Non-alcoholic beer is the most mature corner of the alcohol-free market, and it is not close. Athletic Brewing built an entire craft brewery around it, Sierra Nevada and Sam Adams followed with NA versions of their flagships, and Heineken, Guinness, Corona, and Budweiser all now make credible 0.0 beers you can find at a gas station. The gap between NA beer and the real thing is smaller here than in any spirit category on this site.
That also means the category has outgrown a five-beer list. I expanded this ranking to ten so it covers every style a beer drinker actually reaches for: West Coast and hazy IPAs, a golden ale, three lagers, a stout, and a wheat beer. If you already know what style you want, the best NA IPAs, best NA stouts, and best NA lagers guides go deeper on each.
When you’ll actually want a non-alcoholic beer
Watching a game, pairing with pizza, finishing a run, or any night when you want the ritual of cracking a can without the alcohol. Athletic’s IPAs are good enough that craft drinkers do not feel like they are settling. Heineken 0.0 is the practical default when you want something familiar. Guinness 0.0 is the only NA stout worth buying, and it happens to be excellent.
How I ranked these
I weighed four things. Flavor authenticity against the full-strength version of the same style. Style coverage, because a list with six IPAs is useless to a lager drinker. Availability, since the best beer you cannot find is not the best beer. And value per can, which matters more for beer than spirits because you drink it by the six-pack, not by the ounce.
Athletic Run Wild wins overall because it is the beer most people should try first. Heineken 0.0 wins on availability. Guinness 0.0 wins its style by default, but it would win on merit too. The full breakdown is below.
0.0% versus under 0.5%, and why it matters
US labeling rules let anything under 0.5% ABV be called non-alcoholic. Two groups fall under that line. True 0.0% beers (Heineken 0.0, Guinness 0.0, Budweiser Zero, Peroni 0.0) have the alcohol removed or never fermented to begin with, and contain no measurable alcohol. Under-0.5% beers (most Athletic Brewing, Sierra Nevada Trail Pass, Partake) contain trace alcohol, similar to what you get from a ripe banana or a bottle of kombucha.
For most drinkers the difference is academic. If you are pregnant, in recovery, or avoiding alcohol for religious or medical reasons, stick with the beers marked 0.0% and check the can, because brewers do not always make the distinction obvious on the front label.
Calories, since you will ask
Most NA beers land between 50 and 90 calories per 12-ounce can, about half of a regular beer, because most of the calories in beer come from the alcohol itself. Partake IPA is the outlier at 10 calories. Athletic Lite is 25. Run Wild is 65 and Heineken 0.0 is 69, which is the range you should expect from anything with real body.
Shop by style
If you only drink one style, start with the dedicated guide. I covered the best non-alcoholic IPAs for hop-forward drinkers, the best non-alcoholic stouts for anyone who misses Guinness, and the best non-alcoholic lagers for the light-and-crisp crowd. And since Athletic Brewing shows up three times in this ranking, I wrote a full Athletic Brewing review covering their whole lineup and which cans to skip.
The full ranking
Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA
Why it's #1: The IPA that put NA craft beer on the map. Brewed as a non-alcoholic beer from the start, so the hop aroma is intact and the body is clean rather than watery. The one beer to try first.
- 12-pack of 12oz cans
- 65 calories per can
- Under 0.5% ABV
- Citrus and pine hop profile
- Brewed non-alcoholic, not dealcoholized
- US craft brewery
Athletic Brewing Free Wave
Why it's #2: Athletic's hazy IPA. Juicier and softer than Run Wild with tropical fruit up front and almost no bitterness on the finish. The pick if you like New England style IPAs.
- 12-pack of 12oz cans
- 70 calories per can
- Under 0.5% ABV
- Hazy, juicy, tropical profile
- Brewed non-alcoholic
- Vegan
Heineken 0.0
Why it's #3: The benchmark 0.0 lager. Reliably clean, true zero alcohol, and stocked almost everywhere from gas stations to stadiums. When in doubt, this is the safe order.
- 6-pack of 11.2oz bottles
- 0.0% ABV, no measurable alcohol
- 69 calories per bottle
- European lager profile
- Available nearly everywhere
Guinness 0.0
Why it's #4: The only NA stout that matters, and it is genuinely close to the original. Same creamy nitro pour, same roasted coffee and chocolate, true 0.0% alcohol. Most people cannot tell the difference in a blind pour.
- 6-pack of 14.9oz nitro cans
- 0.0% ABV
- About 60 calories per can
- Coffee, chocolate, and roasted malt
- Nitro widget for the classic cascade
- Made by Guinness
Sierra Nevada Trail Pass IPA
Why it's #5: Sierra Nevada's NA take on its own house style. Piney, resinous, and more bitter than Run Wild, which makes it the better pick for West Coast IPA purists. Great value in a six-pack.
- 6-pack of 12oz cans
- Under 0.5% ABV
- About 70 calories per can
- Pine and grapefruit hop profile
- From the brewery behind Pale Ale
Athletic Brewing Upside Dawn
Why it's #6: Athletic's golden ale. Light, slightly citrusy, and about as close to a crowd-pleasing ale as NA beer gets. The one to bring to a party where not everyone drinks IPAs.
- 12-pack of 12oz cans
- 45 calories per can
- Under 0.5% ABV
- Light golden ale, mild citrus and floral notes
- Brewed non-alcoholic
- Vegan
Partake IPA
Why it's #7: The lightest NA beer that still tastes like beer. Ten calories a can, zero sugar, and a surprisingly credible citrus hop character. The trade-off is a thin body.
- 12-pack of 12oz cans
- 10 calories per can
- Under 0.5% ABV
- Zero sugar, 2g carbs
- Citrus hop profile
- Award-winning Canadian brewery
Clausthaler Original
Why it's #8: The German original. Clausthaler has been making NA beer since 1979, and this still tastes more like a real pilsner than the big-brand 0.0 versions. Malty, crisp, and cheap.
- 6-pack of 12oz bottles
- Under 0.5% ABV
- About 90 calories per bottle
- Malt-forward German pilsner profile
- Brewed in Frankfurt since 1979
Corona Non-Alcoholic
Why it's #9: Corona's NA version does exactly what Corona does. Light, clean, and built for a lime wedge and a hot afternoon. Adds a dose of vitamin D, which is a gimmick, but the beer itself is solid.
- 6-pack of 12oz bottles
- 0.4% ABV
- 60 calories per bottle
- Light Mexican lager profile
- Same clear bottle, same ritual
Athletic Brewing Wit's Peak
Why it's #10: A Belgian-style witbier with orange peel and coriander. The only NA wheat beer that is easy to find in the US, and a good one. Think Blue Moon without the alcohol.
- 12-pack of 12oz cans
- Under 0.5% ABV
- About 70 calories per can
- Citrus, coriander, and wheat
- Brewed non-alcoholic
- Vegan
