Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beers – The Best Available In the USA

Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beer – in this post I wanted to talk to you about vegan non-alcoholic beer. Yep, that’s right, beer but without the alcohol. The popularity of non-alcoholic beer has soared in recent years. According to market research IRI, non-alcoholic beer sales have increased by 39% in 2019 and a further 38% in 2020. Why the increase in popularity? Mostly is it because younger generations such as millennials are more conscious about reducing or stopping alcohol consumption. Also, if you didn’t know 30% of American adults don’t consume alcohol at all. This makes non-alcohol drinks a popular alternative for anyone wanting something a bit more special than “water” or a “coke”. In this post, I will share with you whether non-alcoholic beers are vegan, and my choice of the best vegan non-alcoholic beers on the market. First, can you even find non-alcoholic vegan beers?

Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beers – Are They Available?

As a general rule, there is a wide selection of vegan non-alcoholic beers available including the following:

Well recognized brands such as Heineken 0.0;

Vegan non-alcoholic craft beers such as IPAs, Stouts, Goses, Ales & Ambers; and
Flavored vegan non-alcoholic beers like PB stout and blood orange IPA.

Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beer
Heineken 0.0
Athletic Brewing Co
Bravus
Wellbeing Brewing Company Dark Amber & Golden Wheat
BrewDog Hazy AF, Nanny State, Elvis AF & Punk AF
HOP WTR
Gruvi
Partake
Clausthaler Cans
Lagunitas Brewing Non-Alcoholic IPA

Is Alcohol-Free Beer Vegan?

As a general rule, alcohol-free beer is not necessarily vegan. Just because a beer is non-alcoholic does not mean that it will be vegan.

There are two ways a non-alcoholic beer can be non-vegan:

The use of a non-vegan production process (i.e. where non-vegan fining agents are used); and
The addition of non-vegan ingredients.

Alcohol-Free Beer with Non-Vegan Production Processes

As most non-alcoholic beers are made by dealcoholizing beer, it is important to check it is still vegan. This is because non-vegan fining agents (substances used to clarify and remove unwanted molecules from a fermented batch of beer) can still be used in the initial beer production. You can read more about what beers are not vegan in these series of posts:

Is Beer Vegan – Introducing The Secret To Finding Out

Alcohol-Free Beer with Non-Vegan Ingredients

It is also possible to have a non-alcoholic beer that has not been filtered with a non-vegan fining agent but that has a non-vegan ingredient added making it not vegan. For example, Wellbeing Brewing Company makes a non-alcoholic coffee cream stout that is not vegan – not due to fining, but due to the addition of lactose to make it creamy.

How Is Non-Alcoholic Beer Made?

Most non-alcoholic beer is made by de-alcoholization. In this process, beer is made and then the alcohol is removed. This is done by heating the beer and evaporating any alcohol.

Since alcohol has a lower boiling point than water you can evaporate alcohol by heating the brew to certain temperatures. This is also why non-alcoholic beer labels will usually say “non-alcoholic drink contains less than 0.5% alcoholic” – as not all the alcohol is removed during this process. An example would be Beck’s Non-Alcoholic Beer.

The alternative process is to produce a malt-based drink that may or may not include artificial flavors or colors. The aim here is to replicate a beer taste and texture without any of the traditional alcohol fermentation processes. These beers will normally always be 100% alcohol-free. An example is Heineken 0.0.

Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beers - Heineken 0.0

Which Non-Alcoholic Beer is Vegan?

Below are ten awesome vegan non-alcoholic beers. From big widely distributed brands to craft beers to non-alcoholic beer imported all the way from Germany, there should be a vegan non-alcoholic beer on the list for you.

*Note: drinks with less than 0.5% alcohol can be labeled as non-alcoholic. The drinks below contain 0.5% alcohol or less.

1. Heineken 0.0

Is Heineken 0.0 Alcohol-Free Vegan?

Heineken 0.0 alcohol-free beer is vegan. All Heineken 0.0 ingredients are vegan and no vegan fining agents are used in its production.

Heineken is one of the World’s most well recognized and distributed beers. Heineken is America’s third-most-popular imported beer and the most popular European brew. So, it’s great that Heineken has a vegan non-alcoholic brew that can be purchased at most grocery and liquor stores. This is a non-alcoholic beer I personally drink.

Heineken 0.0 can be bought in both can and bottle formats. You can buy some of the bottles from Amazon here.

2. Athletic Brewing Co Non-Alcoholic Beer

If a small batch of vegan non-alcoholic beer sounds more like your thing, then you should definitely check out Athletic Brewing Co. All their vegan non-alcoholic beers are made from 4 clean ingredients – water, hops, barley & yeast.

You can buy a mixed pack of 24 of All Out, Upside Dawn, Run Wild IPA, and Cerveza Atletica from Amazon here.

Athletic Brewing Company Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beers
All Out – full-bodied with coffee and chocolate notes and a toasty finish.
Upside Dawn – light-bodied and refreshing with floral and earthy notes.
Run Wild IPA – bitter and malty IPA.
Cerveza Atletica – a refreshing and light Mexican light copper.

If a hazy IPA is your go-to beer then Athletic Brewing Co also does their Free Wave hazy IPA which you can also get from Amazon here. Personally, IPAs are not my thing – I don’t beers that are too hoppy, but for a lot of people they are their go-to choice for beer.

3. Bravus

Bravus non-alcoholic beer is gluten-reduced to <20 ppm and is MARKED AS VEGAN ON THE CAN. Happy dance. Thank you for making vegan lives a lot easier Bravus.

Bravus Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beers
Oatmilk Dark from Amazon. Oatmilk Dark flavors – decadent, sweet, and malty with chocolate, caramel, and coffee notes.
Blood Orange IPA from Amazon. Blood Orange IPA flavors – well balanced, smooth with citrus and blood orange notes.
IPA on Amazon. IPA flavors – brewed with a lot of Simcoe and Citra hops, creating a lovely citrus-forward IPA.
Peanut Butter Stout on Amazon. PB Stout flavors – medium-bodied with peanut butter, hazelnut, and chocolate flavors.
Raspberry Gose on Amazon. Raspberry Gose flavors – very refreshing, fruity, and tart.

4. Wellbeing Brewing Company

Wellbeing Brewing Company non-alcoholic beer has zero sugar, is high in polyphenols (antioxidants/anti-inflammatories), is hydrating, and is therefore great to drink after a workout (I know beer after a workout – crazy).

It also contains more protein than most beers. These beers are “brewed with gratitude“. Wellbeing Brewing Company beers come in two vegan varieties:

Wellbeing Brewing Company Dark Amber on Amazon. Dark Amber is voted #1 rated non-alcoholic craft beer on Untappd. It has floral aromas and spicy hops.

Wellbeing Brewing Company Golden Wheat on Amazon. This Golden Wheat is dry, crisp, and smooth with citrus notes.

Please note that as described earlier the coffee cream Stout contains lactose and so is not vegan.

5. BrewDog

BrewDog is the king of craft beers. And in 2020, BrewDog became the World’s first carbon-negative brewery. It is part of BrewDog’s mission to “become the most sustainable drinks brand on the planet.” Better yet BrewDog has some vegan non-alcoholic beers under its belt.

BrewDog Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beers
BrewDog Hazy AF Non-Alcoholic Beer on Amazon. Hazy AF is tropical, hoppy, and juicy.
BrewDog Nanny State Non-Alcoholic Beer on Amazon. Nanny State is dry-hopped and contains lots of Centennial, Amarillo, Columbus, Cascade, and Simcoe hops.
BrewDog Elvis AF Non-Alcoholic Beer on Amazon. Elvis AF gives all the orange, citrus, pine, and grapefruit notes.
BrewDog Punk AF Non-Alcoholic Beer on Amazon. Punk AF is hoppy, light, and balanced.

6. HOP WTR – Sparkling Hop Water

HOP WTR is made with sparkling water brewed with a blend of Citra, Amarillo, Mosaic, and Azacca hops, infused with adaptogens and nootropics to “take you from stressed to decompressed.” This sparkling hop water contains no calories or sugar and is low carb.

You can try a variety pack of HOP WTR from Amazon here.

This variety pack comes in classic (crisp, piney & earthy), mango (juicy, tropical, and hoppy), and blood orange (bright, citrusy, and hoppy).

7. Gruvi

Gruvi is a family-run business that strives to create an “inclusive community focused on making better choices within our daily lives.” There are four vegan non-alcoholic Gruvi beers you can choose from:

Gruvi Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beers
Gruvi IPA on Amazon. Gruvi IPA is hoppy, citrusy, and has slightly bitter notes.
Gruvi Stout on Amazon. Gruvi Stout has oats, coffee, and nut notes.
Gruvi Pale Ale on Amazon. Gruvi pale ale is earthy, aromatic, and bitter.
Gruvi Weisse on Amazon. Gruvi Weisse has lemon and grapefruit notes.

8. Partake

Partake was founded by someone who gave up alcohol after being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease but wasn’t ready to give up craft beer.

“The whole brewing process is vegan and all-natural meaning you can Partake with a clear conscience.”

Partake has five beers in its range:

Partake Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beers
Dark (coffee, dark berry, and plum notes)
Blonde (floral, earthy hops and a hint of pom fruit)
IPA (floral, honey, and bitter grapefruit notes)
Pale Ale (orange zest, grapefruit, and a touch of pine)
Red Ale (rich caramel, toasted bread, and roasted almond notes)

You can choose with Partake Non-Alcoholic beer is for you here on Amazon.

9. Clausthaler Cans

Clausthaler is dry-hopped with cascade hops and crafted in Germany.

All Clausthaler beer itself is vegan. Please note that Clausthaler uses casein (a milk product) to stick the labels to their bottles of beer.

You can treat yourself to some of their cans imported all the way from Germany here.

10. Lagunitas Brewing Non-Alcoholic IPA

Lagunitas Brewing Non-Alcoholic IPA is full-flavored and hop-forward.

I also love Lagunitas’ response on Barnivore regarding all their beers being vegan.

“Our beer is allllllll VEGANVEGANVEGAN!! Have no fear, stay vegan and have some Lagunitas beer!!”

I love the enthusiasm.

You can treat yourself to some of Lagunitas’ non-alcoholic IPAs from Amazon here.

Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beer – The Final Sip

Vegan Non-Alcoholic Beer – what have I learned from this post? Well, there are a whole host of great vegan non-alcoholic beers available on the market. Just because you don’t drink alcohol doesn’t mean you can’t have a great-tasting beer. There are numerous occasions where I want something refreshing (that isn’t water) and a non-alcoholic beer turns out to be the perfect thing. You get all the perks of enjoying that first sip of beer without any of the alcohol. My personal preference is the Heineken 0.0. I started drinking this recently and really enjoy it. It makes for a great evening drink when you just want something a bit more special. After all just because you are vegan and don’t drink alcohol doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a beer.