A whole year of beer boiled down to ten spots. Just ten moments that lingered in my mind and helped get me through the last 365 days make this list and while there were a lot of low points in 2025, these beers gave light and hope to an often dreary world. It's been an adjustment talking about NA beers versus regular pints, the alcohol effect being absent makes for a whole different vibe to be sure. But the options are getting better and as the market for NA offerings grows, so should the quality. I'm here for the beer, so let's get on with this year's Sober Ten.
10. One for the Road Brewing Proceed with Caution Amber (January 26th)
One of the first non-alcoholic beers that really wowed me this year, One for the Road Brewing certainly tries to deliver as close to the real thing in a whole lotta styles as anyone out there. Prolific in number, they try to find an NA offering for every taste and this nutty, toasted malt beauty hit all the marks. Lacking nothing, satisfying the promise of the style.
Full video here.
9. Lake of the Woods Brewing No Wake Blonde Ale (October 23rd)
With this full bodied, bitter and bubbly Ale, Lake of the Woods Brewing brings an ode to classics like 50 or OV. Easy drinking, absolutely bang on flavours and a really wallet friendly price are all positives in my book. It scratches that itch for a beer that tastes like a damn beer real well and should find a place in the fridge or cooler anytime of year,
Full video here.
8. Sober Carpenter Brewing Oktoberfest Lager (September 21st)
I keep coming back to comparing what Sober Carpenter is doing in the NA world with what Beau's All Natural Brewing was doing in the craft beer one about 10 to 15 years ago and I really appreciate the style chances they've taken, even if I don't always dig what the result is. This Oktoberfest Lager was the best of the best this year from SC though, just topping out the Black and regular IPAs in my book. Bready with a caramel and rye spice feel, it was a grand addition to a sober September afternoon.
Full video here.
7. Cowbell Brewing Pretty Near Lager (April 19th)
The ability to create an NA lager is profoundly difficult. Off flavours often abound and the appearance in the glass is sometimes secondary and ignored. Cowbell Brewing goes to great lengths here to not only bring a great but simple crisp and clean Lager to us, but it has the head retention and carbonation to make the entire experience just like a regular pint. That's golden.
Full Video here.
6. Harmon's Craft Brewing Jack Pine Pale Ale (January 23rd)
The search for a non-alcoholic West Coast IPA/Pale Ale is perhaps my foremost desire when it comes to this whole journey through this NA world. I am an unabashed lover of malty, bitter beers and in Harmon's Craft Brewing flagship Pale Ale, I first found a spark to fuel that love. Toasty malt back with a floral, orange and pine bitterness caught my imagination and this one has found it's way back to my glass many times over the year.
Full video here.
5. Big Spruce Brewing Kitchen Partly Pale Ale (January 15th)
A take on their classic Kitchen Party Pale Ale, this quickly became a must have whenever I placed an order with Designated Drinks. Big Spruce has found a fantastic way to bring an NA beer to life that is full bodied, has a real beer feel, lots of citrus and pine bitterness, leaning West into an almost full IPA hit. This one helped me start to feel like there was hope for this trip through the sober world, perhaps some joy could be found after all.
Full video here.
4. Left Field Brewing Everyday Player Lager (February 15th)
There was little doubt when I first saw this Left Field Brewing offering available that it would be good. I trust and love the pedigree of LF beers over the years and this Lager raised and set the standard going forward for the style. Grainy, floral with a solid bitterness, a firm carbonation, crisp and clean with no aftertaste, nothing but real beer goodness all the way through. It remains the best NA Lager I tried in 2025 and one of the best beers overall. It found it's way into my glass all year long.
Full video here.
3. Guinness (September 4th)
The best NA stout is widely available and comes with an international pedigree for consistency and quality. Guinness 0 was one of the first NA beers I tried back in 2024 and has set the standard for every stout that comes after it. I have encountered very few that can match up to it, most devolving into a smoky, ashy mess...but not Guinness. Rich and velvety smooth, it has dark chocolate and coffee with just the right amount of bitterness and has never let me down. A beer I've bought almost every month this year, it's one I know I can count on all the time.
Full video here.
2. Bellwoods Brewery Stay Classy IPA (January 11th)
One thing I have discovered in the last year is that it's easy to release an NA beer, but it takes a real dedication to bring a quality product to the market. Bellwoods has long been one of the best breweries in Ontario (probably Canada and beyond, imho) and they don't fool around when it comes to delivering great beer. This extended to their non-alcoholic Stay Classy IPA, a pint that feels like the real thing and you know you're drinking a Bellwoods from the sniff to last sip. A beautifully constructed beer with notes of white grapefruit, lemon and pine, bitter and full with lingering pithiness. A go-to IPA that made my world a better place.
Full video here.
1. Nickel Brook Brewing Wicked Tame IPA (September 1st)
It wasn't difficult to choose my top NA beer from the last year, this one from Nickel Brook stood out from the first time I had it and was the most regular purchase and only 24 I bought in the last year and a half. Aside from its fantastic flavour profile of lemon, tangerine, pineapple and pine, the full bodied texture was such a lovely thing to behold. Many non-alcoholic offerings are thin and watery, but Nickel Brook delivers an as close to the full test IPA as possible and their care in crafting this shows. Along with their NA Blonde Ale, they've given us two great options when seeking sober living. Wicked Tame earned its spot at the top of my list by giving me the break from the worry of the world and just letting me enjoy a beer for beer's sake.
Full video here.
Happy New Year!
Polk
December 29yh, 2025
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