Firestone Walker's 8Zero5 recreates the beer ritual without the actual booze
There are two easy ways to create products for the least boozy generation. THC seltzers and other products made from hemp can create pathways to new markets. But while that opens up different social experiences, it struggles to replace the feeling of cracking a cold beer on a hot day.
Which brings us to the second option; non-alcoholic beer. We've seen a rising tide of new NA brews, ranging from dedicated booze-free breweries (Best Day, Athletic) to new extensions from trusted brands. Firestone Walker falls squarely in the former category. The California brewer has emerged as one of the country's most reliable engines of bold, boozy beers.
Can that expertise translate to non-alcoholic brews?
8Zero5 Non-Alcoholic Blonde: B+
It pours an effervescent copper color. A white head builds to about half an inch before slowly fizzling down to a thin ring at the top. The smell is light and leans close to a hefeweizen. You get a little wheat, some clove and minor fruit.
The taste is similarly airy, with modest sweetness and a soft, not quite crisp, finish. The cereal grain experience you get from typical non-alcoholic beers isn't there. Though it lacks the boozy punch of a regular beer, it still gets you 90 percent of the way to a light beer.
Except you're getting more flavor here than you would with a Miller Lite or the like. It does a solid job mirroring its boozy forebearer, bringing in just a little fruit and spice working on top of a current of sweet malt. That makes it an easy sipper or crushable summer beer.
It would be nice with a bit more of a bite toward the end -- a little hop crispness to wash everything away dryly. But as is, it avoids the pitfalls of typical NA brews and doesn't feel like you're drinking a bowl of Grape Nuts. If you're looking for a replacement of your regular light beer, this will provide solid flavor alongside the ritual of cracking and pounding a can.
Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's?
This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I'm drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That's the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm's. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink 8Zero5 non-alcoholic beer over a cold can of Hamm's?
I'd cycle one in every now and again to keep my head straight, sure.
This is part of FTW's Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
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