Best NA Beers for BBQs and Game Nights

This is where beer has the easiest job on the whole site.

What I would serve

For a BBQ or game night, I would not serve only one NA beer. Put out one IPA, one light lager, and one German or wheat-style beer. That covers the hop drinkers, the regular-beer crowd, and the people who want something fuller with food.

BBQs and game nights are not delicate drink settings. The beer should taste normal in a cooler, good with burgers or pizza, and easy to hand to someone without explanation.

Best for familiarity: Guinness 0

Guinness 0 is a surprisingly easy name to include even here because it is recognizable, easy to understand, and still tastes like beer in social settings.

Best for hoppy beer people: Athletic Free Wave and Run Wild

Athletic Free Wave is the softer, hazier, easier crowd-pleaser. Athletic Run Wild is better for anyone who wants a drier, simpler IPA.

What matters most here

For this kind of night, the best beer is not the one with the fanciest tasting notes. It is the one that still tastes right once the food is out and nobody wants to overthink the drink.

What to buy first

For a BBQ, start with the people coming over: one hoppy beer, one lighter lager, and one fuller wheat or dark beer will cover more drinkers than one trendy four-pack.

Group beer should be cold, easy to open, and good with food. Save the more experimental bottles for a smaller tasting night.

Bottom line

For casual social drinking, stick with the beers that already taste easy in a cooler: Guinness 0 for familiarity, Free Wave for hazy IPA, and Run Wild for a simpler IPA.