Author: Justin Lamb

A favorite of the Sober Curator and Happy Every Hour, Bravus Brewing from California joins us again for a tasty treat that will tantalize your taste buds. So buckle up and lean in hard on those winter chills, because Bravus Brewing is bringing us a stout, no doubt! This week we are drinking a peanut butter stout from Bravus Brewing. Not only that, but we are also taking an older version of their same peanut butter stout (now called Peanut Butter Dark) and comparing the two. It’s everything you want in a beer review except for nudity, but if you…

This week we steer away from the normal reviews of small-time craft breweries to bring you the hipster beer that you know you missed: Pabst Blue Ribbon, more affectionately known as PBR. PBR is the hipster classic. A lager that’s been around for a very long time, but found its home in small concert venues in the mid-2000s. If you have drunk beer before, you have likely had a PRB at some point. If you’re looking for that concert beer, football beer, or just a beer that goes well with a trucker hat and a t-shirt no one else owns,…

We know Athletic Brewing pretty well by now. They have national ad campaigns and what is probably the most extensive footprint in the non-alcoholic craft beer arena. On top of all the money they spend on marketing, they spend a lot of time finding ways to make really fricking good NA beer. Until now… This week, we’re drinking First Ride Coffee Porter from Athletic Brewing. I had a lot of excitement around this beer since porters are not often found in the NA world, and even if they are, they are typically bland, similar to high octane porters in the…

Two Roots Brewing joins us again from California or Michigan, depending on how you get your beers. This brewery continues to sneak up on me from my own backyard and freak me out with some delicious brews! This week, we’re drinking one of Two Roots Brewing’s beers featured on our 12 Days of NAs special, and that beer is Dark Cookies. This is described as a milk stout brewed with cacao nibs, milk sugar, and coffee—a perfectly sweet taste for these cold winter days. How Does It Pour? Dark Cookies from Two Roots Brewing pours like you would hope a…

We are joined once again by our beer friends from the west coast, Surreal Brewing. A brewery that prides itself on brewing the healthiest beers available. Challenge accepted! Sounds like Surreal Brewing is going to give Athletic Brewing a run for their money. This week, we are drinking Natural Bridges Kolsch from Surreal Brewing, and I am very excited about this because you don’t see this style in the craft NA world. You may get something similar from one of the German breweries who do countless NA beers, but having this from a craft NA brewery like Surreal Brewing is…

BrewDog has been in the beer game for longer than most of you have been sober. They have mastered alcoholic beer and with the growing need for options in the non-alcoholic world, they met a need before most of the non-alcoholic breweries we’ve come to love ever even existed! They have a solid foundational selection as well as seasonal and limited NA options all the time. This week, we’re drinking Nanny State, BrewDog’s first non-alcoholic option they offered. Nanny State is BrewDog’s take on a classic pale ale, and being a brewery that originated in the UK, you can imagine…

WellBeing Brewing joins us again from Missouri and they are bringing with them the tastiest treat you can find in a 16 oz. can! As a special treat, this review is coming out on New Years Eve because a.) it’s part of our 12 Days of NAs (12 NA Beers of Christmas) and b.) because it fits the theme of the evening. WellBeing Brewing is about raising well-being and living a more intentional and healthier lifestyle. They have named their IPA (my personal favorite) Intentional IPA with that in mind. On this New Year’s Eve, it’s essential that we are…

This year will be my third Christmas sober. When I quit drinking back in 2019, I was certain there were some versions of beer I would never see again. One of those is a bourbon barrel-aged stout. Certainly, there would be no way to barrel-age a non-alcoholic beer. After all, those barrel-aged beers were 10-16% alcohol, with legends of some even higher. Then, that first fateful sober Christmas in 2019, an announcement came to my email from Bravus Brewing. Introducing Gravitas, a barrel-aged maple stout. The promise of barrel-aged flavor from the leader in NA stouts? I had to have…

WellBeing joins us again because this is a fallback edition where I reach into my fridge and share with you some of the delicious beers that time has left behind. WellBeing Brewing is near St. Louis and has some of the best NA beers available out there today! Click any of the links below or use code FRIENDREQUEST at checkout to save 10% off your order of deliciousness. Happy Christmas, Harry! We are going back to when it wasn’t so cold, only a couple of months back, and opening up WellBeing Brewing’s wonderful collaboration beer: their Pumpkin Ale. This brew…

Katie Mack is an actress, award-winning podcast host, and all around bad ass of a person. She discusses her life growing up in Michigan and discovering an outlet in drugs and alcohol at an early age. Katie also talks about how drugs pulled her out of Michigan and into Chicago and how acting pulled her out of drugs. Katie then goes into detail about how she decided to quit drinking and the tragic cause that has driven her to train for an iron man. Check out her award-winning podcast, F*cking Sober, and follow along on Instagram at @mackersNYC and @fckingsober90_podcast…

Surreal Brewing, a first-time feature on Happy Every Hour, comes to us from Campbell, California, and brings some of its West Coast styles this week. In addition to the brew we’ll be reviewing today, Surreal brewing has many other beers available both in stores and directs shipped from their website. They’ve been perfecting recipes for three years now and are the only brewery I know of to offer a non-alcoholic Milkshake IPA. Check them out and try their gold-medal-winning Chandelier Red IPA. This week we are diving into the sunshine and stars with Surreal Brewing and their Creatives IPA. It’s…

Our friends at Bravus Brewing join us again! This time with another dark delight. As you have heard me say time and time again, I love Bravus Brewing for their stouts. They do them very well and it’s a nice refreshing flavor feast from the norm. This week is their latest in a line of tasty dark beers. We’re drinking Breakfast Dark from Bravus Brewing this week, a stout that sports coffee, cinnamon, and chocolate right on the label. This label isn’t wrong either, for when you snap that aluminum lid open, you can smell the freshly brewed coffee and…

WellBeing Brewing joins us once again from St. Louis. They are continuing to make waves in the NA craft beer world, and they recently hired their most awesome brand ambassador yet: me! It’s always nice to have a company you already enjoy and promote for free recognize you as someone who represents their brand. Look for more exclusive WellBeing stuff in the future, but for now, you can use code FRIENDREQUEST at checkout to save 10%! How Does It Pour? This week we are drinking WellBeing Brewing’s Intrepid Traveler, which is a coffee cream stout. Its delightfully dark label is…

We are keeping this stout-y November rolling with another visit from our friends in Wisconsin: Untitled Art. You may remember their Watermelon Gose or their Italian Pilsner, but this week we will be drinking their most popular and most delicious dark and yummy treat. This week we are drinking Chocolate Milk Stout from Untitled Art. This delicious and hearty beer pours a nice dark brown color with a toasted creamy head. The aromas of chocolate and lactose emanate off the glass letting you know what you are getting yourself in for. How Does Untitled Art Chocolate Milk Stout Pour? When…

Athletic Brewing, out of Connecticut, is no stranger to Happy Every Hour, but this time, instead of an IPA or a Pale Ale, we’re going dark. Extra dark. Extra awesome and dark. Athletic Brewing never disappoints and it’s getting cold, so let’s get warmed up. How Does It Pour? This week is Athletic Brewings All Out Stout. This is one of the many stout options available to all of you beautiful people, with more and more coming to fruition each passing year! This stout pours a hearty dark brown color with a perfect caramel head. The aromas of coffee and…

We’ve had the pleasure of tasting one of my favorite NA beers already, Gruvi’s Pale Ale, but now that the colder weather is here, we are starting to see more dark beers, particularly stouts. The nice thing about stouts in the non-alcoholic world is that we went from having one available to us three years ago, to now having countless options and styles, all under the umbrella of “stout”. So with the spirit of the season, we are kicking off our series of NA stouts with Gruvi’s Stout. Now you guys know it’s a pet peeve of mine when breweries…

Much to my surprise, this is the first time we are featuring WellBeing Brewing on here. WellBeing comes to us from St. Louis and has a delicious line of non-alcoholic beers and CBD waters. My thought that we featured them before was because of my mention of their Intentional IPA, one of my favorites for sure. But this is the first official review of one of their tasty treats, and what a perfect one for the Halloween weekend. This week, we are drinking Hellraiser Dark Amber from WellBeing Brewing. There are not as many ambers in the craft NA world,…

Bravus Brewing, out of California, joins us again. As we creep into the category of dark beers, and as the days get chilly, we can be reminded of warmer and more tropical times with this hip beverage from the brewery whose dark beers have been called “Absolutely fricking delicious” by Chris Cable. How Does It Pour? Bravus Brewing’s Coconut Porter starts out by smacking you straight in the face with a burst of coconut aroma. The roasted malts and coffee notes come at a distant second to this overwhelming smell that creeps its way out of every little carbonation bubble…

At the tip of a residential street in downtown Pittsburgh, you will find a small coffee shop with a hidden surprise upstairs. As you enter Tonic Coffee, order your triple shot americano and head up the stairs in the back, you will be immediately greeted by 90’s pop-punk, steel racks of beverages that go on for days, and the bright smiling face of Mel Bee, the owner, and operator of Open Road Bar. On this summer day, I am greeted by Mel as she sets up a sampling of Lemon Quest by DogfishHead. As we discuss the multiple sours available,…

Atmos Brewing Company hales from Hailey, Idaho, and is a subsidiary of Sawtooth Brewing. They have a decent selection of NA beers, though their distribution is still a step behind a lot of other NA breweries that are continuing to expand right now. We’ve previously featured their Kora Double Hopped IPA, and they are one of the few NA breweries out there with an Oktoberfest available if you can find it. This week, we are trying Atmos Brewing’s Alturas NA Golden Ale. This should be another nice break from all the IPAs I have been shoving in your face over…

Untitled Art Beverage Company comes to us from Waunakee, Wisconsin. This company is unique as it works as sort of a collective. They have contributing “beverage artists” and contributing visual artists. Untitled Art uses the recipes and makes delicious beers and seltzers and each can is adorned with the art of an independent artist. They have an entire division of non-alcoholic beer and a pretty unique and delicious selection of non-alcoholic beers to choose from. This week we’re drinking Untitled Art’s Italian Pilsner. This style of beer used to be the go-to beer for any brewery worldwide, but as craft…

This week, we’ll be drinking from our friends at Two Roots Brewing. Seeing a seasonal release like Oktoberfest appear at not one or two breweries, but many across the country is a huge sign for non-alcoholic beer. Previously, you did not see these things due to the lack of market share versus the amount of product that has to be made for a seasonal launch. It’s truly remarkable and speaks volumes for the sober movement and the options available to those that either doesn’t drink or are looking to drink less. Two Roots Brewing, operating out of California, but with…

Rightside Brewing was founded by a pregnant mother who wanted more non-alcoholic options to drink during her pregnancy. Partnering with Big Kettle Brewing in Lawrenceville, GA, Rightside Brewing has quickly begun to distribute widely across the U.S. with its two beers currently available. This marks one of the last IPAs of the summer season for this series of reviews (not THE last one) and marks a move forward into more fall and winter beers! Huzzah! How Does it Pour? Rightside Brewing’s IPA is called American IPA and opens with a crisp smell of hops. As it pours, it has a…

With distribution hubs on each coast and a brand new bar opening in Austin, Texas, Athletic Brewing is a name becoming more and more familiar in the beer world, non-alcoholic or not. While Athletic Brewing only makes non-alcoholic craft beers, they are sweeping clean in award categories and absolutely killing it in growth. In fact, if you live in the U.S. and venture into your normal liquor store and go to the back where the NA brews are stored, you are likely to find Athletic Brewing above all others in the craft beer industry. Of Athletic Brewing’s two flagship beers,…

No sleep til…Brooklyn Brewery has been on the alcoholic beer scene for many years. You may have heard of them or seen their famous “B” on the top of a tap. In the last couple of years, though, they got into the NA game. As time goes on, they have been developing more and more. Much like BrewDog, Mikkeller, and other craft breweries that have begun to make nonalcoholic options, Brooklyn Brewery is expected to bring their expertise and flavors to the table, so expectations are high. How Does it Pour? Brooklyn Brewery’s Special Effects IPA is the second in…

This week’s pick, Sober Carpenter’s Uber Hopped, comes to us from the great white north. Out of the bi-lingual province of Quebec, Sober Carpenter was founded in 2019 by two brothers who wanted to add sobriety to their lives but found few tasty options for the beer connoisseurs they had become. Isn’t that always how it goes? Sober Carpenter offers a wide variety of brews, including limited edition batches. Sober Carpenter’s Uber Hopped already stands out as it sits tall in its 16 oz. can (that’s a pint for you Canadians and Brits). In addition, like only a few of…

Gruvi, originally out of Ontario, can now be found perusing the streets of Denver, Colorado. This brand is a unique non-alcoholic beverage maker in the way that it does not just stick to one thing. Gruvi spreads its NA love far and wide, not only offering a wide variety of beers, from pale ales to stouts to Weiss but also offering a number of different non-alcoholic wines, including prosecco and rose. This week, though, we will be diving into their pale ale. How Does it Pour? Gruvi’s pale ale comes as you would expect: full of caramel color with a…

Atmos Brewing comes to us from the great potato state, Idaho. They have been brewing small-batch non-alcoholic beers for about five years, but their canning and distribution just got kicked off in mid-2020. Atmos currently offers three varieties of NA beer and one hoppy seltzer water. This week, we’re trying Kora, their NA Double Hopped IPA. How Does it Pour? At first glance, Atmos Brewing’s Kora pours from its delightful 16oz can with a bit of foam on it. The head builds strong, even with a perfect pour. I know this because I pour things perfectly. I am a master…

Big Drop Brewing Company comes to us from Chicago, Illinois. With a decent selection of non-alcoholic beers available and a unique look, you’re sure to find them closer than you think. Their cans have a black top and their labels hold more info than you see on most beers, non-alcoholic or not. The first thing you’ll notice with Big Drop Brewing Company’s Paradiso IPA is the label. Like some alcoholic beers, you get the full rundown of what to expect and what you get inside. First, you get an IBU rating, something rare and perhaps the only NA can with…

Partake Brewing comes to us from our neighbors to the north, straight out of Alberta, Canada. Their story is unique and many non-alcoholic craft beer enthusiast credit them with starting this ball rolling. In 2017, they launched a Kickstarter campaign to brew and distribute their own non-alcoholic IPA. Not only was it a hit, Partake gained instant notoriety in the non-alcoholic beer world and began worldwide distribution in less than a year. Their claim to fame flagship beer is the IPA we’re reviewing today, and to top it all off, it clocks in at only 10 calories! Let’s give it…