🍺 Best Non-Alcoholic Beers (2026): 6 Cans That Actually Taste Like Beer

Published September 25, 2026 · By the SipVetted Taste Panel

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Non-alcoholic beer used to mean one sad bottle at the back of the cooler. Now it’s one of the fastest-growing parts of the beer aisle, and the best cans taste like beer rather than watery malt soda. Whether you’re doing Dry January, training, driving, or just want a second drink without a second hangover, these are the six best non-alcoholic beers to buy in 2026.

First look: this ranking is based on verified specs, current pricing, and aggregated drinker reception, not a staged taste test. Our own side-by-side is coming, and the ranking will be updated when it’s done.

First, know what “non-alcoholic” means

These cans aren’t all making the same claim, and the difference matters to some people a lot.

In the US, “non-alcoholic” means under 0.5% ABV. Athletic, Partake, Sierra Nevada Trail Pass, and Sam Adams Just the Haze all fall in this group. That’s a trace amount, similar to what you’d find in some kombucha or very ripe fruit juice. But it isn’t zero.

“0.0” or “alcohol-free” is a stricter claim. Heineken 0.0 and Guinness 0.0 remove alcohol to 0.05% or less, which is effectively none.

For most people, the gap between 0.5% and 0.0% doesn’t matter. It can matter if you’re pregnant, taking a medication that interacts with alcohol, or in recovery. In those cases, read the label rather than the marketing, and check with your doctor. Some people in recovery also avoid anything that looks and tastes like beer, whatever its ABV. That’s a personal call, and a completely reasonable one.

How we evaluate

We compared published nutrition labels (calories, carbs, ABV), how each brewery removes or avoids alcohol, price per can, and the consensus from thousands of public reviews. The question we weighted most: does it taste like beer, or like beer-flavored water? Specs come from the brewers wherever they publish them. Prices are approximate as of September 2026 and move often.

1. Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA: Top Pick

Athletic is the brewery that convinced a lot of beer drinkers NA could be good, and Run Wild is its flagship. It’s a sessionable IPA brewed with five Northwest hops, with pine and citrus aromas, 35 IBUs of bitterness, and a dry finish that keeps it from tasting sweet, a common NA failure. It comes in at 65 calories and 14g carbs per 12 oz, and it’s one of the most-awarded non-alcoholic beers in the world, with golds from the World Beer Awards and the US Open Beer Championship. If you buy one NA beer, start here.

2. Guinness 0.0: Best Stout

Most non-alcoholic beers are pale ales and lagers, because body and roast are the hardest things to keep once the alcohol is gone. Guinness 0.0 keeps both. It’s brewed as regular Guinness, then the alcohol is removed by cold filtration, which avoids the heat that dulls flavor. It’s served with the same nitro widget, so it pours with the familiar creamy head. It runs about 17 calories per 100 ml, or roughly 75 per US can. For anyone who drinks stouts, it’s the easy pick.

3. Partake Pale Ale: Lowest Calorie

Partake’s pitch is simple: 10 calories a can, made from water, barley, hops, and yeast. The pale ale has bright orange-zest, grapefruit, and pine hop notes and a crisp finish. Drinker reviews agree on the trade-off: it’s thinner in body than Athletic or Guinness, and you notice it. But nothing else comes close on calories, and it’s also vegan and gluten-friendly (under 5 ppm).

4. Heineken 0.0: Most Available

Heineken 0.0 won’t be the most interesting beer on this list, and that’s not really its job. It’s a clean, crisp lager at 0.0% ABV, 69 calories, 16g carbs, and 0g sugar. The alcohol is removed by vacuum distillation, then natural flavors are added back. Its real strength is availability: it’s in bars, stadiums, airports, and gas-station coolers that stock no other NA beer. When you want something familiar, it’s reliably there.

5. Sierra Nevada Trail Pass Hazy IPA: Best Hazy IPA

Sierra Nevada helped start American craft beer, and its Trail Pass non-alcoholic line shows it. The Hazy IPA is soft, juicy, and hop-forward, at about 71 calories and under 0.5% ABV. It’s an easy choice if you like modern hazy IPAs and want something a little rounder than Run Wild.

One thing not to mix up: Sierra Nevada also makes Hop Splash, a sparkling hop water. It’s 0.0% ABV and tastes hoppy, but it’s flavored seltzer, not beer, and there’s no malt. It’s a great option if you want no calories and no alcohol at all. It just isn’t a substitute for a pint.

6. Samuel Adams Just the Haze: Fullest Body

If most NA beers feel too thin, try Just the Haze. It’s a full-bodied hazy IPA with citrus, mango, and stone-fruit notes and a smooth finish. The trade-off is calories: at about 98 per can, it’s the heaviest here. Sam Adams is also stocked at nearly every major grocery chain.

The bottom line

Buy Athletic Run Wild if you want the best all-around NA beer. Buy Guinness 0.0 for a stout. Buy Partake if calories are the priority. Buy Heineken 0.0 when you just need something reliable that’s already in the cooler. Buy Sierra Nevada Trail Pass Hazy or Sam Adams Just the Haze if you like juicy IPAs and want more body.

Looking beyond beer? Our ranking of the best canned mocktails covers zero-proof cans built to taste like cocktails.