yeah it’s dire. Heineken tastes of sharp ass water and taipi … is actually a really decent lager compared to American lagers like Bud (ugh), but also boring imo. I’m n just not a lager fan. Even if I was, can you imagine these folks drinking the same one for like 30 years?
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If you’d asked me maybe 5-6 years ago, I’d have said much the same, but actually there has been a huge improvement in alcohol-free beers over the past few years. Most brewers have been investing a lot in producing some really nice tasting 0%/0.5% versions of their beers.
Interestingly, most people report that they still get a “buzz” when they drink it (probably caused by a mix of placebo effect, and the impact of some elements of the ingredients that are left after the alcohol has been removed).
It’s true that they wouldn’t stand up to comparison with some 8% Belgian beer, but many are not much different from lighter (4-6%) “real” beers. 0% (or 0.5%) IPAs can be particularly good, as they retain much of the citrus and hoppy-ness of the originals. Lucky Saint, Brewdog’s Nanny State, and Heaps Normal are particular favorites of mine. Even Guinness entered the market, with their alcohol-free version being a very pleasant alternative to the OG (and it’s a huge seller in the UK and Europe).
The problem with tea, coffee, juices etc is that they just don’t go with many types of savoury food. They are often too sweet, or have too much dominant flavour.
That said, I still drink regular beers, but will often switch to zero-alcohol versions for the 2nd or 3rd drink, so I don’t have to suffer the next day.
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Do non-alkie beers produce good burps, too? Not tried one yet .
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Yeah. It’s not “dire” if you go through all these annoying steps and wait for a special delivery is hardly ideal. I guess I’ll continue to stick with Hitachino (when it’s around)!
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Fair enough! Still can’t see myself paying money for non-alk beer, but thanks for the explanation.
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I haven’t really gone through the Carrefour selection, so when you said higher abv beers, I was basically thinking IPA levels. I love myself a good dubbel or tripel (and they tend to be smaller bottles) but outside of those I pretty much get this.
Regular cheap seafood stirfry places usually have signed some deal with a brand, and wouldn’t offer anything outside of that brand. Go to a place where dishes are over 300ntd, chances are they would offer beer sometimes even hard to find at supermarkets.
Taiwan beer rules!
It’s an above average lager, but some people want something with more body than a lager.
People can feel part of the group without having alcohol. I think that’s the main appeal. Seems a bit odd, but social animal species have e a need to be accepted into a group. When I was a kid in Canada, a couple friends had pretty trailer trash parents. While they would day drink [lucky and wild cat, hell yeah] we would buy non alcoholic beer to drink with them. Kids were allowed to buy that and they were sold outside of liquor stores. We called them trainer beers. Anything to be accepted, we did feel grown up and cool at the time 
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I like a double IPA or something to start, 8 or 9 percent. Then 1 or 2 normaler IPAs. Maybe a lager for a nightcap
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In the us at least, definitely
That was probably my tolerance 10-15 years ago. Now I’d probably do half that in one session. I don’t even get drunk more easily, just get hangovers much more easily.
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3 or 4 beers 
I’m drinking a Tsingtao now
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I seriously consider Tsingtao among the worst beers I’ve ever had.
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The Chinese one? I like one once in a while. It’s malty
Yeah that one.
My guilty pleasure is that Tiger beer (from Singapore or Thailand?). Goes very well with neutralizing spicy foods.
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I miss amber (red) craft drafts in America. I only started getting into them before I moved here. Mmm…
GBA used to have a nice red that went by a German name (they didn’t call it amber)… then they replaced it with some watered down booshwater that tastes way cheaper to create:(
edit: Does anyone know any places that sell good amber? it’s pretty rare here
55th Street Brewery has an amber. Not super traditional though, smoked longan amber. I like it a lot though. Worth trying out.
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