Non-Alcoholic Beer Names: Popular Brands Worth Knowing

The non-alcoholic beer category has grown fast enough that the names worth knowing have changed a lot in a few years. Athletic Brewing Company, founded in Milford, Connecticut, is now America’s largest dedicated non-alcoholic brewer: it produces nearly 50 NA beers annually, holds over 50% of the US NA craft beer market (outselling the next 100 NA craft brands combined), and became the number-one non-alcoholic beer brand in America not long after launching commercially in 2018.

Athletic Brewing

Founded by Bill Shufelt and John Walker, Athletic built a proprietary method for brewing non-alcoholic beer, re-engineering nearly every step of the process through hundreds of small-batch trials rather than simply dealcoholizing a normal beer afterward. The result has earned the company more than 200 taste awards, making it the most highly awarded non-alcoholic brewer of the past decade. Its flagship Run Wild IPA is a West Coast-leaning, aggressively bitter, pine-and-grapefruit hopped beer consistently rated among the top NA IPAs in tasting panels. In September 2026, Athletic announced multi-year athlete-owner partnerships with NFL quarterbacks Drake Maye and Dak Prescott, part of its ongoing push into mainstream sports marketing.

Heineken 0.0

Heineken 0.0 launched in 2017 in the Netherlands and Germany, followed by the UK and France, and is now sold in 110 markets worldwide, including Europe, North America, South Africa, Russia, Vietnam and Australia, one of the broadest distribution footprints of any 0.0% beer globally. It’s a genuinely 0.0% ABV lager in most markets, brewed with a distinct recipe rather than a dealcoholized version of standard Heineken.

Guinness 0.0

Guinness brews Guinness 0.0 by first brewing standard Guinness exactly as always, with the same water, barley, hops and yeast, then gently removing the alcohol through cold filtration, a process the brewery says avoids the thermal stress that would otherwise damage the beer’s character. The result keeps the same dark ruby color and nitro-powered creamy head as Draught. An early quality recall required a relaunch in 2022/2023; current reviews rate it highly for authenticity to the original.

Corona Non-Alcoholic (Cero)

Sold internationally as Corona Cero and in the US as “Corona Non-Alcoholic,” this is the same brand’s answer to the NA category, and it’s a genuine market leader: AB InBev reported it became Mexico’s number-one non-alcoholic beer brand by Nielsen data during 2025. At 0.5% ABV it sits right at the US legal threshold for “non-alcoholic” labeling, brewed to taste close to standard Corona Extra’s light, citrusy profile.

Why Non-Alcoholic Beer Is Suddenly Everywhere

I have gone through a few dry months myself over the years, and the quality jump in this category even in the last couple of years is real, not marketing. This isn’t a niche trend anymore. US non-alcohol beer sales hit roughly $583.4 million for the 52 weeks ending December 28, 2025, according to Circana data reported by Beverage Industry, a 22.1% jump in dollar sales and 23.9% jump in case sales year over year. Industry analysts still expect double-digit growth going forward even as the category’s base gets bigger and the percentage gains naturally shrink, driven by both Dry January-style health trends and, as one analyst put it, “the entry of many major beer brands into the NA space.” At roughly 1.3% of total US beer volume, non-alcoholic beer is still small relative to the overall market, but it’s the fastest-growing part of it by a wide margin.

How These Brands Actually Remove the Alcohol

Two main methods dominate commercial non-alcoholic beer production. Heat-based methods (vacuum distillation and evaporation) run under vacuum specifically to lower the boiling point and reduce thermal damage to the beer’s flavor compounds, and can strip alcohol content down close to zero, but at some cost to the original aroma. Membrane-based methods (reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, dialysis) physically separate ethanol molecules from the rest of the beer without heat, generally preserving more of the original flavor profile but requiring more specialized equipment. Brands also sometimes use “arrested fermentation,” stopping the brewing process before much alcohol develops in the first place, rather than removing it after the fact. Our how non-alcoholic beer is made guide covers all three methods brand by brand in more depth.

FAQs

What’s the biggest non-alcoholic beer brand in the US?
Athletic Brewing, which holds over 50% of the US non-alcoholic craft beer market, outselling the next 100 NA craft brands combined, as of company reporting in September 2026.

Is Heineken 0.0 actually 0% alcohol?
In most markets, yes, genuinely 0.0% ABV, brewed with its own distinct recipe rather than a dealcoholized version of standard Heineken.

How is Guinness 0.0 made?
The brewery brews standard Guinness with its usual ingredients and process, then removes the alcohol afterward using cold filtration, which the brewery says avoids thermal damage to the beer’s flavor and character.