Brooklyn Brewery Alcohol-Free Beers

Brooklyn Brewery: New York craft royalty goes NA

Brooklyn Brewery is one of the defining names of American craft beer — the Williamsburg institution whose lager helped drag US beer out of its lightest-common-denominator era, and whose beers now pour worldwide. Its alcohol-free line, Special Effects, was one of the first serious NA offerings from a major craft name, and it treats the category with the same hop-forward intent as the rest of the range.

American brewers have become some of the best in the world at alcohol-free — Athletic Brewing led the charge — and Special Effects is Brooklyn’s answer: proof that a heritage craft brand can do NA credibly rather than cynically.

The Special Effects line has since grown into a family — the hoppy lager joined by IPA and seasonal takes — and it’s brewed with a special fermentation method that limits alcohol creation while building flavour, rather than stripping a finished beer. It regularly places near the top of blind NA lager tastings, which is exactly the credibility a craft pioneer should bring.

Brooklyn Brewery on Unhopped

We list Brooklyn Special Effects (0.4%): a hoppy lager with citrus aroma and a clean malt base — noticeably more character than most mainstream options, exactly as you’d hope from the name on the label.