The guide

The best non-alcoholic drinks, from seltzer to NA beer

By GyroscopeUpdated November 15, 202611 sources

The best drink to replace alcohol is the one that fills the same moment. For most people that’s something cold, fizzy and grown-up in the hand: sparkling water with citrus or bitters, a non-alcoholic beer, or an alcohol-removed wine. Watch the sugar in mocktails and sodas, and know that “non-alcoholic” on a US label can still mean up to 0.5% alcohol.

When people cut back, the hard part is often the empty hand at the party, the missing ritual at 6pm and the waiter asking what you’ll have. A good replacement handles all three. The shelf for that has grown fast: non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits passed $1 billion in US sales in 2025, according to NielsenIQ.

What the labels mean

A 12 oz non-alcoholic beer at the 0.5% limit holds about 1.4 g of alcohol, a tenth of a standard drink. That won’t change your night or your blood level in any way you’d notice, but if you need zero, look for “alcohol free” or “0.0.”

The shelf, ranked

1. Sparkling water and seltzer. Zero calories and no sugar. People worry about their teeth, and in a lab test sparkling mineral waters dissolved tooth enamel only slightly more than still water, about a hundredth as much as soft drinks. Dress it up with a lime wedge, a splash of tart cherry or cranberry juice, a sprig of mint, or a few dashes of bitters.

2. Non-alcoholic beer. The closest thing to the real ritual, usually with far fewer calories. Heineken 0.0, as an example checked in November 2026, lists 69 calories and 16 g of carbs a can with no sugar, less than half the 153 calories NIAAA lists for a regular 12 oz beer. One fun fact: in a 2012 trial of 277 marathon runners, drinking 1 to 1.5 liters of non-alcoholic beer a day for three weeks before the race and two after cut post-race inflammation, and upper respiratory illness was about three times less common. It was one trial, in men, drinking a lot of it. NA beer is still a growing share: 2.5% of US beer by volume in 2025, up from 1.1% in 2021.

3. Alcohol-removed wine. Good with dinner, especially sparkling ones. Try a few, since they vary a lot, and check the label for sugar.

4. Non-alcoholic spirits and canned cocktails. Useful if you love the ritual of a mixed drink. Mix them with soda water rather than tonic or juice to keep the sugar down.

5. Mocktails. Fun, but often a sugar bomb. USDA lists 12 oz of ginger ale at 124 calories and 32 g of carbs, and cola at 152 calories. A mocktail built on soda and juice can match or beat a real cocktail on calories. Build them on seltzer instead, with a little juice for flavor. Are mocktails healthy? has more.

6. Kombucha. Tasty and fizzy, but a 2019 review of 310 articles found only one study testing its health effects in people. It can carry a little alcohol, sometimes more as it keeps fermenting in the bottle. Is kombucha healthy? has the details.

How to make the swap stick

• Replace the first drink, not the last. The first one of the evening runs on habit. Make it a good NA drink and the rest of the evening often follows.
• Pour it into the real glass. A non-alcoholic beer in a pint glass or a spritz in a wine glass feels like the ritual you’re used to.
• Keep it cold and ready. A fridge with good options in it beats one with only a bottle of wine.
• Order it like a drink. At a bar, ask for soda water with lime and bitters in a rocks glass. Nobody will ask.