Non-Alcoholic Beer
Non-alcoholic beer has gone from an afterthought to one of the fastest-growing categories in drinks. Modern NA brewers either brew full beer and gently strip the alcohol out, or use specialized yeasts that never make much in the first place — and the best results are genuinely hard to tell from the full-strength versions.
This guide covers how NA beer is made, what the label actually means, the calorie and carb reality, the styles that translate best, and the brands worth seeking out — plus the verified venues that pour them.
14 brands
How non-alcoholic beer is made
There are three main ways to keep alcohol out of a beer, and many brewers combine them. The first is to remove the alcohol from finished beer — either by vacuum (low-temperature) distillation, which lets the alcohol boil off gently enough to spare the delicate hop aromas, or by reverse osmosis, which filters the beer through a fine membrane and then adds water back. The second is arrested or limited fermentation, where the brewer halts fermentation early so little alcohol ever forms; these can taste a touch sweeter and keep more residual sugar. The third uses special "maltose-negative" yeasts (such as Saccharomycodes ludwigii) that simply can't ferment most of beer's sugars, so they produce very little alcohol on their own.
Modern brewers also add hop aroma after fermentation, so it doesn't get scrubbed out — a big reason today's NA IPAs smell so convincing.
0.0% vs 0.5%: what "non-alcoholic" really means
In the U.S., labeling rules (27 CFR Part 7) let a beer be called "non-alcoholic" as long as it contains less than 0.5% ABV — so "non-alcoholic" means a trace amount, not necessarily zero. "Alcohol-free" is reserved for beer with essentially no alcohol (0.0%). That 0.5% is genuinely tiny — comparable to the alcohol that occurs naturally in ripe fruit, fresh bread, or a glass of orange juice — and far too little to intoxicate the vast majority of people.
The honest caveat: non-alcoholic is not the same as alcohol-free. If you're avoiding alcohol completely — during pregnancy, or in recovery from alcohol use disorder, where even a trace or the ritual itself can be a trigger — look for a product verified at 0.0%, and check with your doctor when it matters. (Independent testing has occasionally found small traces even in some 0.0%-labeled beers, so "verified" is the operative word.)
Is non-alcoholic beer good now?
Yes — and it isn't close. A decade ago most NA beer was made by boiling the alcohol off with heat, which stripped out the hop and malt aromas and left a thin, "worty," cardboard-y drink. The category turned a corner in the late 2010s, when dedicated NA breweries — and then big craft names — adopted gentler, low-temperature dealcoholization and modern yeast science.
Hop-forward styles benefit the most. So much of an IPA or pale ale is aroma — citrus, pine, tropical fruit — and that survives the loss of alcohol, especially when brewers dry-hop or add hop character after fermentation. That's why NA IPAs and pale ales are usually the most convincing place to start.
Calories and carbs: what to know
Non-alcoholic beer is usually lower in calories than full-strength beer, because alcohol is calorie-dense and there's far less of it — many land somewhere around 50 to 110 calories per 12 oz versus roughly 130 to 180 for the regular version, though it varies widely by brand.
The surprise is carbs. NA beer is not automatically low-carb or low-sugar: removing the alcohol — and sometimes adding a little sugar back for body — can leave an NA beer with as much sugar as, or more than, its full-strength counterpart. Arrested-fermentation beers tend to keep more residual sugar than dealcoholized ones. If you're watching sugar or carbs, read the label rather than assuming "non-alcoholic" means "light."
How to choose one
Start with style. If you like bold and hoppy, an NA IPA or pale ale is the safest bet and the most convincing. For something crisp and easy, reach for an NA lager, pilsner, or wheat beer; for cozy and roasty, an NA stout or porter (a harder style to pull off, but the good ones are excellent). Sours and goses translate well because their tartness doesn't depend on alcohol. And if you want hop flavor with zero calories and no malt at all, hop water is a refreshing — if technically non-beer — option.
Many bars and bottle shops now pour NA beer on tap or stock it by the can. Each brand page below has a live "find near you" search, and our city guides list venues with verified NA programs.
Non-Alcoholic Beer brands to know
Athletic Brewing
Less than 0.5% ABV
Connecticut-based pioneer of craft non-alcoholic beer. Their Run Wild IPA and Upside Dawn Golden are the gateway pours that made NA beer mainstream.
Athletic Brewing details & where to find it →Heineken 0.0
0.0% (maximum 0.03% ABV)
The global lager benchmark for non-alcoholic beer: crisp, refreshing, and the most likely tap-handle you’ll spot at a bar that’s just dipping into NA.
Heineken 0.0 details & where to find it →Guinness 0.0
0.0% (official "0%" ABV; trace up to ~0.05%)
A near-perfect rendition of the iconic stout, brewed in Dublin with the same ingredients and then gently dealcoholized. Roasted, creamy, and unmistakably Guinness.
Guinness 0.0 details & where to find it →Best Day Brewing
0.5% ABV or less (under 0.5%)
California-craft NA beer with West Coast hop character. Their Kolsch and Hazy IPA show up on bottle lists at serious beer bars.
Best Day Brewing details & where to find it →Partake Brewing
0.5% ABV or less
Toronto-based ultra-low-calorie NA beer pioneer. Their IPA and Pale Ale are favorites for drinkers watching calories alongside ABV.
Partake Brewing details & where to find it →Bravus Brewing
0.5% ABV or less
One of America’s first all-NA breweries, with a deep range from Oatmeal Stout to West Coast IPA. A reliable choice for beer-forward menus.
Bravus Brewing details & where to find it →Brooklyn Special Effects
0.4% (under 0.5% ABV)
Hoppy NA lager from Brooklyn Brewery. Bridges craft cred with sessionable drinkability and shows up across NYC and beyond.
Brooklyn Special Effects details & where to find it →Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher
0.0%
Technically a sparkling hop-water: zero calories, zero alcohol, all the citrusy hop aroma. A go-to alternative for IPA drinkers.
Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher details & where to find it →Grüvi
Beers less than 0.5% ABV; wines 0.0% alcohol
Denver-based, family-owned and female-co-founded non-alcoholic brand spanning craft NA beer plus sparkling and still wines. Their World Beer Cup-winning Golden Era lager anchors a lineup built to make NA feel fun.
Grüvi details & where to find it →Go Brewing
0.5% ABV or less
Independent, fast-growing Naperville, Illinois craft non-alcoholic beer brand with a loud, irreverent lineup of award-winning brews like Sunshine State Tropical IPA, Salty AF Chelada and Disarm Hazy IPA.
Go Brewing details & where to find it →Lucky Saint
0.5% ABV
London-founded alcohol-free beer brand brewing at 0.5% ABV: Superior Unfiltered Lager, Hazy IPA, Lemon Lager, Lime & Sea Salt Lager and German Weissbier — plus its own pub, The Lucky Saint, in Fitzrovia, London.
Lucky Saint details & where to find it →Big Drop Brewing Co
0.5% ABV or less
UK alcohol-free beer company whose beers are brewed to 0.5% ABV from the start rather than having the alcohol stripped out of a full-strength brew afterwards. Galactic Milk Stout, Pine Trail Pale Ale, Paradiso Citra IPA and Reef Point Craft Lager are internationally decorated, full-flavoured beers built to taste like the real thing.
Big Drop Brewing Co details & where to find it →Erdinger Alkoholfrei
Under 0.5% ABV
A Bavarian non-alcoholic wheat beer (Weissbier) from Erdinger, brewed under the Reinheitsgebot at under 0.5% ABV and marketed as a naturally isotonic sports and recovery drink. Named Getraenke Zeitung's 'Getraenk des Jahres' in the alcohol-free beer segment in both 2021 and 2022, it is widely stocked in UK supermarkets and is joined by Alkoholfrei Grapefruit and Zitrone variants and a Brauhaus Helles Alkoholfrei lager.
Erdinger Alkoholfrei details & where to find it →Untitled Art
Less than 0.5% ABV across the non-alcoholic range
Wisconsin-brewed non-alcoholic beer range covering styles most producers avoid — fruited sours, pastry stouts, hazy and west coast IPAs. Fully fermented and then dealcoholised by reverse osmosis, which keeps the hop oils and malt character intact.
Untitled Art details & where to find it →Non-alcoholic beer styles, explained
What each style tastes like — and which translate most convincingly without the alcohol. As a rule, the more a style leans on hop or fruit aroma, the better it survives going alcohol-free.
Hoppy
NA IPA
Bold and hop-forward — citrus, pine, and tropical fruit with assertive bitterness. The most convincing NA style, because hop aroma carries the experience even without the alcohol.
NA Pale Ale
Lighter and more balanced than an IPA, with citrusy, piney hops over a gentle malt backbone. Easy-drinking and very forgiving in alcohol-free form.
Crisp & light
NA Lager
Clean, crisp, and lightly malty with a gentle bitterness — the everyday refresher. Simple and effective, though a thin body has nowhere to hide.
NA Pilsner
A pale lager with a brighter hop snap and a crisp, dry finish. Reads convincingly when well made; its delicate balance means quality varies.
NA Wheat beer / Hefeweizen
Soft, hazy, and lightly fizzy, with banana-and-clove yeast notes and a citrus lift. The signature esters and creamy body help mask the missing alcohol.
Dark & malty
NA Stout & Porter
Dark and roasty — coffee, chocolate, and toasted malt; stouts fuller and creamier, porters a touch lighter. A harder style to nail (alcohol usually adds body), but the best are rich and satisfying.
Tart & adjacent
NA Sour / Gose
Tart, tangy, and refreshing, often fruited; a gose adds a hint of salt and coriander. Translates well, since the acidity and fruit do the heavy lifting.
Hop water
Not technically beer — a usually zero-calorie, hop-infused sparkling water with all the citrus-and-pine hop aroma and none of the malt, sugar, or alcohol. A crisp option for a hop fix without the calories.
Where to find non-alcoholic beers
Verified venues in our directory that serve non-alcoholic beers.
1833 Craft
Sugar House
Salt Lake City's dedicated non-alcoholic speakeasy, opened in December 2024 inside a restored century-old Sugar House home known as The Eclipse House and run by sibling team Matthew and Kelly LaPlante. The entire menu is zero-proof — "0% Alcohol, 100% Heart" — built by co-owner and lead bartender Matthew, a former Salt Lake Tribune reporter who quit drinking but never left bar culture, with his sister Kelly, a designer, styling the room as a forest-green, 1920s-inspired lounge. The duo have developed 50-plus craft NA cocktails on premium spirits like Lyre's, Dhōs, Trejo's and Kentucky 74, finished with herbs from their own basement hydroponic garden. The name nods to 1833, the year of the Latter-day Saint "Word of Wisdom," and because nothing on the menu contains alcohol, no ID is required — a genuine cocktail experience for people in recovery, designated drivers, never-drinkers, and the sober-curious.
Bar None
West Loop
Bar None is a zero-proof evening bar in Chicago's West Loop, running Friday to Sunday from 5pm to 11pm inside Froth, the coffee cafe in the lobby of The Duncan at 1515 W Monroe St. It launched on 28 February 2026 from Heritage Hospitality Group, the team behind Froth, with beverage director Luke Nevin-Gattle (previously Bunker and Larry's). Every cocktail is genuinely alcohol-free, built on real NA spirits at $13 — a St. Agrestis Phony Negroni, an espresso martini with Ritual rum alternative and Pathfinder, Good Vibrations with Ritual gin alternative and Giffard elderflower, a spicy margarita with Ritual agave and Lyre's Italian orange, and a Gold Rush — alongside nine non-alcoholic beers and ciders at $6 and Leitz Eins Zwei Zero wines at $9. IMPORTANT: the venue brands itself a THC-integrated sober lounge. Any cocktail can be upgraded with a 2.5mg THC microdose for $4, and it sells 5mg THC seltzers at $9. The alcohol-free drinks stand on their own, but anyone avoiding all intoxicants should order without the upgrade and skip the seltzers.
Beyond Proof
Jamaica Plain
Beyond Proof is a fully alcohol-free craft cocktail bar at 597 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, opened in April 2026 by Krista Kranyak, who converted her own long-running restaurant Ten Tables into what is widely reported as Boston's first zero-proof bar. Every drink is built at 0% ABV and the list is organised into sections headed Florals, Groundings, Rewritten Classics, Awakenings and Simple Sips, with straight $9 pours of zero-proof tequila, gin, vodka, bourbon and mezcal for guests who want something plainer. The kitchen serves a Lebanese and Mediterranean mezze menu of hummus boards, fire-roasted carrots, saffron tahdig bites, knafeh and slow-cooked pots. One drink, the Settle, is made with kava, a psychoactive root, which the bar names openly on the menu.
Beyond the Bar Bottle Shop
Core District, Downtown Richardson
Beyond the Bar is DFW's first alcohol-free bottle shop and dry bar, and by its own account the only one in Texas — a zero-proof shop and tasting room in a 1958 mid-century building in Richardson's Core District. The range runs past 280 products, from Athletic, Seedlip, Lyre's and Ritual to Almave, Ghia, Pathfinder and De Soi, alongside dealcoholised wines and functional drinks. The bar pours its own builds, including the Italian Spritz that won the Dallas Observer's Best Mocktail award, and the room hosts tastings and zero-proof cocktail classes.
Botanika
Granary District
Salt Lake City's first all-non-alcoholic bottle shop and gourmet grocer, a woman-owned spot founded by Kate Riser that opened in May 2025 in the historic Artspace Rubber Company building on 200 South. Riser, who spent years in food and beverage across San Francisco, New York and nearly a decade in Europe, built it out with concrete floors, white walls and custom display cases. The shelves run deep on zero-proof spirits, wine, aperitifs, mixers and canned cocktails — roughly 300 products from about 50 mostly small, independent and minority-owned makers, including brands like The Pathfinder Hemp & Root and Aplós — alongside gourmet pantry goods. A small lounge lets visitors open an alcohol-free wine, sip a canned botanical cocktail and linger, making it a sober "third place" for the sober and sober-curious.
Cheeky & Dry
Phinney Ridge
Cheeky & Dry is Seattle's first and only fully alcohol-free bottle shop, a 750-square-foot family-owned store at 6120 Phinney Ave N opened in November 2023 by Kirstin and Yura Vracko. Kirstin started it after her husband went to rehab for alcohol use and she stopped drinking in solidarity with him, looking for products that would carry her through the ritual of a drink at night — she has said she built the shop she wished existed. Its own rule is absolute: every bottle is 0.5% ABV or less. The catalogue runs to roughly 250 products across non-alcoholic spirits (gin, whiskey, agave, aperitivo), wines still and sparkling, beers, ready-to-drink cocktails, mixers and bitters, with brands including Pathfinder, Three Spirit, Little Saints, Parch, Aplos, Free Spirits, Leilo and Opius. There is a counter for tasting samples before you buy. NOTE FOR ANYONE AVOIDING ALL INTOXICANTS: we checked the full catalogue and found no THC at all, but it does stock kava products, one kava-and-kratom elixir, and one CBD coffee at 25mg per serving.
Free Spirit @ Riverdale Hub
Leslieville / Gerrard India Bazaar
Free Spirit is a fully alcohol-free cocktail bar and restaurant operated by Riverdale Hub, a not-for-profit social enterprise inside a converted century-old building in Toronto's Leslieville / Gerrard India Bazaar neighbourhood. It opened April 23, 2024 and runs on a no-tipping, living-wage model, with restaurant proceeds going toward addressing barriers for equity-deserving groups in the community. The ten-drink zero-proof menu spans a Bloody Caesar, a Cosmo built on Seedlip Garden 108, and an Espresso Martini made with Seedlip Spice 94, backed by a zero-proof beer list that includes Guinness 0.0 and Heineken 0.0.
Good News Bar
Hillcrest
Good News Bar is San Diego's first dedicated 100% alcohol-free bar, opened in Hillcrest in mid-July 2025 with an integrated non-alcoholic bottle shop. The concept was created by married former bartenders Kaylee and Crystal Clark, who left drinking behind in recovery; since August 2025 the bar has been operated by its majority owner, Ality Richardson. It is named after Mac Miller's song "Good News" and frames itself around raising awareness of addiction and mental health. The house line is coffee by day, cocktails by night, community always: mornings bring coffee, tea, functional cocktails and freshly baked pastries, while evenings run "functional" cocktails built around adaptogens, nootropics, nervines, kava and hemp-derived CBD alongside "free-spirited" builds that reimagine classics with non-alcoholic spirits, plus apéritifs, dealcoholized wines, NA beers and cider. Signature zero-proof drinks include The Merry Go Round, The Woods, Deborah Downer and Goosebumpz. Trivia, live music and DJ nights fill the calendar.
Grey Ghost Detroit
Brush Park
Grey Ghost's printed drink menu carries a dedicated Mocktails section with six named non-alcoholic cocktails, from the Faygo-riffing House Rock & Rye (house-made cherry, vanilla, and cinnamon syrups over soda) to the tropical I Insist (coconut milk tea, cold brew coffee, pineapple, hot honey). The Brush Park steakhouse also pours Athletic Brewing's Free Wave for guests wanting a non-alcoholic beer. Detroit Free Press singled out the House Rock & Rye as delivering the city's nostalgic soda flavor "without the questionable ingredients."
Frequently asked
Not always. In the U.S., a beer labeled "non-alcoholic" can legally contain up to 0.5% ABV — a trace amount, comparable to the alcohol naturally in ripe fruit or orange juice. Beer labeled "alcohol-free" or "0.0%" has essentially none. Each brand page notes the ABV where the producer publishes it.
It's a labeling distinction. Under U.S. rules (27 CFR Part 7), "non-alcoholic" means less than 0.5% ABV, while "alcohol-free" is reserved for beer with no alcohol (0.0%). If you need to avoid alcohol entirely, look specifically for a verified 0.0% / alcohol-free product.
Realistically, no. At up to 0.5% ABV, a non-alcoholic beer has so little alcohol that you'd have to drink an impractical amount faster than your body clears it. The trace amount is comparable to what's found in everyday foods like ripe bananas or bread.
Three main ways, often combined: removing the alcohol from finished beer (gentle vacuum distillation or reverse osmosis), stopping fermentation early so little alcohol forms, or using special yeasts that can't ferment most of beer's sugars. Many brewers also add hop aroma after fermentation so it isn't stripped out.
Usually yes — alcohol is calorie-dense, so removing it typically lowers the count (often roughly 50–110 per 12 oz versus ~130–180 for full-strength), though it varies by brand. One caveat: NA beer isn't automatically low in carbs or sugar — some have as much sugar as the original — so check the label.
Because "non-alcoholic" beer can still contain up to 0.5% ABV, anyone avoiding all alcohol — including during pregnancy — may prefer a verified 0.0% product and should check with their doctor. We're a drinks directory, not a medical resource, so this isn't medical advice.
Hop-forward styles — NA IPAs and pale ales — tend to be the most convincing, because aroma carries so much of the experience and survives the loss of alcohol. Browse the brands below and open a brand page for tasting notes and flagship products.
Many bars and bottle shops now stock NA beer on tap or by the can. Each brand page has a live "find near you" search pulling that brand's own locator, and our city guides list venues with verified NA programs.