I don't like to give any time to AB-InBev or Labatt on here because their products are a waste of time and a waste of money but one big focus I'm hoping to do more of is getting back to reviewing non-alcoholic beers/beers with very low ABV (under 2.5%) so if they're going to come out with something for me to try before any of you go out to purchase these for sober January/sober February or just wanting to cut down on alcohol consumption, I'm here to tell you what's good and what's not.
I was at a local Superstore a few weeks back right after a long post-Black Friday shift at work and my eyes weren't focusing well but I could see a package at the store that was clearly Stanley Park Brewing packaging - they now have their Trail Hopper IPA and Sunsetter Peach Wheat Ale in non-alcoholic formats (well 0.3% ABV). It sort of annoyed me that they pretty much used the exact same branding as their regular product for the NA variety but if there's a following for the product and people are looking for a NA version, it does make sense to promote the same product but in an alternate format.
Sunsetter is described as having ripe peach flavour and 50 calories per 355mL serving.
Appearance: Pale golden straw body with a very heavy amount of snow white head that just won't go away. 10.. 15 minutes later it finally goes down leaving behind a light white lacing on the side of the glass.
Aroma: Definitely has a huge kick of peach in there, almost a Fuzzy Peach candy sort of vibe to it - synthetic, syrupy and a bit sour. Once I get past the peach notes I get the raw grain presence I get in a lot of NA beers.. an aroma I can't really describe except for a mixture of hot wet grain and a hint of apple at the end, not the most appealing aroma so far.
Taste: Very grainy profile from the beginning, it's got the taste of chewing on a barley-like porridge to it, a mild metallic presence, a slight grassy hop presence and a subtle peach taste that's nowhere near as present as I found in the aroma.
Overall Thoughts: At $11.99* per four pack (355mL cans), it's actually more expensive per can than the regular version and the regular version was definitely more inviting and brought out the peaches a lot more than here. Will I buy this again? No, but I'll be trying Trail Hopper one of these days when I can afford to splurge. I have a long list of NA beers to review in the near future so stay tuned!
*Price may vary
I reviewed the original Sunsetter beer several years ago, here's the review.
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