It’s a hot summer afternoon. I’m sitting down on a hot afternoon, with a burger, and a cold beer.
What I’m looking for is something to replace that cold beer with. I want it to be crisp and fresh, but also not sweet. I love tart and bitter flavours. Unfortunately, my options are either cold and sweet, cold and alcoholic or hot and non sweet.
So threadiverse, what alternatives am I missing?
Tereré is great, but it’s a bit of a pain to source in Australia. What else is there?
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Alas, I’m allergic to black tea!
I’ll add the others to the list though. Thank you :)
allergic to black tea
What about green tea? It’s also good iced.
It’s the same plant, just harvested sooner, so I’d imagine it’s the same issue.
A single black tea doesn’t do me any harm, but if I have a couple in a day, or if I have black tea for 2 or 3 days straight, my throat starts to tighten up. It’s mild, but it’s concerning enough that I haven’t pushed it any further and don’t drink it anymore.
Green teas have never given me the same reaction, but to be fair, I don’t think I’ve ever had 2 or 3 green teas on the same day…
In Japan, barley tea is a popular summer drink.
And provides better hydration than plain water, so less chance of wet bulb issues (allegedly).
That said, keep those mouth pearls brushed regularly.
Tinto de verano, or summer wine in Spanish. Chilled red wine, mixed (1:1 or however you like it) with 7up, tonic or bitter lemon, served with ice and a slice of orange or lemon. Cheap wine will do nicely.
Perfect summer beverage, not too high in alcohol, mostly bitter and tart. Use a bitter non-sweet version of tonic or bitter lemon to add almost no sugar at all.
I second this. Also dry/medium apple ciders. There’s even hoppy ciders if one is looking for a drink reminiscent of beer.
And if those are still too sweet, perhaps a dry white with just soda water?
As far as I’m aware, according to the internet, OP has never tried a Dickens Cider
I like water Kefir, and as a kid drank it often. (Not to be confused with milk base Kefir). Water Kefir grains are normally available online but seems sold out in Australia.
Seltzer with bitters
What about barley tea? It’s only slightly sweet, the main flavour is bitter. And it goes great with some lime or lemon juice.
Also, regarding tereré: if you happen to have an easier time finding yerba mate for the hot beverage, note it’s the same yerba; as long as unflavoured and coarsely ground you can use it interchangeably.
Ginger Beer.
Kombucha?
If you’re OK with less alcohol instead of no alcohol, try a raddler. Half beer, half lemonade. You could even do an NA beer.
I didn’t think beer and lemonade would taste good but I was wrong. Glad I tried it
Tomato juice. Or V8 or something like that if available.
One of my favourite summer drinks is just some carbonated water mixed with a few drips of lemon or lime juice. It is crisp, a little tart, cold, and not sweet. Otherwise unsweetened refrigerated tea (maybe with a bit of lemon) is delicious as well, but perhaps not as crisp.
One of my favourite summer drinks is just some carbonated water mixed with a few drips of lemon or lime juice
Oh, I like this one! Simple too, which is a bonus!
Tonic and lime. Ginger beer. (Might have to try a few before finding one that’s not too sweet) Non alc apple cider, same as above for sweetness.
Just water?
- Yerba Mate – it’s in the holly family rather than the camellia family, can brew like tea, either hot or iced
- Posca
- lemon or lime soda/seltzer – normally club soda (or sparkling water) with lime or lemon juice (an unsweetened version of lemonade or limeade) – La Croix makes a Lime Sparkling Water (avoid the Key Lime flavor though)
- iced coffee and cold brew coffee
- (I’m assuming lemon-lime-and-bitters would still be too sweet – but nothing stopping you from adding a dash of Angostura to sparkling water)
Tereré is a special style Yerba Mate, and it’s absolutely amazing with ice cold fruit infused water!
Kombucha? It will be very fizzy and tart. Some of them are sweet and some aren’t so pick one that isn’t as sweet.
