# I like NA beer and I don't think I'm missing anything **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-na-beer-and-i-dont-think-im-missing-anything/469934 "2008-10-28T14:12:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-na-beer-and-i-dont-think-im-missing-anything/469934/21 "2008-10-30T04:49:29Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > I haven’t had non-alcoholic beer in years, but I do remember there being a huge taste difference. Also, why drink beer for the flavor? Well, one reason is that if one has to avoid alcohol for some reason, whether legal, pharmacological, or otherwise, NA beer may provide a suitable choice, especially for those who don’t care for soft drinks or carbonated water of the Perrier type. With beer especially, there is a component of “beerness” that goes beyond the mere alcoholic strength, and it’s this quality that can make a NA beer worthwhile in some circumstances. It’s true of beer in a way that I do think that the taste of NA beer has an unfortunate bluntness to it, but the better brands come pretty close to eliminating that. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-na-beer-and-i-dont-think-im-missing-anything/469934/22 "2008-10-30T04:58:55Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Three cheers for N/A beer! You know there is some alcohol in N/A beer. Less than .05 % is what they’ll guarantee. I once freaked out an AA meeting by walking in with an open can. There is a wide range of taste in N/A beer but the real thing tastes better each and every time. What can I tell you. I’m The Flying Dutchman and I’m an alcoholic. ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-na-beer-and-i-dont-think-im-missing-anything/469934/23 "2008-10-30T06:37:34Z")
NA is pretty similar to a lot of Alcoholic beers… at least a lot of Alcoholic beers that I think taste like water (read Budweiser, Coors, Asahi, Kirin, etc) and when they’re cold enough they’re tolerable, but they don’t taste very good. I miss beer so ridiculously badly. I mean, out here we have like 20 different kinds of Kirin that all taste the same, 20 different kinds of Asahi, etc, they’re all the damn same, and only TWO (yes, a literal measurement, not an exageration, only TWO) come in a bottle, and both are Kirins. I’m from California, though, which has one of the best micro-brewing cultures in America (behind, from what I’m told Seattle). One of my good friends used to work at the local brew pub as assistant brew master, and he had a brew mastering license from a school in England. I’m used to going into a bar and seeing at least 10 micro brews on tap, all we have tapped out here is “nama” beer (usually some kind of kirin/asahi) and, if you’re lucky, Guiness. So really it depends what kind of beer you drink. If you like the water pilsners and lagers that are the “big name” beers in America than I can see not really tasting a difference, but if you’re obsessed with IPAs and Amber Ales, Scotch Ales and good Pilsners, than no, they don’t taste even REMOTELY the same. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-na-beer-and-i-dont-think-im-missing-anything/469934/24 "2008-10-30T14:23:12Z")
Our rugby club once solicited donations from a beer distributor. The guy who was contacted must not know much about the rugby culture, because we were given about a dozen cases of NA beer. I think it’s still sitting in the shed; either that or we used it for [del]rugby practice[/del] target practice. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-na-beer-and-i-dont-think-im-missing-anything/469934/25 "2008-10-30T15:50:19Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I definitely notice a difference in taste, and, obviously, effect. I still prefer **A beer** rather than NA beer, even though I’m not supposed to be drinking. I prefer MANY beers, not just one. 😃 Joe ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-na-beer-and-i-dont-think-im-missing-anything/469934/26 "2008-10-30T15:54:06Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > Same here. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I’ve heard so much about “40s” that I bought a bottle of [Camo](http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/881/2789), a high octane beer (8.5%). It tasted like ass. That’s a bad choice. For malt liquors or ice beers, ALL OF THEM taste better than Camo - it’s so thick and sweet… Bleargh! Joe ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-na-beer-and-i-dont-think-im-missing-anything/469934/27 "2008-10-30T16:00:11Z")
NA beer tastes like camel piss. All of them. Gross. If that’s all there is to drink, I’ll pass. ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-na-beer-and-i-dont-think-im-missing-anything/469934/28 "2008-10-31T00:46:38Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > Same here. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I’ve heard so much about “40s” that I bought a bottle of [Camo](http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/881/2789), a high octane beer (8.5%). It tasted like ass. you can get real beer at a higher percentage than that. Some IPAs go up to 9%, Barely Wines (including my favorite, Lagunitas’ Gnarly Wine) are around 11-13% and they’re all tastier than malt liquor. As Atmosphere says: I haven’t drank a 40 since I was old enough to drink ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-na-beer-and-i-dont-think-im-missing-anything/469934/29 "2008-10-31T01:18:51Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > I dunno your whole post rubs me the wrong way somehow and I’m trying very hard not to be belligerent in my reply :o Why? I drink for the alcohol content and I don’t really understand how the OP can feel there’s no difference either, but your reply and a few others in this thread are coming off very defensive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-na-beer-and-i-dont-think-im-missing-anything/469934.md?page=1)