I’m doing a dry February. Lots of people do a dry January, but February is a shorter month so it’s easier. This is my third consecutive February without alcohol and it’s nice to take a break from the booze for a bit. I usually supplement my drinking habit with non-alcoholic beer. The problem is that most non-alcoholic beer is pretty terrible.
I drink a lot of craft beer, especially IPAs. Most non-alcoholic beers are based on lighter beers like lagers or pilsners, so they lack the hop heavy and complex flavors that I’m used to. Today I found a six pack of Lagunitas IPNA and I might have discovered my favorite non-alcoholic beer.
Lagunitas IPNA is a non-alcoholic IPA. They brew it like a real beer. They use hops, malt, yeast, and and water. It’s crafted with quality malts like Munich malt, English crystal malt, and Canadian 2-row barley then dry hopped with Citra, Mosaic, Columbus, Tomahawk and Zeus hops. They just don’t allow it to get stronger than .5% ABV.
I poured it into a beer glass for the full effect. It pours nice, although the head is rather thin. Seems less carbonated than their flagship IPA. It has a beautiful dark amber color. It’s smells like a real IPA. Citrus and pine hops upfront, some biscuit, resin maybe.
The taste is a little thin. I was slightly disappointed because the aroma was so promising. I get pine, resin, citrus, orange peel, but it feels a little watered down. It starts to coat the tongue the more you sip it which adds to the flavor as you go along. It’s reminiscent of a session ale, but less filling which total makes sense due to the lack of alcohol.
It’s pretty close to the real deal. I think it would fool a non IPA drinker. It’s the most satisfying non-alcoholic beer I’ve had to date. I definitely recommend it. It makes those sober times easier to transition into.
Critically Rated at 14/17
Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young
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