Beer and drugs

Thoughts on alcohol-free beer

So, why do I insist on drinking alcohol-free beer when Coke and things are a third of the price?  Simple answer is that I don't like them and I also want to hang on to my few remaining teeth.  It is also fiendishly hard to get alcohol-free beer in Asheville, aka Beer City, USA.  I have managed to get my hands on six and here's my personal assessment.
O'Doulls - bloody awful.  Tastes like the water someone has washed a pub floor with.  Also the most widely available
Kaliber - made by Guinness so you'd think it would be decent but it is sweet and generally unpleasant.
Buckler - Dutch, I think.  Also sweet and not at all pleasant.  Has an aroma I can't place and for that I am grateful
Becks - make sure it is really cold and this is pretty decent, a bit like Steinlager.
Clausthaler Premium - my favourite.  Again, has to be cold but doesn't taste offensive if you accidentally grab a warmish one.
Erdinger - tastes good with plenty of body but it's a mess to pour, producing a head twice as big as the beer.
It's our anniversary tomorrow and we plan to eat out at the only German restaurant in Asheville.  It'll be sad to see their shelves of German beer, none of which I can have so I will be looking out for a German non-alcoholic I haven't tried yet.  (We actually ate at Vinnie's which was a bit of a mistake as it was graduation day at UNCA just up the road and the place was packed).

The big benefit of alcohol-free beer is that you can drink as much as you like without getting drunk - I guess the mere act of having a cold glass in your hand has a certain therapeutic effect.

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