Clever Hans
Paris Beer Company

So a friend in beer of mine recently had a big heart scare, and so he's been taking things a bit easy and trying out various non-alchoholic beers. Given this one is a mere 1.5% I think this one practically qualifies, so I am drinking this and a few more near beers out of solidarity. This is to you Polk, stay healthy man.

Appearance: Golden body that shows good carbonation, the smallest amount of lace does manage to appear and the head retension isn't bad, as it seems to keep a solid one bubble layer.

Smell: A bit of skunk on the nose which is odd, given this is canned, and it's creating a bit of a wet straw smell to it. I think I might be getting the smallest touch of a dry note in there too but it's hard to tell much.

Taste: Mild Straw malt starts us off and then there is a notable blank seltzer note in the middle before a bit of earth, grass and generic hops appears. For a low/non-alchoholic beer (which is how I'm rating this, given the ABV) this is better than most I've had of the non-descript lager variety. I'm reminded of the low carb beer craze that has long since past.

Mouthfeel: That blank seltzer note needs to be addressed, as while it's not loud or offensive, it's stands out like ..................................... this set of periods that you just finished "reading" that communicated nothing, but a pause and maybe bubbles. Aftertaste is clean as can be, nothing lingers but nothing stands out. Carbonation is solid, but again ......................... so it is helping out an absent element. It would probably fare better a bit more flat.

Drinkability: There's nothing offensive about this beer as it's plenty refreshing and easy to drink. That said, if I'd had to summerize it, probably the best beer flavoured sparking water I've ever had. It suffers from the two cardinal sins that low/no ABV beer seem to suffer from, that there is a missing element (in this case in the middle with ..............) and there is skunkiness. I don't know if that is somehow inherent to the dealchohlization process, but it's there.

Final Thoughts: This didn't quite goes as far as I was hoping. I was really hoping, just that little 1.5% would be doing some kind of heavy lifting and imparting something great for a low to no ABV option. I mean, it's probably the best generic lager style near beer I've had. It's just that 1.5% isn't doing enough lifting to the point that anyone who would be drinking this to avoid drinking alchohol would be partaking. Honestly...I'm left wondering if you could fruit this somehow and put something in that middle slot that would still do the malt and bitter end a favour. I guess the only thing left to say is ..........................

Edit: I did notice near the end, when the carbonation died down a bit, the middle not wasn't quite as emphasized and the hops at the end had a slight herbal twang. That still said...it's not major enough to change much else about this beer.

Looks like a beer, dark gold in colour, with a thick and frothy head. White wine and hops on the nose. The taste is bitter, very unlike your typical light beer, and this one is very light. Satin smooth on the feel. Excellent considering this is pretty much a non-alcoholic beer. Worth a try
Jan 15 2021