Low and no alcohol beer and wine

[kcowan]

As a result of a doctor's recommendation to reduce alcohol intake, I have recently began drinking NA (no alcohol) beer and wine. I have discovered Clausthaler, a NA German lager beer that tastes better than many regular beers. Right now it is on sale at a local retailer for C$7 for 8, and also at a specialty store for C$9.99 for 4! I also find that O'Doules amber can be an acceptable substitute for vodka in a Caesar.

I am a red wine drinker and have had more difficulty there. The best I have found is a Merlot house brand from a local retailer. I find i can make it drinkable by cutting it 3:1 with a full-bodied red.

Here is a link to some 150+ NA and low alcohol beers:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/lists/style/5/

 

[kcowan]

For those who occasionally travel I-41 (old US 41) through eastern Wisconsin, I recommend a stop at Tucker's Drive-in in Fond du Lac. There are a couple locations.

Something inspired great drive-in restaurants in the city; perhaps it was the through traffic on Highway 41. Here's a pic of The Beer Hut, a carhop spot that would bring bottled beer out to your car.

This post in the hamburger thread prompted me to start this thread. I enjoyed five beer with my son on his boathouse sundeck and then drove for 3 hours home. Fortunately my 5 beer were NA types.

 

[audreyh1]

How much alcohol does your doctor believe is OK for you?

 

[Koogie]

DW can't "drink" because of her health condition but because I am a regular partaker she likes to have something to enjoy at the same time.

She has come to really like different radlers (beer/grapefruit juice mix). Her favorite is the Stiegl radler. It is 2.5%

Grolsch has also come out with a shandy this summer (beer/lemonade) that is very tasty. 2.0%

She still can't finish a full can by herself (500ml) but luckily there is someone here who can handle the remainder....

 

[JoeWras]

I just opened up my Popular Mechanics magazine and saw an add for NA Whisky! I have no idea what this would taste like.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Curious as to how much you were partaking prior to your conversation with your doc.

So many studies show....a glass of Cabernet, Pinot or red wine each night has health benefits.

 

[ERD50]

How much alcohol does your doctor believe is OK for you?

Curious as to how much you were partaking prior to your conversation with your doc.

So many studies show....a glass of Cabernet, Pinot or red wine each night has health benefits.

Right, what do you mean by "reduce"? From what to what?

There are some beers that are low in alc, w/o being "low or no" alc. English Milds will be ~ 3%, but still have a nice full flavor. So if you normally drink 2 'regular' beers, one English Mild would be like reducing to 1/4 your previous amount of alc.

Have not had any of the "low/no" alc beers in a long while. The ones I've tasted, I thought they were better than I expected. But by the time I got to the last half, they just tasted kinda sweet, or just not right. But not so bad really. Today, there are probably better offerings.

Maybe a wine spritzer would work for you? Some neutral sparkly water, and you still get the wine taste, just (literally) watered down. Not for the wine purist of course, but it's an option.

edit/add: some doctors just automatically say reduce alc, kind of a shotgun approach. Might be warranted, but not always. A friend of mine was having issues, doc kept blaming it on the beer (he's a brewer, I've never seen him drunk, he runs, was in good shape, not overweight at all). He cut the beer out, still had issues. They finally tracked it down to something unrelated, and wasted a lot of time.


-ERD50

 

[cbo111]

To be honest, I have never drank any alcoholic beverage for the taste. Only for the anxiolytic affects. This is not to say I can tolerate nasty tasting booze, but low alcohol drinks seem pointless. I recall back in my military days I spent 3 months living in a tent in lovely Haiti. We had a strict no alcohol policy, but they sold O' douls beer in the little BX. It had something like .004% alcohol. So we tried to slam a quick six pack to get some relief. All it gave me was a bloated stomach.

 

[Dreamer]

I have Atrial Flutter and I am on 2 medications for this. I just recently had to have surgery for something completely unrelated. I have not had a beer for over a month due to these medical problems.

I do not like soda. There are some foods like pizza and Mexican that I prefer to have a beer when I am eating them. I never even thought about NA beers. I have not heard of Radler's either. I liked drinking Pale Ale's with a grapefruit taste.

I will definitely check both of these out the next time I am at the store. Thanks for starting this thread.

 

[W2R]

Luckily I was never a big fan of beer or wine, so I don't feel like I am missing anything by not drinking.

Diet root beer is about the only non-alcoholic beer that I would enjoy. That said, I haven't had any recently because I am trying to eliminate any intake of artificial sweeteners. And of course regular root beer is out of the question due to the calories. (sigh)

I'm a big fan of water.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I'm partial to some of the craft ginger ales/beers with high ginger content. The ginger has a warming effect. There are a few sugar-free varieties available, but even the ones with sugar content tend to have less than the average carbonated soft drink.

 

[ERD50]

....

I'm a big fan of water.

So am I. Fortunately for me, beer is ~ 94% water.

-ERD50

 

[Beldar]

Here is a link to some 150+ NA and low alcohol beers:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/lists/style/5/

Thanks. I haven't been enjoying brewski's for quite some time but that list looks rather interesting (I like the low/no alc). I wonder what the calorie count is...

_B

 

[Winemaker]

Keith, if you drank 2 glasses of premium California Merlot you might be pushing 15% alcohol. Assuming a 2-5 ounce glasses of premium wine, gives you the possibility of drinking 1.5 ounces of alcohol. While some of us oenophiles drink wine for taste, taste is all that matters. 1) Some French fruit do not get as "ripe" as California reds, perhaps 12-14% alcohol is the result. Dilution of a bold California red with water to your taste alarm goes off, again bringing down the alcohol %, is a suggestion. One word of caution, however, is that not only will it dilute the alcohol, but will dilute the acid, which is a major component of the taste. A little bit of cream of tartar, 0.4mg/l, in a squeeze water bottle will do it good for a dilution mix.

 

[Fedup]

@W2R, I had a free drink the other day, I had to order root beer, that’s my kind of beer. Even then I only had one sip and threw away the rest.

 

[friar1610]

I decided to go alcohol free several years ago after a long career of beer consumption. I now have an occasional NA beer or two. I agree that Clausthaler is excellent. A few others that I enjoy are Buckler (Heineken's NA), St. Pauli Girl NA and Beck's NA (sold as Hakke Beck in some countries). Kaliber, made by Guinness is also pretty good. I would agree the O 'Doul's Amber is acceptable although the regular version is pretty bad, IMO.

It's also been interesting to see that in some countries NA beer is readily available in bars and restaurants whereas in others they look at you like your hair is on fire if you even ask if they sell it. (I experienced the latter phenomenon in Oz and NZ but, surprisingly, not in the UK, Ireland or Canada.) Northern European countries seem to have it available. The US is pretty good although a lot of places have only regular O'Doul's - that normally drives me to iced tea or seltzer.

Never tried NA wine and expect I never will.

Cheers!

 

[Persn]

When I ran the Berlin Marathon a few years ago, they served Erdinger NA at the finish line. It was excellent. I have tried just about all the NA beers and Erdinger is my favorite, followed by St. Pauli Girl and Beck’s.

Unfortunately the NA wines I’ve tried have not been satisfying, so I can’t recommend one.

 

[folivier]

Synthehol?

I just opened up my Popular Mechanics magazine and saw an add for NA Whisky! I have no idea what this would taste like.

 

[Truckinalong]

I have Atrial Flutter and I am on 2 medications for this. I just recently had to have surgery for something completely unrelated. I have not had a beer for over a month due to these medical problems.

I do not like soda. There are some foods like pizza and Mexican that I prefer to have a beer when I am eating them. I never even thought about NA beers. I have not heard of Radler's either. I liked drinking Pale Ale's with a grapefruit taste.

I will definitely check both of these out the next time I am at the store. Thanks for starting this thread.

Get an ablation if you can and put the flutter behind you. If you need recommendation go to afibbers.org and read up. Ask for help and they will send you in right direction. Shannon Dickson the owner of the site can help you locally or point you to best in world. He saved my life.

To the OP, Clausthauler, Becks NA, and Buckler all taste like or better than regular. Most have only had the junk american NA beers.

 

[braumeister]

A number of years ago, a few friends got together and bought some of all the NA beers available locally. We did a blind tasting to see which ones we thought better than the others. None of them were considered very good, but here's how they ranked:

• O'Doul's Amber (made by Anheuser-Busch)
• Kaliber (made by Guinness)
• O'Doul's (the regular variety)
• Sharp's (made by Miller Coors)
• Buckler (made by Heineken)
• Clausthaler (from Germany)
• Warsteiner Fresh (from Germany)

Of course, there are many more NA beers available today, and I'm told some are quite decent.

 

[Richard4444]

I agree that Clausthaler is excellent. A few others that I enjoy are Buckler (Heineken's NA), St. Pauli Girl NA and Beck's NA (sold as Hakke Beck in some countries). I would agree the O 'Doul's Amber is acceptable although the regular version is pretty bad, IMO.

+1

As for beer, I only drink NA in the afternoons here in hot Florida for thirst quenching. Clausthaler and Buckler are my #1 and #2. Real Cabernet at night though !

Rich

 

[Truckinalong]

Try the new Clausthauler Dry Hopped as well if you like the hoppy flavor. If someone didn't know you would have no idea, aside from not getting a buzz.

 

[kcowan]

Thanks. I haven't been enjoying brewski's for quite some time but that list looks rather interesting (I like the low/no alc). I wonder what the calorie count is..._B

Clausthaler is 86 calories.

Keith, if you drank 2 glasses of premium California Merlot you might be pushing 15% alcohol. Assuming a 2-5 ounce glasses of premium wine, gives you the possibility of drinking 1.5 ounces of alcohol. While some of us oenophiles drink wine for taste, taste is all that matters. 1) Some French fruit do not get as "ripe" as California reds, perhaps 12-14% alcohol is the result. Dilution of a bold California red with water to your taste alarm goes off, again bringing down the alcohol %, is a suggestion. One word of caution, however, is that not only will it dilute the alcohol, but will dilute the acid, which is a major component of the taste. A little bit of cream of tartar, 0.4mg/l, in a squeeze water bottle will do it good for a dilution mix.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am still looking for an acceptable solution for red wine.

I decided to go alcohol free several years ago after a long career of beer consumption. I now have an occasional NA beer or two. I agree that Clausthaler is excellent. A few others that I enjoy are Buckler (Heineken's NA), St. Pauli Girl NA and Beck's NA (sold as Hakke Beck in some countries). Kaliber, made by Guinness is also pretty good. I would agree the O 'Doul's Amber is acceptable although the regular version is pretty bad, IMO.

My buddy and I were having lunch yesterday and he asked for NA beer. All they had was O'Douls Amber. Better than nothing.

Get an ablation if you can and put the flutter behind you. If you need recommendation go to afibbers.org and read up. Ask for help and they will send you in right direction. Shannon Dickson the owner of the site can help you locally or point you to best in world. He saved my life.

To the OP, Clausthauler, Becks NA, and Buckler all taste like or better than regular. Most have only had the junk american NA beers.

Yes however the craft beers have made good taste choices better almost everywhere. My cardiologist says that, as long as the treatment is working, an ablation is best avoided.

A number of years ago, a few friends got together and bought some of all the NA beers available locally. We did a blind tasting to see which ones we thought better than the others. None of them were considered very good, but here's how they ranked:

• O'Doul's Amber (made by Anheuser-Busch)
• Kaliber (made by Guinness)
• O'Doul's (the regular variety)
• Sharp's (made by Miller Coors)
• Buckler (made by Heineken)
• Clausthaler (from Germany)
• Warsteiner Fresh (from Germany)

Of course, there are many more NA beers available today, and I'm told some are quite decent.

Thanks. I will be doing a survey in Mexico in 2 weeks. I hope to find some available in the supermarkets.

+1
As for beer, I only drink NA in the afternoons here in hot Florida for thirst quenching. Clausthaler and Buckler are my #1 and #2. Real Cabernet at night though! Rich

Yes I am hopeful that an acceptable red is discovered. Right now dilution with an NA Merlot is all I have found. I will be trying cream of tartar though.

 

[Truckinalong]

Clausthaler is 86 calories.
Thanks for the suggestions. I am still looking for an acceptable solution for red wine.
My buddy and I were having lunch yesterday and he asked for NA beer. All they had was O'Douls Amber. Better than nothing.
Yes however the craft beers have made good taste choices better almost everywhere. My cardiologist says that, as long as the treatment is working, an ablation is best avoided.
Thanks. I will be doing a survey in Mexico in 2 weeks. I hope to find some available in the supermarkets.
Yes I am hopeful that an acceptable red is discovered. Right now dilution with an NA Merlot is all I have found. I will be trying cream of tartar though.

Not to divert thread but at least talk to an electrophysiologist at a top center. You don't need to be on toxic drugs and manage this, you can be free of it and remember what life was like before it. In the right hands a-flutter ablation is easy and a doctor who says avoid is not giving you the full information you need to make your own decsion. That is all I will say. Best of luck. PM me if you want to talk.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Non sequitur: We offered an NA beer to some firefighters who brought a truck to a block party for the kids to see. They turned it down because it would make them smell like they’d been drinking regular beer on the job.

Never considered that side effect—“really, officer, I haven’t been drinking....”