NA beers, someone like Best Day is going to have to be pushing a step outside of the status quo to give people a popular alternative. So can they? Let’s find out.

Best Day Brewing’s West Coast IPA has a promising start on the nose, with the right outdoorsy notes – pine, floral, and grass, with a bit of spice tucked in. The palate is a bit surprising, but starts normal – floral, medium bodied, and a healthy hop bite lead you onto a standard experience. However, an unexpectedly robust bready quality persists underneath. West Coast IPAs aren’t traditionally known for their heavy grain influence, so the bread here raises an eyebrow, but integrates well enough to not be unpleasant. A light creaminess accompanies the bread, and the body overall leans more floral than resin. 

While West Coast IPAs can have a lot of deeper nuance to enjoy, the hallmark of the style is a robust bitter finish. Best Day’s West Coast remains faithful with a substantial floral hop bitterness, intermingling with a little spice. Some resin makes a subtle appearance as well.

Pour It In One of These

Spiegelau Tulip Glass

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Is Best Day’s West Coast IPA Any Good?

Your enjoyment of this beer will depend a bit on what you’re looking for. If “hmmm BJCP guidelines” is your first thought when you taste any beer, then sure, you might ding this a few points for having an unusually bready body. If you just care if the fucking beer tastes good or not, then you’ll probably enjoy this – at least as IPAs go. While this beer takes a step away from the most rigid interpretation of the West Coast IPA style, it does so in a reasonable way – the cream and bread aren’t so “true to style,” but they work well enough in totality. Oddly, one of the first comparisons that came to my mind is Sam Adams Boston Lager, but with the hop bitterness and florals cranked up. As a fan of both IPAs and a classic Sam Adams, I dig it.

And to be fair to the purists, this falls victim to the same category error as Lagunitas’ NAIPA – tasty, but not quite on the mark for a West Coast IPA. This does land closer though – Lagunitas’ lacks a lot of the strength in body one would expect from any NA beer these days, whereas Best Day’s brew just goes a bit off the beaten path.