BrewDog’s U.S. arm has been embracing non-alcoholic options for quite a while now, and the operation continues to up the ante on “AF” offerings designed to appeal to the sober-curious (and sober-certain).

All four of the products reviewed below are part of a box set that includes four six-packs, one of each product, for $50. All come in 12 oz cans. Lone Wolf and 5AM Angel are both limited releases (as of the end of 2023), while Hazy AF and Elvis AF are in permanent rotation.

Thoughts on the quartet follow.

Brewdog Lone Wolf Non-Alcoholic G&T – Made in partnership with Scotland’s Lone Wolf distillery. Somewhere between gin & tonic and a can of Sprite lies this RTD cocktail — and it’s honestly a lot closer to the Sprite. The sweetness (with 14g of sugar) is palpable, but not overblown, though a minimal quinine note on the nose offers at least a suggestion of bitterness. Lime-heavy notes dominate the tongue and hang on well into the finish. It’s harmless and actually quite lively to sip on… but there’s no mistaking it for the real thing. B

BrewDog 5AM Angel – A non-alcoholic American red ale, though the color is a lot closer to blonde than I expected. This really smells the part, with a bold citrus character that melds blood orange with red apples. Punchy hops add plenty of bitterness, with a finish that folds in lemon peel with notes of pine and a light layer of caramel. Enduring and authentic, it doesn’t fall into wateriness the way so many NA beers tend to do. All told, it’s one of the best alcohol-free beers I’ve encountered to date. A-

BrewDog Non-Alcoholic Hazy AF – “Hazy” is a spectrum, and while this beer is just barely there, it’s at least on it. A mild nose of cereal on the nose paves the way for a fruit-forward and not at all bitter palate, featuring restrained notes of pineapple, lemon, and some peach building toward the finish. Extremely mild, bordering on watery at times, with barely a hint of bitterness or hops, gentle lemon notes lingering on the barely sweet, barely bitter finish. B

BrewDog Non-Alcoholic Elvis AF – This “hoppy grapefruit” beer comes across almost like a grapefruit shandy, offering an intense aroma and flavor of grapefruit segments, balanced by modest, slightly dank hoppiness. There’s quite a bit more bitterness here than in the other NA beers, but it doesn’t quite hit the right notes, and the grapefruit slowly segues toward bitter notes of pith and peel, leaving a somewhat funky aftertaste around for longer than I’d like. It’s an interesting change of pace — and one of the bolder experiences in this collection — but nonetheless not my favorite. B-

each $14 per six-pack / brewdog.com

BrewDog Non-Alcoholic Hazy AF

$14

8

Rating

8.0/10