It feels like a pretty good sign of the times that a brewery can releases not one, but two, alcohol-free beers in time for Dry July. No Fool is a non-alc raspberry kettle sour that’s been made with oats, wheat and a mix of barley malts and fermented with real raspberries. You may have already tried it when it poured at GABS but if not, you’ll find it quite packed to the rafters with raspberry. That’s not just on the flavour either, with the beer pouring a bright pink hue to complement the heavy hit of berry and the substantial tang. In a world where many fruited kettle sours can taste some way from sensibilities of what beer is, No Fool fits so snugly into the contemporary craft sour space that if you could immediately spot the beer was missing the booze, well you'd be no fool at all.
It’s a similar story for Stars Align, the non-alc stout that’s as slick and silky smooth as you'd find one sitting at the full-strength mark too be. It’s also fittingly rich with lashing of chocolate, dried fruit and caramel all at play, while the inclusion of Eclipse hops provide the slightest touch of citrus.
Will Ziebell
Published June 22, 2022 2022-06-22 00:00:00
