Imagine a life without beer

Being part of the Tap Trail provides me with a great opportunity to try amazing beers inside and outside of Bellingham, and while having this access to amazing beers has definitely spoiled me and my palette, a recent event in my family made me realize just how much I take craft beer (or any beer for that matter) for granted.

You see, my 75 year old father was just told that he has to cut beer out of his life.   His beer of choice?  Miller Lite.  Yeah, yeah, it’s not craft beer, but it is beer and it’s what he likes.   Regardless of his taste in beer, the fact that he won’t be able to enjoy his favorite again made me think about what I’d do if I was suddenly told that I can’t drink beer anymore.  He and I talked a bit about how he is going to handle this abrupt change in his lifestyle and he mentioned that he might try to find a non-alcoholic version to replace his beloved Miller Lite and I don’t think it’s going to be too hard for him to do that considering the style of beer he’s replacing (Miller Sharps comes to mind). But what would I, or any other craft beer fan, do in the same circumstance?

I Must Find A Craft N/A Beer.

I did a quick search for “non-alcoholic craft beer” on the interwebs and got literally nothing but the list of european varieties and, no surprise, an article published by the Tap Trail in February.  So I looked through the catalog from a couple of big name breweries, found nothing and thought, “somebody should brew a craft NA beer.”

Little did I know I only had to walk three blocks from my downtown office to find one.

I’m pretty well aware of the beer selection in Bellingham, but I’ll be honest and say that if something doesn’t interest me immediately, I’ll probably glance over the menu or find something I want before getting through the full list. This has obviously happened for me at Aslan Brewing because until a couple days ago I had no idea that at the bottom of their beer menu lived “Don’s Non Alcoholic” (0.05% ABV) Beer. Full description shown below.

I had to try it

I ordered a 4oz glass of Don’s Non-Alcoholic along with a pint of Batch 15 (my current Aslan favorite) fully expecting to try Don’s and probably not like it. I was dead wrong. This NA craft beer has a remarkably full flavor and I could be easily tricked into thinking it was just another beer on Aslan’s long list. In fact, I had a couple of unknowing friends try it and not one of them identified it as N/A. I’d even go as far as to say that if I were downtown on any given night and wanted a beer without dealing with the alcohol, I’d absolutely consider heading to Aslan for a Don’s and I can think of three situations where this beer would be a fantastic choice.

Situation #1.

You’re smart enough to know that you’ve hit your limit before becoming a sloppy mess but you don’t want the party to end. Head to Aslan with your friends and order a Don’s.

Situation #2

It’s lunchtime on a work day and you need to stay sharp, or your workplace seriously frowns upon lunch break beers. Head to Aslan, grab a bowl of Mac & Cheese and a Don’s.

Situation #3

Your 75 year old father is in town and you want to take him out for a beer to show how much you miss hanging out with him and how much you appreciate everything he’s done to help coach you through life. Head to Aslan, grab a Don’s and toast to how fortunate we are to have talented brewers willing to create a beer for everyone.

An additional fun fact…..
This may be the ONLY craft N/A beer in the country! If you know of any others, I’d love to hear about them.