Around the time that I received the non-alcoholic brews from Colorado’s Grüvi, I also received a set of five different beers (six in all, one was doubled up) from Surreal Brewing Company, based out of Campbell, California. Like the other, Surreal is positioning itself in the market as a lifestyle and health-conscious brand of NA beers, and claims these to be the lowest-calorie beers in the country.

Here’s Surreal’s intro from the website:

Thank you for checking us out. We are a family run brewing company that places great value on our customers. We are a husband and wife team, (Tammer and Donna – nice to meet you) with three kids and a passion for craft beer.

As NA drinkers we had accepted that we wouldn’t be enjoying the mosaic of beer styles available to others. However, after a major life change – a diagnosis and successful treatment for breast cancer, we wanted to celebrate with a non-alcoholic beer. We were wildly disappointed by what was on the market and, to be honest, we felt excluded. Suddenly it wasn’t something we wanted to accept anymore. We guessed that others felt the same way and so, with them in mind, we started homebrewing a recipe for a non-alcoholic craft beer. Something different. Something we wanted to enjoy and would be proud to celebrate with, drink with our friends, and take along on hikes. It took a while, but after 9 long months our flagship Chandelier Red IPA was born and launched in June of 2018.

Our Mission

We Dare to Be Different by brewing bold, delicious, health forward beverages for everyone and every occasion.

I won’t reiterate everything I wrote about NA beers that I already wrote about the Grüvi beers—including notes on judging/reviewing them (it’s worth re-reading)—but I did reach out to the brewery to ask about its process for producing (or removing) the alcohol:

Me: The website says:

“We use all-natural ingredients, non-GMO grains, and a wholesome brewing process that allows the yeast to create marvelous esters and phenols, minerals, B vitamins, flavors and aromas. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Beer is freshest when it is kept cool so we never heat our finished product.”

Does the yeast ferment the wort and then the alcohol is removed post-fermentation? Or is it a low alcohol producing type of yeast? Or another process?

Surreal’s answer: Staying true to craft, Surreal Brewing devoted a little over 9 months to research and development before launching. While the specific steps of the brewing and alcohol reducing/removal process are proprietary information, Surreal Brewing’s is proud of their health forward styles, which received several awards at the 2019 World Beer Awards, beating out larger more established brewers.

So, a bit more marketing speak with an awards promo, but if the process is proprietary then I’m thinking there’s equipment involved.

Let’s get to the beers.

Juicy Mavs Hazy IPA

This Hazy IPA bursts with tropical fruit and citrus character, accentuated by fruity yeast esters & a subtle, clean malt finish.

The artwork features an epic Maverick wave at Pillar Point just north of Half Moon Bay. The perfect summer beverage, this juicy brew pairs well with almost any summer treat including spicy eats, grilled meats, seafood, salads, pizza, and adventure!

This NA take on a hazy is only 25 calories. The package date on the can was January 25, I drank it on March 4.

Appearance: Dirty apple juice color with a commensurate murk level; it’s brown-ish with orange edges. In fact the color kind of reminds me of light beef broth. There’s a thin, fizzy head that breaks quickly, falling to no apparent carbonation.

Smell: Fruity with stone fruit and pomace character, a raw green hop note with a touch of resin. It’s a bit muddled and there’s a touch of herbal, slightly minty tea.

Taste: A flat (lack of) flavor with a hop tea bitterness that reminds me of soaking hops in hot water to taste the result. There’s some “green juice” character that comes through but in all it’s quite watery with almost no malt character; perhaps I’m getting a kernel or two of barley, but it falls away almost immediately.

Mouthfeel: Light body, a bit watery, with a light tea-like bitterness that presents a super-slight astringency in the finish.

Overall: There’s just not much character here, though the fruity, juicy aroma was a bit distinctive.

Note on the second can: It’s not quite a lacking on flavor as I dinged the first one for. It’s still more tea-like than IPA-like but, it’s decent for a casual drink.

Chandelier Red IPA

Our red IPA is refreshing with notes of citrus well-balanced by it’s toasty, caramelly malty backbone.

It pairs well with fish tacos, grilled burgers, and spicy eats.

The artwork on our NA Red IPA features the iconic Chandelier redwood tree located in Mendocino County, California.

Chandelier is 33 calories, but no discernible packaging date that I can interpret—just “CRt 2030″(?).

Appearance: More of a brown color instead of red, it’s dark enough to block the light though I think it’s clear. Amber colored edges when held to the light. The head is light tan with neat, tight bubbles with great lacing.

Smell: Big nose of piney, resiny hops, like a bale of hops. Some lightly fruity esters, and some coffee-like roast. But it’s the hops that dominate the nose, big and green.

Taste: Lightly roasty malt and resiny bitter hops that have a weird dichotomy of being complementary and clashing at the same time. Taste more like a brown IPA border on a CDA to me. Earthy, brown malt, a touch of caramel but toasty.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body with a drier finish to the roast/resin that the Juicy Mavs. Still lacking some body structure and is watery mid-palate. A touch of woodiness in the finish.

Overall: I like this one best of all the NA IPAs I’ve tried, there’s much more hop bitterness and complexity like I want to make up for the lack of body.

Natural Bridges Kölsch

This Kolsch Style NA has a delicate malty character with a hint of honeydew melon and a crisp, refreshing finish.

Natural Bridges State Park, featured on the label, is a marine protected reserve located in Santa Cruz, California.

This one is crazy at only 17 calories! Based on the coding on the can, I’m presuming it was packaged on February 7.

Appearance: Bright and crystal clear, a beautiful deep gold color. Nice big fluffy head, white and wispy.

Smell: Grassy with a honey-sweet note that’s also a slightly under-attenuated malt extract character—ballpoint pen ink(ish). No hops that I can discern.

Taste: Some similar “inky” impression in the flavor but it’s quite crisp and dry with no residual sweetness. There’s a bit of hops here, with a grass or hay note with some sweet rather than bitter character (sweetly herbal). The flavor falls away at the back though.

Mouthfeel: Light body, thin, crisp, dry finish, with a bit of grass following up.

Overall: A generally good style to go non-alcoholic with, though I’d like more hop bitterness to offset the sweet grass. And there’s still that slightly off-putting “ink” note (like so-called “extract twang”).

17 Mile Porter

17 Mile Porter is delicious with notes of dark chocolate and roasted coffee well balanced by earthy hops. It delights the senses with it’s deep aroma and pours black with a tan head.

It pairs well with hearty stews, grilled meats, and desserts. Perfect for the cooler months and for outdoor adventure!

The artwork on our 17 Mile Porter features the famous Lone Cypress tree which can be found along the California Pacific Coast Highway near Monterey.

This one is a “hefty” 50 calories, which makes sense. No package date on the can that I could find.

Appearance: Muddy brown (hazy porter?) that looks unfinished and not very attractive. The head is fizzy and quick to fall, light brown in color, a bit choppy.

Smell: Brown malts and some raw coffee bean, some lighter notes of fresh drop coffee. A touch of bitter dark chocolate comes out. And… some wet grains?

Taste: Muddles flavors of watery cocoa and coffee if it were brewed with used grounds. Some bread crust and husky grains. A touch of earthy hay-like hops, but you to have to hunt for them. Reminiscent of watery re-heated coffee.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium-light body, thin and watery, no real aftertaste or character in the finish.

Overall: Not a great showing for me, there’s an odd amalgamation of flavors. It didn’t really come together as a cohesive porter.

Pastry Porter

This Pastry Porter is perfect for hanging out and telling stories around the campfire. Vanilla adds warmth to coffee notes, while cacao nibs enhance it’s chocolate undertones. We added milk sugar and monk fruit for a touch of decadence. We hope you enjoy our latest in the Surreal line up. (Contains lactose.)

Pairs well with barbecue, roasted meats, blackened fish, soups/stews, and desserts.

No calories mentioned here—probably quite a bit more than the others?— and the packaging date is indistinct. It was brewed with vanilla, lactose, cacao nibs, and monk fruit.

Appearance: Murky brown, muddy, again like the other porter not terribly attractive. The head is tan to light brown, starting creamy and rocky and falling to fish eyes.

Smell: Bitter cocoa powder, dark coffee, carob powder. Deep notes of dark chocolate and malted milkshake. Roasted barley.

Taste: Burnt coffee, wet coffee grounds, a touch vegetal perhaps. No real “pastry” flavors here to my palate, it mostly has lingering burnt coffee character and roasted grain coming through for a bitter-burnt-malt experience.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body with a watery, thin feel, and a burnt-roasty lingering aftertaste.

Overall: Ultimately unsuccessful to me. No way to know if this was an old can, or just how it drinks.

Conclusions

The big winners were Chandelier Red IPA and Natural Bridges Kölsch. Juice Mavs was okay, I didn’t care much for either of the porters.

But here’s the thing: these have some decent “beer” characteristics at their cores, which is what drinkers of NA beers are going to appreciate. Surreal is doing a nice job of trying to offer multiple styles to capture the drinkers who want some of that American craft feel, which makes this brewery one to watch in the non-alcoholic space.