Intro – Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3
Athletic Brewing
It was winter of 2020, and I was sipping on an Lagunitas IPNA (NAY) and visiting with friends on Zoom for a virtual happy hour when it occurred to me to check if there were craft non-alcoholic beers.
Craft beer has exploded over the US in the last decade bring delicious experimentation with it. Why not, I thought, experiment with NA?
A name came up a few times in my search, and because they were easy to order, were my first fore into craft NA beers: Athletic Brewing Company.
Most of the different NA beers I’ve had over the last two years have been from them, and there are two important reasons for this:
- They are easy to order from. Direct from their site, free shipping on two six packs, boom, beer at my house.
- They are tasty, which causes me to drink them and then go back to step one.
The ordering thing is such an important aspect, I want to mention it again. Despite being NA, most of the commercial stuff from the first post has to be bought from a store (and yes sometimes, Amazon), and despite being NA, most stores won’t ship beer to my state.
Athletic Brewing, Bravus, Partake, Wellbeing all let you order and ship direct. Easily. And while I’ve been lucky to find them in stores around the area (and even a local pub), that ease of ordering is why I keep going back.
We’ll get to the others next go. This post is going to be all about Athletic Brewing.
When I started, they had four staples, and would add on with lower run batches, either seasonal or experimental. There are six staples now, and the experimentation has continued. While that means most of the beer on this list is not currently available, it should show the variety that they brewery produced throughout the year.
I’ll start with the staples, you’ll be able to get them anytime. From there, onto seasonals and pilot programs. I’ll also start by saying that all of these beers are best described as light. I hesitate to say “thin” as that seems to have a specific connotation, but it also works. These are lower calorie beers designed with an active lifestyle in mind. That doesn’t mean they are lacking in taste.
That lightness works well for most of these, but not all.
All of these are <0.5% beer.
Staples
These brews should be available all the time. There are two new ones as well, but I have not tried them: the Athletic Light; and Free Wave, a hazy IPA.
Run Wild IPA
This is a light IPA, hoppy but not overtly so. My first of all of these, good to drink, but I found other flavors I liked more.
Upside Dawn Golden
This has a similar hop level as the Run Wild, but adds in the golden flavor to smooth it out some. All for 45 calories.
All Out Dark
This is their stout-like beer. Here the ‘lightness’ of the beers is a hindrance. It doesn’t taste bad… but doesn’t succeed quite either.
Cerveza Atletica Lager
This is supposed to be reminiscent of a Dos Equis type beer. But I found the copper taste a bit too much for myself. I did not mind drinking it, but did not seek out more of it.
Seasonal / Limited Edition
These beers had a full label on the can, so my assumption is they are in some rotation at the brewery, tho not always available. I will be certainly getting most of them again should they return.
Irish Red
Ah, this one wins. It is the Killian’s type red, malty and light to drink.
Soul Sour
Made for Black History Month by guest brewer, this sour was fantastic, and I ended up getting a second batch.
Trailblazer
Described as a hoppy helles, and I agree, it has a pleasant amount of hops with a slight peach flavor. This is what I was drinking when I posted this article.
Wit’s Peak
A witbier with some citrus, light and pleasant. They didn’t last long.
Stump Jump Brown
A nice English style brown ale. I quite liked this one. The malt and nut flavors were well balanced.
Lodge Life Fireside
A darker beer, this one has a slightly smokey taste that finishes with a hint of marshmallows. The goal is to have you think of smores around the fire, and it succeeded.
First Ride
A malty beer made with coffee? Yes please! It did have caffeine, so I only really had these during the afternoon. I suppose I could have had one for breakfast…
Pilot Program
The pilot program seems to be what it sounds like, as they brewery is trying out new and … interesting things. They are a risk (to both groups, brewer and drinker), but have had some interesting rewards.
I do not know if you’ll ever be able to buy any of these again, so this list may be more to interest you in future brews.
Brut IPA
This is easily my least favorite of any NA Beer I’ve had. It was an interesting idea, a brut type IPA, but the result of stripping all the sweetness out of the beer is just the bitterness of the hops. Even some fresh grapefruit slices did not help…
Lost in the Redwoods
A maltier red than the Irish Red, and quite tasty.
Athletic Hefeweissan
A light Hef with great taste.
Irish Dry Stout
While similar to the All Out Dark, this one has a much better flavor and succeeds in invoking a stout where the other doesn’t quite make it.
Next Time
More breweries, like Bravus, Wellness and Untitled Art!
