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I feel like this upcoming beer is ripe for Em Sauter of Pints & Panels to do artwork on beers and streaming services….
Yup, Athletic Brewing the leader in the N/A beer space has teamed up with Netflix for an IPA. Makes one wonder what a Disney+ or Hulu beer would be and by what brewer.
Athletic Brewing gets a lot of business press for their rise into N/A stardom but they should also get some kudos for their increasingly clever and exotic flavors like their new Citrus Cacao Hazy IPA.
“This brew beautifully blends tart citrus flavor with a mellow sweetness of cacao fruit juice. This isn’t the dark chocolate brew you might be expecting – cacao juice is derived from the sticky pulp surrounding the cacao seeds of the plant that provides a subtle sweetness similar to coconut water, but more tropical. Aromas of grapefruit and lemon make an appearance, adding a sunkissed vibe.”
I suggest checking their beer selection at regular intervals.
There are certain styles that I feel would work better than others within the non-alcoholic realm and one of those is the out of favor, Brut IPA and Athletic Brewing has tackled it…
…the dryness of Brut combined with hops should cover that N/A deficit that many low alcohol beers show even in great examples.
Athletic Brewing has a beer named (I want to believe after my favorite team) Trailblazer! And, 100% of the profits will be donated to nonprofit organizations championing women in brewing. And, it uses the Pink Boots hop blend!
I check up on Athletic Brewing and their new beers from their Pilot Program and recently picked up their Thai Coconut IPA (which I quickly posted about earlier this month) and their Hefeweizen. Do they hit the mark?
Starting with the Hefe, which could do with a better name than Athletic Hefe, initially I get a minty hit more Belgian in nature than German. Further sips in and some banana creeps in but it is as if the traditional Hefe clove was replaced with mint and then doubled up. Some of the typical “young” beer flavor is there as well but is masked, for the most part.
Beer two should be both easier and harder. Tropical IPAs abound so there should be an easy path to that flavor profile. Harder because coconut can be too sweet and overpower everything. All I get from this IPA is grapefruit. I was expecting a bit more milkshake style to it, with big coconut but it isn’t there for me. Not bad if the line is citrus but a miss if coconut.
Athletic Brewing is the leader in N/A beers, in my humble opinion, and it is good to see that their pilot program is stretching out and this Coconut Thai IPA looks fun to try.
For a change if pace, let’s review an N/A Oktofest bier. From my go to, Athletic Brewing.
This has a pleasing beer being brewed, grist mill aroma. Doesn’t quite have the breadiness that I associate with the style though. A bit thin and watery. I get a hint of fest but it seems diluted to me. More tea like in flavor. It is a common non-alcoholic problem where everything seems too muted.
Athletic Brewing Company is entering the festbier ring with “America’s first non-alcoholic Oktoberfest brew. In honor of the traditional Oktoberfest beers, this Festbier is brewed with German Vienna and Munich malts, and German Hersbrucker hops.”
And they sent out their intro to the beer email in September like normal non PSL in July people!
Athletic Brewing is my personal choice for N/A beers and now they are nodding towards their second home of California with a West Coast IPA using malt from Admiral and hops from Crosby.
Hazy and N/A? Let’s dive into the next Free Wave from Athletic Brewing
First item of visual business is that it is not holding the haze very well. It isn’t crystal clear but a little added murk is in order. The aroma is very much orange candy or soda. That carries over into the taste which has a pretty good level of piney dank bitterness but I am not getting the pillowy quality that should be in the style. Then the body fades at the end a bit. If this was labeled West Coast, it would get higher ratings but for a hazy, it misses too many marks