Planning your next road trip? Why not plan an entire trip around discovering the great-tasting non-alcoholic craft beers that New England has to offer?
We’re beginning our series of NA beer-focused road trip itineraries and we’re starting with New England, the birthplace of America.
This road trip is about a 5-hour straight-shot drive from start to finish with no stops. However, we recommend taking two or three days to spend some quality time in each city at each of these locations.
By the end of this trip, you’ll become very familiar with the non-alcoholic craft beers that New England has to offer, as well as I-95!
You can start from either the top or bottom of the list, however we recommend hitting each place in order to minimize your drive time and maximize your beer-drinking time.
For our first stop, we’re heading way up north.
Portland, Maine
We’re kicking off our NA beer road trip in Portland, Maine. Portland has been ranked as “Top Beer City” in America and is highly regarded as a must-stop city for beer lovers.
While we’re here, we have two highly-regarded NA breweries to try.
1820 Brewing
Searching for “1820 Brewing” on Google Maps won’t do you much good when you arrive in Portland. Instead, you’ll find the 1820 lineup of NAs at Geary Brewing Company located on Evergreen Drive right off I-95.
The tasting room is closed during the winter, so make sure you hit this spot in the summertime while it’s warm.
1820 is the non-alcoholic brand of NA beers under their sister company, Geary Brewing. They have a lineup of 5 impressive non-alcoholic craft beers:
KitNA
Founded in 2020, co-founders Rob Barrett and Will Fisher decided to launch Maine’s first exclusively non-alcoholic brewery: KitNA.
KitNA Brewing currently has an NA blonde and NA IPA, “On Your Mark” and “Get Set”, respectively, with “Here we Go” NA hazy IPA coming soon.
While the brewery does not have a dedicated taproom at this time, we recommend trying to find some in Portland while you’re there.
Kittery, Maine
Driving a straight shot down I-95, we’re taking a quick stop in Kittery, Maine, right before the New Hampshire border at the Piscataqua River.
Woodland Farms Brewing
Just off the highway in Kittery, we’ll find the Woodland Farms Brewing taproom.
Known for brewing Maine’s first non-alcoholic beer, the Pointer IPA, they make for a great must-stop NA brewery before we leave Maine.
They brew both leaded and non-alcoholic beer but offer nine different NA brews such as a sour, a dark beer, a blood orange wheat, and even a hibiscus lime gose.
Their taproom is open Wednesday through Sunday. While they don’t serve food besides complimentary popcorn, they encourage you to bring your own.
Boston, Massachusetts
Just a little further south, we’ll stop in another top-tier American beer city, the home of the Boston Lager and the world’s most famous bar “Cheers”.
Lord Hobo Brewing
Our first stop in Massachusetts is in Woburn, just north of Boston, Lord Hobo.
Lord Hobo Brewing Company was founded in 2015 in Boston. Since then, they have grown to a self-made company offering innovative New England style beers
Like most NA brewers, their roots started with their leaded beers, however, they just recently launched their first non-alcoholic craft beer, Life Non-Alcoholic IPA. Life NA is a bold, hazy IPA with strong citrus flavors and fruity aromas.
Sam Adams Brewing
Just a little further south into the heart of Boston, we’re stopping at one of the “founding fathers” of craft beer in America, Samuel Adams.
We’re going to stop by their Boston taproom right off Congress Street to give their non-alcoholic Hazy IPA Just the Haze a taste. Described as a juicy hazy, it’s full-bodied and smooth with a little pine on the nose.
Just the Haze is a top-reviewed NA beer by critics and casual drinkers, making this a must-try beer while we’re here.
Harpoon Brewing
Within a short 10-minute drive just southeast of the Sam Adams taproom, we’ll stop at the Harpoon Beer Hall. Home of Harpoon Brewery and their Open League non-alcoholic hazy IPA.
Inside we’ll enjoy some delicious pretzels and pizza from the Harpoon Kitchen and take a tour of the brewery (as long as you reserve your tour tickets beforehand!)
As you give their Open League NA a try, you’ll note the light-bodied, juicy, topical taste that’s packed inside this can of hazy.
Stock up because we have a long drive until our next stop.
Stratford Connecticut
Our final stop makes the perfect last destination for our road trip. Stratford, CT: the Mecca of non-alcoholic craft beer.
Two Roads Brewing
Stopping at 1700 Stratford Avenue, we’re visiting the Two Roads brewing tasting room.
If you chose to fly in or out of the Bradley International Airport instead of driving, you can find their taproom located inside the airport in Terminal A, as well.
If it’s a Saturday at 1:30 or 3:30, we’ll be taking a tour of the brewery before (or after) tasting some of their fantastic NA beer.
On tap in the tasting room we’ll find their non-alcoholic Juicy IPA alongside their many other leaded beers. The Juicy IPA is probably one of the best non-alcoholic IPAs we’ve tasted recently and highly recommend you give it a try.
Our last stop is just a quick 6-minute drive away.
Athletic Brewing Company
If you’ve had any experience with non-alcoholic beers in the past few years, you’re probably familiar with Athletic Brewing.
Athletic is by far the world-leader in brewing delicious non-alcoholic craft beer and is a must-try for any NA drinker.
During this stop on our trip, we’re going to swing by 350 Long Beach Blvd to visit the Athletic Taproom. While there’s no food available here, we’ll be able to fill our tummies with a plethora of NA beers on tap!
On tap, you’ll find Athletic’s flagship beers such as Upside Dawn, Run Wild, Cerveza Atletica, and the All Out Stout as well a rotating selection of their newer, more unique styles of NA beer.
As one of the world’s first non-alcoholic beer specific taprooms, this final stop is the icing on the cake and will absolutely be one of your favorites of the trip.
Honorable Mentions
While we had a difficult time logistically fitting this brewery into our roadtrip, we felt that we needed to mention them given they are a New England NA brewery as well.
Rescue Club Brewing
Located in Burlington, VT, Rescue Club Brewing is the non-alcoholic arm of Zero Gravity Craft Brewery. Located at 716 Pine Street in Burlington, you’ll find an eclectic selection of leaded beers as well as their line of NAs under the name Rescue Club Brewing.
Rescue Club currently offers three different NAs: an IPA, a Pilsner, and a Double IPA. Using a proprietary method of brewing their NAs that no one else in the world knows about, they’ve been able to craft a great tasting line of NAs unlike any other.
That wraps up our NA Beer American Road Trip – The New England Edition. As we mentioned, you can start either from the north or south, but we definitely recommend a linear trip, otherwise, it’s too much driving!
