How we review
Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of nonalcoholic beer: originals and clones. Clones are beers that are trying to look and taste as much like the real thing as possible, such as NA Guinness Draft or Heinekin 0.0. Originals are everything else.
For originals, we rate on five criteria: Can Art, Look, Smell, Mouthfeel, and Taste. Those five scores are averaged into the Overall Score, but taste is counted twice, because taste should matter more than other factors. Each time we rate a beer, we’re comparing it to the alcoholic version of that style. In other words, no grading on a curve just because it’s NA.
If you’re reaching for a clone, chances are you have had the alcoholic version in the past, you know you like it, and you want something that gives you as close to the same experience as you can get. So, for these beers we give one additional Clone score. Clone score is not factored into the overall beer score.
We love beer. And we believe you shouldn’t have to settle just because you don’t want alcohol.
How to Interpret our Ratings
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – Amazing, Best In Class
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ – Very Good, can’t go wrong
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ – Worth trying, but has some issues
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ – Probably best to skip it unless you have a really good reason
★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ – Avoid at all costs
For additional context, the highest rated beer on the site rings in at 4.50 (Go Brewing Sunshine State Tropical IPA). Anything above a 3.50 is super enjoyable. On the other end of the spectrum, anything much below a 2.75 is probably not worth your time.
Help Us Out
Buying all this beer is expensive! If you want to help us out with a donation, either monetary or beer, please visit the Contact Us page for information.
