The Non-Alcoholic Beers Worth Ordering at 5350

Ordering a non-alcoholic beer at a bar used to mean one sad option at the back of the cooler. That’s not the case on Anna Maria Island anymore, and it’s definitely not the case at 5350 The Pour House. Our wine and beer menu carries a real NA beer section — not an afterthought, three drinks picked because they actually taste like beer. Here’s what’s in it and why each one earns its spot.

What’s on the list

Heineken – 0.0% is the one most people recognize on sight, and it pours and tastes close enough to the original that nobody at the table will ask twice. It’s the safe, familiar order if you want something that reads as “a beer” without the alcohol.

For more going on in the glass, Athletic Brewing’s Free Wave is a hazy IPA built on Amarillo, Citra, and Mosaic hops — the same trio you’d expect in a hazy you’d pay full attention to. Expect tangerine and grapefruit up front and a soft, juicy body instead of a sharp finish, at around 70 calories a pour. If a regular hazy IPA is your usual order, this is the NA beer that won’t feel like a downgrade.

Rounding it out is Athletic Brewing’s Upside Dawn, a golden-style beer brewed with Vienna malt and a mix of English and American hops. It’s lighter and crisper than the Free Wave, with a little citrus and a touch of spice, and it’s also gluten-removed, which matters if that’s a reason you’re avoiding regular beer in the first place rather than the alcohol. It’s a good call if you want something easy to drink through a long lunch on the patio.

How it ends up alcohol-free

Non-alcoholic beer isn’t just watered-down regular beer, even though that’s technically one way to make it. Brewers also pull the alcohol out after fermentation through vacuum evaporation (heating the beer under reduced pressure so the alcohol boils off at a lower, flavor-preserving temperature) or reverse osmosis, which filters the beer under pressure to separate out the alcohol while keeping most of the flavor compounds intact. Some brewers skip removal altogether and limit alcohol from the start, using low-sugar grains or yeast strains that don’t convert as much sugar. In the US, a beverage generally has to come in under 0.5% alcohol by volume to be labeled non-alcoholic — a threshold Wikipedia traces back to Prohibition-era law that several states still use today. Worth knowing next time you’re reading a can: “non-alcoholic” doesn’t automatically mean zero, it means under that line.

Why it matters at a coffee house and bar

We run as a coffee house by day and a bar by night, which means our regulars show up across every reason you’d want a drink that isn’t a drink — driving later, an early flight the next morning, or just not feeling like a full beer with lunch. Having three NA options that are actually worth ordering, not just worth apologizing for, means nobody has to default to a soda or sit there with ice water while everyone else orders off the wine and beer menu.

It also means the choice isn’t just “drink or don’t.” A hazy IPA fan can still order a hazy IPA. Someone who wants something light and easy still gets something light and easy. The only thing missing is the alcohol, and for most people at the table, that’s the point.

Next time you’re at 5350, ask what’s in the NA section before you default to the usual. We’re open 8am to 10pm daily, and the bar’s pouring whenever the kitchen isn’t the only thing open.