Former co-founder of Mill Street, Steve Abrams, and his partners have launched a non-alcoholic beer –Harmon’s — that actually tastes like beer.

“Being in the beer industry for a long time, it can take its toll on you,” said Abrams. “I had just hit that point where I said, I have to hit the brakes.”

“I started looking for non-alcoholic options. And there weren’t a lot in Canada.”

“When we look to Europe and Southeast Asia, the non-alcoholic beer scene is fully established. It’s a significant portion of the beer business,” said Mike Cuch, Harmon’s co-founder and business consultant.

“I had a field day just buying one of each, trying them all,” he says. “It certainly satisfied my craving for beer because it had all the hoppy flavours and all the different styles that I knew in regular beer. They were pulling it off.”

When he realized that making good non-alcoholic beer was possible, he decided to reach out to brewer and Niagara College professor Rob Doyle, who’s been in the beer game for 20 years.

“We wanted it to be able to stand up against any of the great craft beers in Ontario and be counted in that lineup,” Doyle said. “It has to drink like a beer. It has to come across as an original idea in the craft world.”

After nearly a year and half of experimenting, they finally got the alcohol percentage below 0.5 per cent, and Harmon’s launched three beers: Half-Day Hazy IPA, Jack Pine Pale Ale and Lunchbox Lagered Ale.

While the founders keep secret their brewing methods, they have relvelaed that they do avoid using low-temperature vacuum distillation.

“We ferment our beer fully, we just don’t generate the alcohol,” said Doyle. “So as a result our beer tastes like beer. It drinks and tastes like the real deal.”

Harmon’s also uses organic ingredients from local suppliers.

“We wanted to go through the process of getting organic certified mainly to take care of the soil around us. We’re not here to trumpet it off the rooftops, but it’s just something we care about.”

Harmon’s are currently available online across Canada and in local stores in the GTA.

Photos courtesy of Harmon’s