For all the chatter you’ve no doubt heard about the expanding popularity of non-alcoholic beer in the last few years, it remains to be seen if the segment will ever really move into the “big leagues” as a demographic in the U.S. market. NA beers of all kinds, despite proliferating on the store shelves, still make up a tiny fraction of the overall U.S. beer market. The competition between brewers to develop familiarity with their products is predicated on the idea that N/A beer will hopefully continue to grow even as the overall beer market faces huge sales issues, which is easier said than done. But with major companies continuing to fuel the perception that NA beer isn’t just for non-drinkers, it does seem like the idea of drinking these beers is breaking through to new demographics. And the new Dos Equis Lime & Salt Zero might just be able to aid NA beer’s ascent to the next level.
The first NA product from Dos Equis is an intriguing concept, because there really isn’t a lot of flavored NA beer on the market today–most of the leading brands are more nondescript lagers, while craft NA breweries are putting out non-alcoholic versions of classic craft beer styles such as IPA. As craft beer geeks, we have a tendency to ignore products like the ubiquitously flavored lime beers produced by the likes of AB InBev and Molson Coors, but they are legitimately a major market. And if you can make a non-alcoholic version that tastes more or less like the standard one, perhaps there’s a big pool of potential customers who have been waiting for just such an opportunity? That’s presumably the rationale behind Dos Equis Lime & Salt Zero.
Granted, there are a couple oddities here. There’s the use of “Zero” in the title, for one, a term that has become intimately associated with modernized NA beer styles that contain so little alcohol that they can legally be labeled as 0.0% ABV. Given that Dos Equis’ parent company is Heineken, which more or less launched the 0.0 era with their own Heineken 0.0, packaging a more traditional style NA beer (under .5% ABV) with “Zero” in the name feels slightly misleading, or you could say that it undermines the market cache of “zero” a bit. It’s not a big issue, but a curious distinction.
So with that said, let’s get to tasting Dos Equis Lime & Salt Zero.
On the nose, I suppose this smells more or less like it should, although this isn’t exactly a beer style I’m often reaching for in my day to day life. At the very least, I’m happy to find that the lime accents are on the more subtle rather than bombastic side, and nothing about it screams artificiality. The lime is supported by hints of something floral like, which gives it a slightly perfumey quality, but all in all it’s not much different from smelling a lime flavored seltzer.
On the palate, the lime is moderately assertive, contributing a slight tartness and puckering quality. Malt is quite reserved, though there are hints of crisp grain. The lime and salinity grow a bit stronger with repeat sips, though they never reach a level that seems overdone to me. The overall effect is honestly pretty refreshing, particularly with the acidity, and I will happily concede that it seems like it would be nice on a hot day outdoors. At the end of the day, I don’t honestly know if I need the salinity in this, but the lime should seem familiar enough to regular drinkers of flavored seltzer brands such as La Croix.
All in all, this NA beer is a success by virtue of avoiding any major pitfalls. It has no strange off flavors–which I would expect from the makers of Heineken 0.0, honestly–and the level of lime enhancement has been dialed in to a judicious rather than ostentatious degree. And really, that’s all you can ask. Perhaps Dos Equis Lime & Salt Zero will bring NA beer into more households that haven’t yet explored the category, but at the very least it should perform admirably at a summer BBQ.
Brewery: Dos Equis (Heineken)
Region: Mexico
Style: Non-alcoholic lager
ABV: Less than .5%
Availability: 12 oz cans
Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.