Surreal Pastry Porter: Great dark non-alcoholic beer

Don’t let the premium price discourage you, this NA porter doesn’t disappoint.

There’s a growing diversity of craft non-alcoholic beers, which is fantastic. But still… when most people think about NA beer, the first thing that comes to mind is plain ol’ yellow beer.

While I appreciate all the varied hop-forward NA styles that have exploded onto the scene, I still love a good trip to the malt shop.

Back in my homebrewing days, I always liked making porters because they provide a great canvas for experimenting with new malts, subtler hops, and even added flavors.

That’s exactly what Pastry Porter by all-NA craft brewer Surreal reminds me of.

This is my first tasting of a Surreal brew and I’ll admit some hesitancy at the price point. Surreal’s four-packs of 12oz cans retail for about the same as most craft competitors’ six-packs. (That means you could be getting 50% more NA your your money!)

Pastry Porter poured out looking good. Would the taste be worth the premium?

Happiness in a glass

Nosing the glass, I was struck by earthiness and a little bit of funky tropical fruit, which was nowhere to be found on my palate during the first sip.

The malts were pleasantly balanced. Chocolate. Toffee. And a hint of coffee on the finish.

Trying to imagine the “pastry” that serves as this NA beer’s namesake, I thought it evoked a well-made Pain au Chocolat.

Some porters can leave the hops in the shadows of their dark malts. Not this one.

Surreal doesn’t say which hops, but fuggles (or something like it) is allowed to play a wonderfully aromatic starring role. It’s not “hoppy,” but it’s not “not hoppy” either.

The whole ensemble reminded me of my favorite coffee porter homebrew recipe, only better.

While tasting it, I wouldn’t have guessed that Pastry Porter had added flavors. But when I read Surreal’s description of added vanilla and cacao nibs, I wasn’t shocked either. They’re folded in artfully, well in-balance.

Helloooooo… Porter

The body runs ever-so-slightly thin, but Pastry Porter never felt watery to me.

It has enough backbone to pack a genuine porter mouthfeel.

Really the only thing missing is the heat you’d get from alcohol, but the absence of alcohol is the whole point.

I’ll add that the vanilla gives this NA an assist in filling that void.

It’s a thoroughly enjoyable porter-sipping experience.

TheBestNA Rating

I started by posing the value question: is Pastry Porter worthy of a premium price tag?

With a score of 96, it’s hard to argue otherwise.

While plenty of other 90+ point NAs can be gotten more affordably, this is one that needs to go on the shopping list of anybody who enjoys a complex dark and malty brew.

Surreal, indeed.