copied over from my instagram:

well my tasting adventure with the nine new single NA beers that i got yesterday started off rather disappointingly last night. during my weekly friday night zoom happy hour i decided to randomly pick a few of my new stash to try.

first was the hairless dog black ale. i’ve seen a lot of bad reviews but i wanted to try it for myself because i’ll never learn what i like and what i don’t like if i don’t sample things. but apparently all those people who hated on this brew were right! this was gross and i think the wording i used while drinking it was “garbage water.” 😂 it had a really pungent overpowering foul smell that was not in anyway enticing and sadly the taste was not much better. i had a few sips and let it sit for a while, and then came back to it but it was still bad. i couldn’t drink it so i poured that one out. (80 calories, no yeast used, basically an unfermented wort, if i’m understanding the criticisms i’m reading about it.)

next i figured i would try the surreal brewing kolsch, thinking it would be a good palate cleanser. i had read some good reviews and the brewery definitely has its fans in the facebook groups i’m in. it has an interesting but strange nose to it, some kind of subtle fruit smell. it says honeydew melon on the can but i’m not sure that’s what i was smelling. it’s not offensive but a little weird. good mouthfeel, it felt like i had a real beer in my mouth, but sadly the taste was just sort of not there. like not much taste at all. i felt like i was drinking air. i ended up drinking that one and it was fine but i’m not sure i really want another. but i guess if you are a fan of really light beer, maybe you would like this. (17 calories!!! and there is yeast in this one though i’m not exactly sure of their process.)

after that one i was really hoping partake brewing’s stout would end my evening on a high note. wah-wah. this canadian brewery has a lot of fans in the groups i’m in and maybe i was just primed for disappointment but this one didn’t work for me either. thin and fairly flat in carbonation. wasn’t offensive but as the third attempt in the evening to have a satisfying brew, it just did not deliver what i was looking for. i don’t even remember now what the flavor profile was but it was enough to make me pour it out. i would maybe give this one another try another time but definitely without much expectation. this one has 30 calories and also does use yeast.

so it was an unsatisfying evening all around. three down, six to go. hopefully some of the others are better. but at least now i know!