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What's on Tap: Non-alcoholic beers have got some pop
By William Brand
Staff writer
May 13, 2008
Dear William: A very good friend of mine now has a condition that makes him unable to drink regular beer. This is quite a blow; he likes a good ale, especially with a baseball game and maybe a hot link. (Hot links are out too). He asked me to recommend any NA beer, but I can't think of one that I did not find unpleasant. Even Kaliber, which I've heard folks rant about, was papery and dull. Any thoughts on a non-alcoholic beer with some verve? — Paul
Dear Paul: NA beer with verve? That's a big order, Paul. But in the interest of brewing research, I bought nine NA beers at a well-stocked store in Concord and tried 'em all. I call it: The Great 2008 Non-Alcoholic Beer Tasting.
I was in for a bit of a shock. I've been tasting these laboratory creatures for more than a decade, and usually, the American NAs were pure, undrinkable swill. But the Americans have finally gotten a most important message: Don't try to make an NA beer that tastes like beer with alcohol; you wind up with something sour, gassy and indescribably awful.
A non-alcoholic beer — that is, a drink with less than half of 1 percent alcohol by volume — is really a malt beverage. If you're a barley malt lover, then an NA beer's quite tolerable. But this isn't beer as we know it. It's an entirely different creature and it really can't be compared to beer with alcohol. Judge it for what it is, not for what it's missing. I judge NA beers against each other, not against my favorite ale. On the plus side, they're low in calories, from 50 to 100 calories for a 12-ounce serving, about one-third to one-half less than a regular beer and slightly less than many of the best light beers.
The two most popular ways of making NA beers are by arrested fermentation and vacuum distillation. Arrested fermentation is just that: Fermentation is stopped before the yeast produces much alcohol. Most Euro-NAs are made that way. In vacuum distillation, regular, full-alcohol beer is placed in a vacuum and heated slowly to draw off the vaporizing alcohol.
My Non-Alcoholic Beer of the Week is St. Pauli Girl NA HHHH, Brewery St. Pauli, Bremen, Germany. This is the beer with the famous buxom woman on the label. It's a dark gold color with a signature, towering, creamy head of crisp white foam and clean, malty nose. The taste is, well, it's refreshing with a background sweetness and a mild tang of hops in the follow that lingers pleasantly.
In this tasting, my No. 2 was Clausthaler HHH 1/2, Binding Brauerei, Frankfurt, Germany. It's a medium gold color with a sweet malt aroma that follows through in the taste, which is quite sweet. If you like a sweet malt beverage, this is the one. There's also a Clausthaler Golden Amber HH and a Clausthaler Hefeweizen, which I couldn't find. The amber's disappointing, much drier without any serious hops.
I had two surprises, both American: O'Doul's NA HHH from Anheuser-Busch is much improved: Great nose, like barley soaking in hot water. The taste is dry and drinkable, with just a tiny bit of harsh bitterness in the follow. If you're a Budweiser lover, this one might please you.
Coors Non-Alcoholic HHH 1/2 was also quite drinkable. It also had a nose like fermenting barley. The taste was not sweet at all, with a tingle at the end of the follow, perhaps hops.
Two other drinkable NAs are Buckler HHH from Heineken, big head, odd, almost funky nose, but dry and quite tasty; and Beck NA HHH from InBev's Brauerei Beck, Bremen, Germany. Beck NA is a bit sweeter.
OUT OF THE BLUE: Last week I mentioned Wild Blue, the new 8 percent lager from Anheuser-Busch. This is a beer that I liked initially when I sampled it in 2006 as test marketing began in Ohio. Now it's being rolled out nationwide. The sample I got tasted quite a bit sweeter to me. But Jill Vaughn, the A-B brewmaster in charge of Wild Blue, said it's substantially unchanged.
She said it's been "fine-tuned" based on comments from customers during the test marketing. "We use syrup made from real blueberries, so it varies from batch to batch," she said.
My feeling is it's at least somewhat sweeter. Nevertheless, it's an interesting fruit beer, a blend of barley malt and rice. The rice gives it a drier, smoother taste. The blueberry syrup is added after fermentation. Hops are "American and European," she said.
If you like fruit beers and don't mind a bit of sweetness, Wild Blue's worth a try.
YES-CONDIDO: As I write this, I'm back from a road trip that included a long-anticipated visit to Stone Brewing's restaurant in Escondido, tucked away in the hills of northern San Diego County. There's a large, unusual, indoor-outdoor restaurant attached to the brewery where we spent a couple of leisurely hours on a sunny afternoon.
I've got a complete report at www.ibabuzz.com/beer . But consider the tasting set I ordered: Lost Abbey Devotion, Green Flash Le Freak Belgian Style Ale, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA and Stone Old Guardian 2007. Read more on dah blog.
CALENDAR: He'brew launches Rejewvenator, a fig-infused Belgian-style dark beer today (May 14) at 5 p.m. at City Beer, 1168 Folsom St., San Francisco, 415-503-1033. If you miss this one, there'll be another at 6 p.m. May 28 at the Toronado, 547 Haight St., San Francisco. The beer will also be in stores soon: A beer made with 500 gallons of fig juice is worth sampling.
Here's a first: Spenger's Fresh Fish Grotto in Berkeley will hold a beer dinner on May 29, featuring the beers of New Belgium Brewing: $50; for info, call 510-845-7771. Hope to see you there.
HOT LINKS: Oh yeah, one final note. About those hot links: Try Bruce Aidells' poultry apple sausages; they're extremely low-fat. He also makes one with chiles, I believe.
Reach William Brand at whatsontap@sbcglobal.net or call 510-915-1180 and ask for his Retail Beer Store List or Good Pub List. Read more by Brand at www.ibabuzz.com/beer .
RATINGS
HHHHH World classic.
HHHH Don't miss it.
HHH Very good.
HH Good beer; no defects.
H Demand a refund.
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