Top 10 Beers of the Year
Deschutes NA Black Butte Porter (Bend, Oregon) In the NA space, the big craft breweries are investing time and massive resources into improving quality to levels never seen before. After a multimillion-dollar investment in de-alcoholyzing equipment, Deschutes now swings harder than ever in the sober-zone. The Tootsie Roll and pumpernickel roast offset the svelte body, providing waves of Nestle Quik and fennel. It dropkicks you back to 2007, when Abyss was the hottest bomber on the block. Except, now, everyone is a parent and bone sober.
Hierophant Nettle Beer (Freeland, Washington) While this is not technically a beer, the botanical tastiness cannot be denied. If Paul Arney went as sober as a Warped Tour frontman, this is the plucky PNW result. The carbonation sheets and provides a base for the menthol and orange peel, with a sweet, lightly tart pop of cider vinegar and eucalyptus in the swallow. This is such a refreshing romp through the Bath & Body Works—and at 32 calories, those morel-foraging muscles will remain shredded.
Sam Adams Just the Haze (Boston) Sam Adams may not truly be the most innovative name in craft beer lately, but their entry into the NA space has made shockwaves to a TEA. They’ve dropped an Orange Julius nuclear bomb on hearts and livers alike with Just the Haze. This provides the creamsicle and Little Orphan Orange Otter Pop sweetness, with just enough whispers of resin to cherry the cleanest of ROORs. Just as our founding fathers intended.
Brooklyn Special Effects Hoppy Amber (Brooklyn, New York) Only the hardest-core Nugget Nectar fan pines for the evergreen malts of a hoppy amber. Garrett Oliver said, “Hold my rhizomes” and delivered this crown jewel of liver clarity. This has all the frothy toasted-rye Gardetto’s chips you want, coupled with all the roasted almond and walnut testa a heart could desire. Seed-coat enthusiasts, rejoice. The closer is long and bitter and old-school, like if Lewis Black started horticulturing Chinook and Simcoe.
Athletic Rainbow Wall (Millford, Connecticut) We knew Athletic would land here; the question was when. This brewery already crushes it across so many styles, but things went Super Citrus Saiyan when they introduced a blood orange IPA into the mix. You get the bitter pith of the rind interior, oily aserose on the swallow, with a gummi Haribo peach ring specter throughout. The swallow is long and substantial for the NA realm, breaking in pulpy waves on your bitter bulwarks.
Burial I Remember When I Was a Fool for You (Asheville, North Carolina) This collab with Other Half may be as good as hazy NA IPAs can get. It’s better than many other regular hazy IPAs, which is such a substantial feat. Take two mavens of the hollandaise realm, add Sabro, Vic Secret, and Simcoe, the result is a revelation. The mouthfeel is longer than the name. It crackles with a hefty body, delivering clear gummi bear, overripe pineapple, Tommy cologne, and this pop of sandalwood.
Na Chouffe (Achouffe, Belgium) The gnome who’s graced countless goblets and Santa hats is here to reclaim his crown. With an absolutely unrelenting three volumes of carbonation, with limitless Telecaster sustain and all the grassy twang, the meringue is dense and cumulus. The taste gives a pop of the phenols and pepper, making the heart long for a sober saison. This trickster gnome swallows clean and dry, with a riesling and Anjou-pear closer.
Sierra Nevada Trail Pass IPA (Chico, California) This is hands down the best NA beer of 2024, and maybe the best ever. Sierra Nevada entered the scene like a road stand-up comic with five years of silent trial-and-error under their belt, and it delivered the most impressively clean set anyone could imagine. This “overnight” success is a testament to the mind-blowing yeast-wrangling at work. The body is sweet and crystal-malty, but it throws the cake back at the Two Hearteds of the past—an old DRIPA soul just blasting split kindling, CTZ, with Amarillo-raked foliage. It tastes like an actual beer. This is the best NA beer that I have ever had.
Asahi Super Dry 0.0 (Global) This beer tastes exactly like regular alcoholic Asahi in every way. It exists in that Diet Dr. Pepper realm that makes you wonder whether the original needs to exist at all, taking sessionability to levels that make Live Oak seem like Horus. It is endlessly crushable, simple, one-dimensional, and best enjoyed ice-cold during relationship counseling. For those classic Japanese rice lager situations when you want one brewed by Peroni in Italy, then shipped to America for peak freshness.
Guinness 0 (Dublin) I don’t think any single beer has been suggested to me more than this one. When I started doing NA content, I received endlessly spawning waves of DMs telling me that this is the gold standard, and this is an absolute stunner. The base material is already thin and roasty, but NA Guinness improves upon that model with milk chocolate, black licorice, anise … and makes it even better than the original. It drinks almost like a Czech dark lager thanks to the increased emphasis on tasty roast with a balancing sweetness. The carbonation is spot-on, carrying through with this with silky velour cacao aspect.
Most Memorable Beer Experience of the Past Year
I have had quite the year. In a moment of soft repose, I ordered a can of Athletic beer at Green Cheek Oceanside and watched my toddler son tear the place apart. It was relaxing and imparted a degree of normalcy I hadn’t felt in a long time. No matter how you get there, beer can be a vehicle to help you appreciate those insular moments, present and aware of everything for which you should be grateful on a granular level.
Industry Topic I Wish Would Get More Ink/Pixels
This should come as no surprise but: nonalcoholic beers. We are seeing waves of hop water options, which is a fantastic first step. I look forward to the near future, when the medium- and smaller-sized guys can get into the mix without the steep cost of entry or contract brewing everything. Those days are just beyond the horizon, and my heart is full.
Experience that Gives Me Hope for the Future of Beer
I have been moved by the sheer number of messages I have received from people who are leaning in and embracing NA beers. What used to be disregarded, avoided, or openly mocked is now gaining more and more traction. From the rise of Sober October to the ubiquitousness of Dry January, people are not just trying NA beers, they are working them into their rotations. This ranges everywhere from full sobriety to taking a night off, to adding NA beers in between alcoholic beers for variety and rest. The future of beer has many faces, and the past year has been extremely uplifting for what’s to come.