Atmos Brewing Alturas NA Golden
Atmos Brewing Alturas NA Golden
Golden Ale / Atmos NA / <0.5%
Light, refreshing with a touch of honey malt sweetness lingering on a full-bodied yet mellow NA Golden Ale
There are some innovations that burst onto the scene and immediately become a skyrocketing industry, sometimes maintaining that success while other times petering out just as quickly as they arrived. Yet other products experience something resembling more of an exponential growth curve. They go a long time simply existing towards the bottom of the market until something changes, either with the product itself or the world around it, and they end up going through a boom in a matter of years that outpaces the decades previous.
Non-alcoholic beer is one of these such products, and companies like Atmos Brewing exemplify this growth rate that exists on a grander scale throughout the industry. Everything began with some of the world’s largest beer makers offering up NA options that were simply toned down versions of their light lagers. Then, lagging a few years behind the alcoholic craft beer industry, breweries began popping up that were dedicated to crafting a broader variety of alcohol-free brews. But many of them still played it rather safe, flooding the market with mediocre IPAs. Now brands like Atmos, based out of Idaho, are immediately establishing themselves in the sphere with everything from a wide array of styles to artistically designed can labels and distinct marketing strategies. I decided to dive into this brewery’s offerings, and I’ll let you know how one of them stands up through this Atmos Brewing Alturas NA Golden review.
Atmos Brewing Alturas NA Golden Review
As I mentioned, Atmos Brewing has some of the sharpest label designs that I have seen from an NA brewery. This particular one features multi-colored geometric depictions of Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains underneath the company logo and a bright orange sun. I also like that the can isn’t crowded with marketing material. It does tell us that this brew contains 47 calories, which is about middle of the road for an NA.
Cracking a can, the carbonation bursts through the mouth. This is something I’ve found in a few different non-alcoholic beers lately, and for some of them it seems to be a tactic to make the body seem more full. It is also a bit annoying to be honest. Let’s hope that it isn’t compensating for flavor here. On the pour, the beer has plenty of carbonation as well that results in a large marshmallow white head that dissipates slowly and leaves a generous amount of lacing. The body is a standard golden ale color without much for haze.
There aren’t many strong notes on the nose. I do get a little bit of melon and perhaps some slight hints of citrus. There are virtually no hops in the aroma, a decent bit of malt, and zero of that strong wort that poisons a lot of NA options.
I don’t think I will be able to tell much about this beer without going through with the tasting process. So let’s do that now and answer the question, “Is Atmos Brewing Alturas NA Golden good?”
Is Atmos Brewing Alturas NA Golden Good?
You would be hard pressed to find anyone who answers “no” to that question. The first taste relieves any concerns and establishes that this is a well-crafted ale. But my job is to dig a little bit deeper and evaluate just how tasty it really is.
Being a veteran of these tastings, one of the first things that I notice is how scaled back the flavor profile is. This can be the downfall of many NA beers, but I don’t find it terribly troublesome here, mainly because the body is still full enough that it doesn’t result in any sort of watery quality. It is a golden ale, after all – not a style particularly known for strong flavor elements. I also don’t think that fullness comes entirely from the carbonation and would be curious to see how it felt on the tongue with all of those bubbles removed.
One of the most pleasant flavors that I do find, and I should have noticed on the nose, is honey. It doesn’t come through as a syrupy sweetness but just a nice textural twist that plays well with the crisp melon and faint lemon notes. There is a touch of wheat when you go looking for it, but it doesn’t stand out at all. And the malt is nice and balanced.
The mouthfeel is nice and soft, and while I said that the body is full for an NA, it is not filling. That is an important distinction, as we don’t want something that bloats after one can. In line with the crispness of the body, the finish is also incredibly clean
They may not be the adjectives that you associate with the very best craft beers, but I promise that I’m speaking positively when I call this beer drinkable, smooth, and approachable. Those things go a long way in the world of NA. Keep reading to find out exactly what it means for my final Atmos Brewing Alturas NA Golden rating.
Atmos Brewing Alturas NA Golden Rating
Atmos Brewing was founded in 2020 as part of the Sawtooth Brewery brand. I have to say that of all the NA beer makers that I have sampled, this one reminds me the most of a traditional alcoholic craft microbrewery. The design is contemporary. The marketing of the product as valuable for those who are health-conscious and adventure-seeking is clearly appealing to a younger, hipper crowd. And the beer itself is a solid if not terribly remarkable iteration of a golden ale that is better than what you get from the giants in the industry but still has plenty of room for improvement.
If you are the kind of person who still thinks that all the NA world has to offer is light domestic lagers, then this type of beer could be a revelation to you. And its eminent drinkability alone means that it earns a high score from. But I can’t quite put it up there with the best of the best that I have sampled. So I will wrap up this Atmos Brewing Alturas NA Golden review by awarding it a very good grade of 4 out of 5 stars. I definitely look forward to seeing what else this brewery has to offer.
Photos Credit:
https://untappd.com/
