I have been long fascinated by the Non-Alcoholic sector of craft beer. It seems so wide open. Then I taste an N/A beer and realize that it must be harder than thought ’cause they always taste off in one small way or another.
In one of my bursts of podcast binging, I heard about Athletic Brewing and for Christmas, I bought the IPA and Stout. Will my bad run continue?
Starting with the IPA, Run Wild, there is a pronounced orange and grapefruit aroma as you pop the can. This is quite hoppy with a bracing bitter finish. It has a watery quenching mouthfeel like a session IPA. As the beer warms up I get pine and grapefruit pith tastes.
All Out Stout starts off with a big pillowy espresso hued head. A bit like a cold brew coffee taste. It is a little thin with a mixture of tastes like licorice and cocoa beans. It is more a porter to me and a touch too sweet.
Overall though, these taste like beer. None of my quibbles are do to the usual N/A complaints of tasting like wort or having a weird secondary flavor. I would drink the hell out of the IPA, especially on a hot day. I guess the best recommendation is that I want to try more. Their Saison really intrigues me.