When we tested hop water, we praised it for not trying to be beer. Nonalcoholic beer, on the other hand, tries very hard to be beer. Plenty of nonalcoholic beers fail. Some are tasteless. Others have plenty of flavor — just not the kind you want. Many are flat-out terrible.But when a nonalcoholic beer does manage to replicate the aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel of real beer, it feels a bit magical.These days, there’s no shortage of NA beer to choose from, whether you’re looking for a brew that mimics a simple sports bar lager or the wildest craft beer flavors you can imagine. Well over 200 brands produce nonalcoholic beers in the US, and the true number you can get is likely much higher (the NA Beer Finder lists 473 worldwide).With the help of some truly educated palates — including homebrewers, renowned craft brewers, Master Cicerones, and our own kitchen experts — we tasted 44 of the most popular NA beers to find the ones that do the best job of replicating the experience of drinking a real beer (intoxication aside).