Athletic Brewing Oktoberfest Non-Alcoholic Beer Review

One of the best things about the rapid growth and improvement in the world of non-alcoholic craft beer in the last few years has been the reintroduction of actual, recognizable beer styles to the NA beer world. Because lest we forget, we’re only couple of years removed from the standard being that one would walk into a bar offering 100 distinct, specific craft beer styles, and then a solitary, token “NA beer.” What style of NA beer is that, you might ask? “Uh, it’s just a non-alcoholic beer” the disinterested bartender would reply, implying that “beer” in the most general of terms was the only thing that this alcohol-free liquid could aspire to hopefully evoke. Not “helles lager,” or “pale ale,” or “hefeweizen,” just “beer.”

But thankfully, that’s not the world we’re living in today. The non-alcoholic beer scene has broadened and differentiated considerably as brewers unlock technique necessary to make satisfying NA versions of styles that you simply wouldn’t ever see in the past–I’m talking about stuff like non-alcoholic porter or stout, or even NA sours. And it makes sense that Milford, Connecticut’s Athletic Brewing Co. would be leading the way on some of this development, given their status as the standard-bearer for the American NA beer movement, at least in terms of sales figures. No other company has been so intimately associated with the NA beer segment’s steady rise, which for Athletic has meant meteoric growth. They’ve achieved the status of “first NA craft beer you’re likely to try,” which is probably a factor in how the company has managed to build so many loyal customers even when so many other craft breweries are pushing their own NA beer experiments.

The surge of Athletic Brewing really has been something incredible to watch in the last few years, it must be stated. I’m still in awe of the fact that they took over the former Ballast Point facility in San Diego this June–the very facility that was once at the heart of Constellation’s now infamous $1 billion purchase of Ballast Point in 2015. Let that sink in: Less than a decade after a major international alcohol company paid $1 billion for the brewery space, that same space is now owned and operated by the country’s largest independent maker of non-alcoholic beer. Surely if any image sums up the downturn in the craft beer market in recent years, it would be that. But hey, at least the NA sector of the industry still appears to be growing.

While perusing one of the company’s recent press releases, it struck me that they’re doing something else I haven’t tasted before: Non-alcoholic Oktoberfest lager. Now, this isn’t actually new for Athletic–they’ve been making this seasonal release for a few years now. But the fact that they now have established “seasonals” in classic craft styles also speaks to the maturation of the NA craft beer market, which has increasingly come to mimic the regular, full-ABV beer market. You don’t dedicate the resources to a full production run of a limited relevance seasonal if you’re not certain that you’ll be able to handily sell through it during the window where it’s relevant, which is perhaps why I haven’t seen anyone else produce a “NA Oktoberfest” yet. Athletic’s appears to be traditional in its construction, inspired by “traditional Bavarian festbiers” (rather than marzen). It’s made with Vienna and Munich malts, and promises a little noble hop backbone from Hallertau Mittelfruh hops.

So with that said, let’s get to tasting this NA Oktoberfest directly.

On the nose, Athletic Brewing’s Oktoberfest displays light citrus impressions that are probably mostly hop derived, with lemon rind, a little floral character and then prominent crisp grainy impressions. It smells like toasted strands of wheat with some malty sweetness and mild hop impressions.

On the palate, this is mild-to-moderate in sweetness and favors that grain forward profile once again. I’m getting a lot of crisp cereal grain impressions and toasted wheat breadiness. Mild hop balance is present, with slight bitterness and citrus impressions of lemon and clementine. There’s not quite as much floral character as one might expect out of the Hallertau, but I think that the overall sweeter impression of the malt flavors–which is something I tend to associate with Athletic’s beers–tends to amplify the suggestion of the fruitiness. Thankfully, this is a style where a certain degree of malty sweetness is traditionally part of it, so it makes perfect conceptual sense here.

All in all, it’s a perfectly easy drinking lager, one that does a decent job of evoking classic festbiers, though I wouldn’t mind a bit more expressive noble hop punch. At the very least, though, it’s encouraging to see relatively “minor” craft beer styles now being recreated in this way in the NA beer world–it feels like the full range of beer experience is increasingly available to those who are abstaining or drinking less, and that’s by no means a bad thing. This is a fine addition to one’s celebratory autumn activities.

Brewery: Athletic Brewing Co.
City: Milford, CT
Style: Non-alcoholic beer
ABV: Less than .5% ABV
Availability: 12 oz cans

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and spirits geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.