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It's been a few minutes since my last review of a non-alcoholic beverage, and I'm not sure any of these have been what I would call particularly adequate. Even the ones that managed to get into the average range really aren't something I'm going to go for. If I'm out looking for a beverage, I'm not even sure I would consider a beer that had no alcohol in it unless I was a designated driver, and I try to avoid that kind of situation. Nevertheless, there is a place in the world for something that can taste good and not get you drunk. This doesn't have to be limited to sodas or lemonades or... I guess hot chocolate? Although, adding a little Bailey's to hot chocolate makes it better.
From the cool looking can comes a beverage that is a deep amber. It reminds me distinctly of one of the other non-alcoholic beers I had, but I don't believe that was supposed to be mimicking a double IPA. This one specifically says it comes with Simcoe, Mosaic, and citrus hops. Those are some good hops. This one goes out of its way to even list the ingredients as water, barley, hops, and yeast. I believe this is compliant with the German purity law, but I'm not sure what Germans would think of a beer with no alcohol in the first place. The aroma is quite pleasantly hoppy, but I'm not smelling much of that malt and I fear that this is going to be a beverage that tries to overcome a lack of real flavor by simply shoving in a bunch of bitter hops and hoping that it overcomes the wateriness.
First sip isn't good, but it's not terrible in the way that similar beers of this style are. Instead, this has a weird corn tortilla taste to it that is somewhat unsettling. This is especially the case as I've already gone over the fact that the list of ingredients doesn't include anything particularly nuts. I think I can even taste hints of jalapeno, but I know they aren't in there. I don't know what's mimicking the odd flavors, but none of them was a flavor of beer. This needs to be more beer-flavored. It definitely would not confuse me into believing it was a double IPA. This doesn't seem to share any of the hallmarks of that style, and I'm not sure why it wound up being called this.
Tip-in is pine, flowers, and herbs, and the emphasis is really on the herbs. The middle brings that sensation of corn tortillas, but they are undercooked. I assume this is coming from the barley malt, but it doesn't taste like barley, and it doesn't taste like a malt should. The finish is slightly bitter with an increase of the tortilla sensation and the hint of the jalapeno that I tasted in the sip.
Bottom Line: This is not the best non-alcoholic beer I've ever had.
1.0/5
