Even as nonalcoholic craft beer won more headlines and shelf space in recent years, I didn’t have much interest. I’d tried a few, and I’d always found flaws or flavor profiles that turned me off. I saw them like Impossible Burgers or other meat substitutes—a decent alternative for those who couldn’t or wouldn’t enjoy the real deal. Me? I’d rather forgo the burger and eat some veg—or skip the NA IPA and just have an iced tea.
However: A Memorial Day barbecue in a backyard in Echo Park, California, changed my relationship to near-beer. Instead of the usual solitary six-pack of an NA alternative, the hosts had stocked a whole beer cooler with NA options from craft brewers such as Sierra Nevada and Lagunitas, and from specialist NA brands such as Athletic and Partake.