100 of the Best Non-Alcoholic Beers |Red Hunt Travel

The best options from Canada, the US, UK and beyond!

Before I knew about Sober October, Dry January, Dry February and all the other no-alcohol challenges out there, I embarked on my own taste test of curiosity to find the best non-alcoholic beers.

I figured I would be lucky to get my hands on 50 different options. I’ve tried more than 200 now.

For your convenience, here is a ranking of 100 of the best near-beers.

Athletic Brewing Non-Alcoholic Beers are often great! Their options are expanding, but still a bit limited in Canada

Between grocery stores, The Beer Store, bottle shops, our trusty LCBO, cocktail shops, local bars, and online specialty shops, and breweries selling direct, it has become quite easy now to find some decent , NA beers, or AF beers.

So, now after spending a lot of time (and money) on these beers (and receiving a handful of complimentary brews from kind breweries and online shops) I will soon reach 300 different beers all brewed with 0.5% of less alcohol.

It’s been a lot of fun so far, and not nearly as taxing as doing some of my other crazy beer challenges, like a 12-year vertical of Fuller’s Vintage Ale!

Kayaking with Non-Alcoholic Beer — Enjoying a Non-Alcoholic Beer while Kayaking

Here are the current rankings of the 100 best non-alcoholic beers.

Pretty much anything listed from #1 to #60 is worth a try, but depending on your preferences, you may enjoy some other lower-ranked beers too.

There has been a great increase in options recently, with a number of local Ontario breweries stepping into the NA beer game. Great to see Bellwoods, Collective Arts and Blood Brothers (among others) finally joining the party. I’m sure more will be joining soon. I even saw a post not long ago about a brewery planning 20 new non-alcoholic beers!

Am I missing your favourite? Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

A Selection of NA Beers — Some of the NA Beers from this Taste Test

Note: I have realized a lot of the non-alcoholic beers differ in quality from batch to batch. Ones that may be terrible the first time, are great the second time. Whether it is recipe tweaks, quality control issues, stale product, or a mix of all of those reasons, even some of the lower-ranked options may deserve a second chance.

The best example I have of this is Bazaar Alyss. The first time I had it, it was off, and terrible. The second time I had it, is was extremely delicious, and exactly as expected. I’ve had it enough to put it near the top, but just be warned – sometimes beers from Bazaar turn bad, and they’re also make the only NA beer that I had explode on me, so drink at your own risk! No risk, no reward, right?

The 100 Best Non-Alcoholic Beers available in Canada

Here are my current rankings. This list will evolve and change as I try and rate new non-alcoholic beers. There are a lot of new non-alcoholic beers out there, so come back soon!

If you have a favourite brew not listed here, let me know in the comments and I’ll try to find it.

Tip: Skip over beers #61-100. The decent stuff doesn’t really start until you get to #50.

#61-100 – The Bad Non-Alcoholic Beers

#100 – Selection Blonde Lager by Metro Brands
#99 – Blonde Ale by Brasserie Vrooden
#98 – O’Douls Amber by Labatt Brewing Company
#97 – Sagres 0.0% Puro Malte by SCC Portugal
#96 – Grolsch Lemon Radler by Grolsch
#95 – Exel by Molson Coors Canada
#94 – Hoegaarden 0.0 by Inbev Belgium SPRL
#93 – So-Beer Light Lager by The Naked Collective
#92 – La Vie de Chateau Amber Rum by Microbrasserie le Grimoire
#91 – Coors Edge by Molson Coors Canada
#90 – Sagres 0.0% Radler Limão by SCC Portugal
#89 – Lemonade Radler by President’s Choice / Loblaws Inc.
#88 – Red Racer Street Legal Pilsner by Central City Brewers + Distillers
#87 – Brown Ale Non-Alcoholic Organic by Svaneke Bryghus
#86 – Paulaner Weissbier 0.0 by Paulaner Brauerei
#85 – 1664 Blanc Sans Alcool by Kronenbourg Brewery
#84 – O’Douls Premium by Labatt Brewing Company
#83 – Gerstel Alkoholfrei Klassisch Mild by Privatbrauerei Eichbaum
#82 – Heineken 0.0 by Heineken
#81 – Pale Ale Non-Alcoholic Organic by Svaneke Bryghus
#80 – Wow DDH Amarillo NEIPA by Le Bazaar
#79 – DDH IPA by C.O.A.S.T. (Now “Lust For Life DDH IPA” by BRULO)
#78 – Blue 0.5% by Labatt Brewing Company
#77 – Verne by Bazaar
#76 – Ace of Tart Sharp Blueberry Full House AF by Brewdog
#75 – IPA Zero by Drink Zero
#74 – Erdinger Weissbrau Alkoholfrei by Erdinger
#73 – Neal Bros Grapefruit Lager by Neal Brothers
#72 – Krombacher Weizen Alkoholfrei by Krombacher Gruppe
#71 – Going Places by Wellbeing Brewing
#70 – Bitburger Drive 0.0% by Bitburger Brauerei
#69 – Découverte (IPA) by Le BockAle
#68 – Equilibrium by Katalyst Brewing Company
#67 – Stout by Partake
#66 – Ghost Ship 0.5 by Adnams
#65 – Hazy AF by Brewdog
#64 – Lunchbox Lagered Ale by Harmon’s Craft Brewing
#63 – Red Racer Street Legal IPA by Central City Brewers + Distillers
#62 – Peroni Libera 0.0 by Birra Peroni
#61 – Punk IPA Alcohol Free by Brewdog

Pouring Beer down the Drain — Pouring some NA Beers down the Drain. Sometimes I could only buy a beer in a 6-pack or 12-pack. Sometimes that was 5 or 11 too many.

I was very disappointed in the non-alcoholic Hoegaarden offering, as I truly enjoy their regular wit. But there are a lot of better wheat/wit beers out there when it comes to AF (alcohol-free) beers.

The La Vie de Chateau was a weird one, a beer with rum flavouring. It was basically a non-alcoholic rum drink.

Red Racer I had high hopes for, but their non-alcoholic Pilsner just didn’t hit the mark. Wellbeing Brewing similarly didn’t live up to expectations.

Le Bazaar Brasserie Artisanale does some really interesting stuff. If you can try their NA beers, don’t be shy. Verne may not be my favourite, but their creativity with odd flavours is impressive.

#46-60 – The Average Non-Alcoholic Beers

#60 – Milkshake IPA Sans Alcool by Brasserie Les 2 Frères
#59 – Irresistibles Non Alcoholic IPA by Metro Brands
#58 – Hefeweissbier Alkoholfrei by Weihenstephan
#57 – Nirvana Traditional Pale Ale by Nirvana Brewery
#56 – Emerald Stout (Non-Alcoholic) by Collective Arts Brewing
#55 – Sure Tropicale / Tropical Sour by Bière Sans Alcool (BSA)
#54 – Adventure India Pale Ale by Free Spirit Brewing Co
#53 – Matinée Extra Light by Ras L’Bock
#52 – New England IPA Sans Alcool by Brasserie Les 2 Frères
#51 – Lady Cori-Ange by Brasserie Vrooden Brewery
#50 – Nord Star Douceur Tropicale IPA by Microbrasserie Grande Allée
#49 – Blanche Non-Alcoholic by Oshlag Brasserie & Distillerie
#48 – Hazy IPA by Rival House
#47 – White by Sober Carpenter
#46 – Dry Hopped Cascade by Clausthaler

SO.BEER, some of the worst Alcohol-Free beers I’ve tried

If you like Weihenstephan, you may just like the non-alcoholic version too. It’s better than pretty much all other German weissbier options I’ve tried. Adventure IPA from Free Spirit / Rorschach is actually one of my regular NA beer choices, a great option after softball games in summer.

#31-45 – The Good Non-Alcoholic Beers

#45 – Upside Dawn by Athletic Brewing Co
#44 – Grainwave by Ceria Brewing Co
#43 – Libra Stout by Upstreet Craft Brewing
#42 – Classic IPA by Nirvana Brewery
#41 – Nord Star Juicy by Microbrasserie Grande Allée
#40 – Sagesse by Microbrasserie Le Trèfle Noir
#39 – A Non-Alc IPA V3 w/ Citra, Mosaic & Simcoe by Bellwoods
#38 – Stripped Craft Lime Infused Ale by Nøgne Ø
$37 – Bonfire Stout by Drop Bear Beer Co.
#36 – Nord Star Black IPA Sans Alcool by Microbrasserie Grande Allée
#35 – Bavarian Helles Lager by Nirvana Brewery
#34 – New World Lager by Drop Bear Beer Co.
#33 – Pale Ale by Nonny Beer
#32 – Hoppy Pale Ale by Nirvana Brewery
#31 – Red by Partake Brewing

Quite a mix of styles on this part of the list. For IPAs that are ranking lower like these, it is partly because many non-alcoholic IPAs have a noticeably similar lemon-y taste or generic recipe. Producing one with a unique aroma, hop profile, and taste seems to be a challenge to some breweries.

#16-30 – The Very Good Non-Alcoholic Beers

#30 – Fun House Non Alcoholic NEIPA by Vandestreek Bier BV
#29 – Saskaberry Blonde Ale by One for the Road Brewing Co.
#28 – Sleight of Hand by Tempest Brewing Co
#27 – Pine Trail Pale by Big Drop Brewing Co
#26 – Nanny State by Brewdog
#25 – Fahr Alkoholfrei by Fahr Brewery
#24 – Limbo Riesling by Mikkeller
#23 – iota Hazy IPA by Phillips Brewing and Malting Co.
#22 – Amber Lager by Rival House
#21 – Libra Pilsner by Upstreet Craft Brewing
#20 – Lamb of God Ghost Walker by Brewdog
#19 – Sure Lime Citron / Lime Lemon Sour by Bière Sans Alcool (BSA)
#18 – Personal Best by Mikkeller
#17 – Organic Session IPA by Sober Carpenter
#16 – Svart/Hvit by Nøgne Ø

That Saskaberry beer was nicely different, while the pilsner from Upstreet was really solid. I was actually surprised to enjoy quite a few non-alcoholic pilsners so much during this taste test, as some of the first ones I had were very bad. I thought the offerings from Mikkeller would be better overall, only Personal Best lived up to expectations.

Some good Non-Alcoholic Beers from Alberta

#1-15 – The Best Non-Alcoholic Beers

#15 – Indiewave by CERIA Brewing Co

This was a very pleasing IPA, big aromatics, solidly citrusy, and made me thing of west coast IPAs.

#14 – Stay Classy by Bellwoods Brewery

Melon and tropical vibes, soft pleasing aroma with a nicely bright, hoppy taste. Finishes with a good bitterness.

#13 – Yuzu Pale Ale by Drop Bear Beer Co.

This was floral and fruity. The Yuzu added a nice “woohoo!” to this alcohol-free pale ale!

#12 – Grüvi Golden Lager by Grüvi

Quite a nice surprise here. The Grüvi beers were a bit hit and miss for me, but this one over delivered big time. Great hop/malt balance, bold aromas, and plenty of body. Hard to say if I like this or PLAY Lager from Perth more.

#11 – Funambule NEIPA by La Brasserie Grande Allée

Light colour to this one, but it drank very smooth. Almost velvety and quite tropical.

#10 – Himla Humla by Nøgne Ø

Unique flavour to this one made me really appreciate it. Its an IPA but drinks like a flavourful pale ale.

#9 – PLAY Lager by Perth Brewery

Crisp, clean, believable. A non-alcoholic lager that puts many regular lagers to shame. Perhaps my favourite NA lager.

#8 – Libra Hazy IPA by Upstreet Craft Brewing

Bit of a hop bite on the finish, but an overall very smooth and creamy body overall. Not as “watery” as you may think. May have enjoyed this even more, since I was camping at the time?

Hazy IPAs that Don't make you Feel Hazy — Hazy IPAs that Don’t make you Feel Hazy, this NA option from Libra one is good

#7 – Playground by Vandestreek Bier BV

All around enjoyable IPA, with some grapefruit hints. This one really hit the spot, and made me forget I wasn’t drinking a real IPA!

#6 – Sure Framboise / Raspberry Sour by Bière Sans Alcool (BSA)

Nicely tart, this packed a full wallop of raspberries and tons of flavour. A nicer balance between tart/sweet than some other alcohol-free raspberry sours I’ve tried.

#5 – Jack Pine Pale Ale by Harmon’s Craft Brewing

Rough and piney, old school IPA vibes to this Pale Pale. This was big aromas and big flavours, a real winner for a non-alcoholic brew.

#4 – Alyss by La Bazaar

A Berliner Weisse with passionfruit that delivers a crazy, delicious, tangy, and aromatic flavour wallop. If you get this fresh, it’s an absolute winner.

#3 – Trou Noir by Le BockAle

Dry, roasty, some coffee aromas and flavours happening with this stout. I have found that a lot of non-alcoholic stouts have trouble finding enough body to contain the potentially big flavours. This one was was nicely bold all around.

#2 – Tropical IPA by Drop Bear Beer Co

Piney, grapefruit, bitterness. This is not a light, fluffy hazy ipa, its a bold tropical ipa that delivers on aroma and flavour. Stands out from the crowd nicely!

#1 – All the Fruit Fruited Sour by Athletic Brewing Co

Extremely delicious. Checks all the right boxes. Beautiful light red colour, with strong berry aromas, and it drinks tart! Tons of raspberry and blueberry, great from start to finish. better than many full strength sours and fruited beers.

Nirvana Brewery NA Beer Bottles — NA Beer Bottles from Nirvana Brewery. Good stuff. Also the only beer shipment I’ve had a broken bottle on. Need to locate their NA stout!

That’s the list…for now. I have a lot of great non-alcoholic beers left to sample still, so who knows what the final “best” brews will be. I can give you one hint though: give Guinness 0.0 a try if you can find it!

For those wondering, I am still enjoying plenty of full strength beers as well, I’m just reaching for a good NA beer more often these days, now that I’ve discovered some good ones.

Red Hunt Travel

100 of the Best Non-Alcoholic Beers