The one that started it all…
Bitburger Drive is one of my favorite non alcoholic beers. It is highly carbonated and has a slight effervescent hoppy aftertaste that traditional pilsner lovers will really enjoy. This is the one that opened my eyes to the fact that non alcoholic beers can taste just as good, if not better than many “regular” alcoholic beers. I was bumming hard when I had to quit drinking in ’17. I love beer. My only exposure to non alcoholic beer was O’Douls regular and I have no shame in saying…I’m not a big fan. How can life be tolerable slugging away at LaCroix’s all day long? Did I really have to white knuckle it through this no beer thing. Then, at my wedding, of all days, everything changed. Like the E-40 Album, it changed In A Major Way.
One of my chef buddies brought a six pack before the festivities started and I was blown away. I had envisioned sipping on LaCroix all night long and feeling somewhat left out in the revelry on my OWN fuck’n wedding night. This Bitburger Drive hit the spot. Not only is it a great non alcoholic beer to drink, but it has some cool stories behind it if you want to know more…
The coolest (no pun intended) fuckin’ beer stein ever!
The first time I got a Stanley product was when my old maritime company gave us Stanley Growlers for Xmas gifts. Sailors and portable drinking paraphernalia… what could possibly go wrong.
The thing that sucks about the growlers is that most breweries won’t fill them with their own beer. Unless you are super tight with some local brewery, chances are they’ll be forcing you to buy some shitty $60 dollar glass growler with their logo stamped on it. Then add a $15 to $20 dollar fill of your favorite beer and you have a pretty expensive vessel of beer that has literally no chance of staying cold and fresh for an extended period of time.
Plus, if you’re doing the non alcoholic beer program like I am, you’re basically filling your own receptacles for use outside your home (i.e. camping, fishing, etc).
I can’t say enough about the awesomeness of the Stanley series of mugs, growlers, cups, etc. I even put water in mine with ice cubes for when we go fishing in remote areas of Big Sur. I left the growler in my car and two days later, the cubes had melted, but the water was still cold. The Stanley beer stein is rad and great for picnicking or camping and has a definite old school / new school vibe to it.
The aesthetic of Stanley is freaking timeless. I can picture my grandfather drinking hot coffee out of a Stanley Thermos while glassing for deer in a 1963 Chevy pickup with a rifle rack in the back. I like supporting brands that invoke an iconic American (or Canadian, in my grandfather’s case) feeling.