Another winner by Go Brewing, the Prophets Hazy IPA has an interesting hop flavor using Cryo Bru-1 and Idaho 7. It is on the sweeter side without being fruity and has a strange, but pleasant, aftertaste that I can’t put my finger on.
All in all, a fairly well-balanced drinker that should stand up to a savory meal well.
Rating: 7
I think I found my beer. A Double IPA make with Simcoe, Mosaic and Citra hops, The Story by Go Brewing has a familiar flavor that I crave in a beer. It has the bitterness you want from a good IPA and all the West Coast dank hop flavors. There’s good body, decent aromatics and a pleasing color. The hops hang around long enough to let you know they were there and leave you ready for more just as they begin to fade. Not much more to say, if you love IPAs, especially the West Coast dank variety, then do yourself a favor and buy some. Actually, do you self a real favor and buy a lot, because when there’s no alcohol to hold you back, I could see drinking a lot of these at a bbq.
Note I’m going to give this a 9 for now, but only because this beer exceeded my expectations to the point where I realize there could be something even better.
Rating: 9/10
A gluten free, west coast style pale ale made with Galaxy and Sultana hops. The Freedom Cali Pale is a different kind of pale ale, with some West Coast dankness and a wheat free base that gives it a unique twist.
The overall flavor is dry hop (non-bittering) forward with a bit of a tart zing that is likely going to be polarizing. For me it goes will with the dank hops that remind me of some of the best West Coast IPAs, but without the IBUs. Admittedly weird to say, but even the taste of a burp reminds me of a certain younger and elder duo on flavor but not the bitterness. Some will like it, others will hate it.
Rating: 7
When I think of an American Wheat Ale, well nothing really comes to mind. I know American brands that do a wheat ale, but they typically do a Belgium style wheat ale. Perhaps the small text underneath gives a clue, “with orange peel”. To me this means Blue Moon, as that is the only beer I’ve ever had with a slice of orange in it.
Drinking this beer, the first word that comes to mind is ‘balanced’. It has hop flavor, but not IPA amounts. It has some malt sweetness, but just enough. There is just a hint of orange zest and sweetness, but in the same way a pinch of salt brings out other flavors without making you think ‘salt’.
I’ve typed and subsequently deleted the word ‘mild’ a number of times now. It’s very easy to drink and is pretty much exactly what I would want from a wheat beer. Light, crisp and refreshing, without being watery or weird.
Rating: 7/10
If you enjoy the new trend of super fruity West Coast IPAs, then you will probably like the Sunshine State Tropical IPA by Go Brewing. It is light on malt flavor, with just enough hops to give it that IPA crispness. All of that is overshadowed by mango and peach flavor giving a strange but familiar flavor to this beverage.
I am not the biggest fan of the overly fruity IPAs however, so while this beer is enjoyable for what it is, I could not drink more than one of them at a time. A good beer to mix it up, and a decent example of it’s style, but not for me.
Rating: 5/10
Sunbeam Pils by Go Brewing is a well balanced Pilsner with good hop characteristics and body. A light and pleasant aftertaste lingers just long enough to create a crispness that brings you back for another sip.
A perfect summer beer to be had after some hard work, or enjoyed with a meal as it won’t overpower the food’s flavor. As it is with most of these non-alcoholic beers, it has a slight tang when drank from the can, but in general the German malt and hops carry through.
Rating – 7/10
I love beer. Not in an American Redneck way where my fridge is stuffed with cans of my preferred brand of “Lite” dirty alcohol water, but in the Michael Jackson (Beer Hunter) sort of way. I love learning about the styles and their history, tasting the differences a hop change can make to an IPA or seeing what creations the local brewers have come up with lately. I’ve stood in line for hours to buy a case of very limited barrel aged beers (Dark Wednesday at Victory Brewing in Downingtown) and have had the pleasure of trying many of the best rated beers in the world.
So when I turn the corner and hit my 40s, just imagine how gutted I was to realize that I had to be very limited in my alcohol consumption. Gone were the days of enjoying a bottle of 120 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head after dinner without feeling it the next morning. For the most point I have given up drinking beer at home and have not missed it much, except for when summer rolls around. There is nothing like a good beer while grilling, or after a long day mowing the yard, and so I decided to look into the world of alcohol-free beers. I hear they’re better than they used to be, so let’s find out.
The first beers I had tried were from Athletic Brewing, a brand that had seemed to really kickstart the alcohol free beer revolution. Being an IPA lover, I decided to try their Run Wild IPA and their Free Wave Hazy IPA, so I headed to Wegman’s and picked up a 6 pack of each. Side note, I was surprised to find that they required me to show ID to purchase alcohol free beer that has the same alcohol content (less than 0.5%) as Kombucha.
Holy Crap! These actually take like a normal IPA. The Run Wild was maybe a little thin, more like a session IPA, but the Free Wave had the hops and malt flavors to stand up to most standard IPAs but without the alcohol and about half the calories. This experiment is off to the great start, no wonder these guys got so big so fast.
Highly suggested by a lifelong friend and beer enthusiast, I had some high hope for the Partake brand of alcohol-free beers. I purchase a mix pack that included their Pale Ale and IPA (no fancy naming here). Having set the bar so high with Athletic Brewing’s IPAs, I was a little underwhelmed by Partake’s take on the IPA.
Their IPA has the bitter bite you want, but at levels that are just in what I would consider the IPA realm. It has a somewhat strange aftertaste that isn’t bad, but also not what you would expect. That said, I’ve certainly had worse “real” session IPAs, and at 10 calories per can, you shouldn’t expect there to be much malt flavors or body. It’s beer-ly enough to satisfy the craving for a hoppy beverage, but if you are cutting calories or on a keto diet (0 carbs here) then this can be a great alternative.
Partake’s Pale Ale is a bit of a different story. It’s taste is very close to a Czech Pilsner with some good hop bite and a bit more body than the IPA. Still 10 calories for the can, it does have 4g of carbs, so perhaps that is contributing to the body and flavor. Crisp, refreshing and with a pleasant aftertaste, this is a perfect beer for a hot summer day.
Alcohol-free beers are here, and they can be quite good. If you’re looking for an IPA replacement and don’t care as much about calories, which at 65 is still way less than a regular beer, Athletic Brewing Company has got you covered. Their Free Wave Hazy IPA could trick even some of the pickiest beer enthusiasts and is my top pick. If you’re trying to lose weight and enjoy a crisp pilsner, the Pale by Partake Brewing is an excellent option.
I look forward to trying more styles from these breweries as well as beers from other breweries in the future. Until then, “Here’s to getting old, adapting and overcoming”. Cheers.