Off the sauce? A frosty non-alcoholic beer offers a potential option… at least in theory. Let’s see what Lagunitas does with the category with its cheekily-named IPNA.

If you handed me this beer and didn’t tell me it was non-alcoholic, I’d say it was a pretty shoddy representation if IPA. Knowing it’s (almost) boozeless, it’s only slightly more impressive. The beer doesn’t come across as particularly hoppy — though it’s made with lots of real hops — but rather loaded to the gills with pine needles and a soapy character that tastes more than a little like laundry detergent. There’s more evergreen character on the finish, though it lingers on the tongue like bitter, dried rosemary instead of fresh hops. On the plus side: No hangovers.

C- / $10 per six-pack / lagunitas.com [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]

Lagunitas IPNA Non-Alcoholic IPA

$10

4

Rating

4.0/10

BUY IT NOW