Athletic Brewing Upside Dawn

Athletic Brewing are arguably the largest and most successful producer of alcohol-free craft beer in the United States. The boys and girls from Connecticut saw their sales go up by almost 500% in 2020 compared to the previous year – that’s a jump from $2.5 million revenue to $15 million in 12 months. And something tells me this year will be just as good for them, as they now opened up markets in the UK, Europe, Canada and Australia for their beers. They’ve also touted some famous investors, with the likes of cycling-legend Lance Armstrong and American Football player Justin Tuck backing the company. All good for the company’s sporty, healthy, outdoorsy image.

The UK arm of Athletic Brewing opened earlier this year, and offers two of the company’s core beer range to nolo beer swiggers on this sceptred isle. We’ve already reviewed their flagship IPA, which was a fine beer but easily outmatched by many of the UK’s own non-alcoholic offerings. Upside Dawn is the company’s ‘other’ flagship beer, and is a golden ale. Golden ales are similar to pale ales, but tend to be less hoppy and slightly sweeter. The style can also be seen as a ‘bridge’ beer – offering lager drinkers familiar flavours whilst showing them a glimpse of what delights they could really be supping. I’m expecting an unchallenging easy-to-drink AF beer from Upside Dawn – something that will quench the thirst, scratch the itch, and still be there in the fridge if I fancy another one. Let’s see shall we?

The beer pours a pale golden colour with a slight bit of haze. We get a head consisting of white froth, which doesn’t stick around for long. On the nose we get some fruity citrus and floral hop aromas along with some bready malt, with maybe a slight tinge of unfermented wort to it. As far as I know, Athletic Brewing brew their beers without processes such as reverse osmosis to strip the alcohol, so this is fair enough.

When we taste we’re greeted by light bready malt onto which clings some earthy hop bitterness along with grapefruit and lemon citrus. The flavours are quite restrained, clean and light. The overall body of the beer is light too, with carbonation being quite low and the mouthfeel being quite watery. The finish is sweet with some lingering bitterness.

Once again Athletic Brewing have produced a non-alcoholic beer that is very easy to drink but pretty light on the flavour. It met my expectations but I’m still yet to be impressed by any of the brewer’s offerings. It’s fantastic that the company is such a success, but I would like to try something from them with a bit more flavour.

Buy Athletic Brewing Upside Dawn

The UK-based wing of Athletic Brewing is now open, offering Upside Dawn as one of their core beers. Check out these suppliers:

Nutritional Information (per 100ml, taken from the side of the can)
ABV	0.5%
Energy	14 kcal
Fat	0g
Carbohydrates	3.2g
Sugar	1.4g
Protein	0.3g
Ingredients
Water, Malted Barley, Oats, Wheat, Hops, Yeast
Additional Information
Country of Production	United States of America
Brewer	Athletic Brewing Co – https://athleticbrewing.com/
Gluten Free?	Yes
Vegan Friendly?	Yes