Happy National Beer Day!

OK, so National Beer Day is actually Sunday, April 7, but I figured many of you would likely start celebrating earlier in the weekend! Especially with the NCAA Final Four!

The sober curious can find an almost unbelievable variety of non-alcoholic beers on the market now. Many of the best are made by smaller, upstart young companies such as Athletic Brewing Company and Untitled Art. More to come on these later!

The focus today is on the “mainstream” non-alcoholic beers, the ones most sports bars, pubs, and chain restaurants have on hand as their token nonalcoholic beer(s).

My favorite “mainstream” non-alcoholic beer is Heineken 0.0 – probably one of the most widely available in the Charlotte area. It’s a light lager with enough hops to make it crispy, but not as hoppy as an IPA. It tastes almost identical to a “real” Heineken. Which is great if you like Heineken, not so great if you don’t. I would certainly choose it over a Bud Zero or a Beck’s.

You may also be able to find Samuel Adam’s Just the Haze. (Less than .5%.) It’s a hazy, juicy IPA with impressive foam. If you like light, slightly fruity beers, you’ll probably enjoy this one. Less often, you may find Guinness 0. Stella Artois AF is also trying to break into the sports bar/chain restaurant market, but so far has not made much of a splash in the Charlotte area yet.

All of the mainstream AF beers mentioned here are listed as vegan-friendly by Barnivore. Remember, you can look up alcohol-free beers, wines, and spirits in Barnivore just as you would their alcoholic peers!