GoodLot Family Brewing Co. “Trellis” Sparkling Botanical Water, Caledon, Ontario, Canada (0% Alcohol, Sugar 0 g/l) Brewery Website $2.25 (355ml can)

I’ve never really been one for chugging beer. I mean, I’ve been known to drink beer at quite a rate once I gain a certain momentum, but attempting to have it freefall down my gullet has never been a thing for me. 

I could very easily, however, chug this delightful sparkling botanical water that just happens to be flavoured with hops (alongside sage, borage, and calendula, AKA marigolds). Thinking on this, one of my favourite things about non-alcoholic beers is that I can crush a can in mere seconds, which can be most satisfying when one is utterly parched, so there’s that.

Trellis is really quite delightful, the botanicals augmenting the GoodLot Cascade hop aromatics and flavours with their own magic. I was astonished to discover that this is also zero sugar, as the combination of the botanicals and the lemon juice does trick the palate into imagining there is sugar contained within. It’s really quite remarkable. 

The medium/high carbonation works well here, making the Trellis wonderfully gulpable. There’s a gorgeous hoppy, herbal freshness in the mouth too. The finish is short and dry, which is really just the way one would want it. Wonderful stuff.

I’ve not used it for this purpose as of yet, but I’ll wager that this would make for a rather excellent hangover helper, too. I will surely be purchasing a few cases of this over the summer, as I’m seriously impressed with this.

(Four and a half out of possible five apples)