TOM KAN PA wrote:
> What, in your opinion, is the best NA Beer readily available in the states?
>
>

I used to like to pick up a can of Birrell occassionally in a mall. (It
used to be sold in health food stores.) A Swiss product, it was
contract brewed by several US breweries years ago (Schmidt's of Phila.,
Matts, etc.). Haven't seen it in years. Like all NA's, it wasn't beer
but it did have more hop flavor than the others (brewer's gold,
according to the label), so it was a refreshing drink and an alternative
to soda pop. (It was sort of iced hop tea.)

All the US NA's seem to go for the lightest taste possible, so they seem
to delete the hops as well as the malt and (eventually) alcohol.
O-Doul's Amber at least has a bit of malt flavor.

The imports are, as noted elsewhere, often packed in green glass and
often very old and tend to skunkiness, so if you're a Heineken lover,
you're in luck. There used to be a UK NA, a Guinness-Bass import, that
tasted like beer wort, which was...well, different at least.

I notice that Jever makes an NA, but don't think it gets to the US.
Would be interested to try a well-kept, un-light struck bottle.

If you're looking for flavor, try mixing a bottle of malta with a
can/bottle of NA (there are several brands available in the US, many
made by US breweries- look in the "Hispanic" section of your
supermarket, at least on the East Coast).

Again, it ain't beer (any more than a vegi-burger is a classic
hamburger) but it's better than Coke.