Laziza Apple

Where Spotted: Black Lion Market, 3500 14th St. NW

Price: $1.59/280ml bottle

Fruited Pain: It’s the morning after the Savor beer fest—well, it’s before 1 p.m. the day after the Savor beer fest—and my head feels like it’s been through a meat grinder. My neighborhood’s options for restorative beverages are slim, and my temples aren’t ready for the grocery’s blaring reggaeton. In Black Lion, amid fresh injera and Red Bull, there’s a stockpile of nonalcoholic malt beverages. The apple, sweet and cold, is a heavenly salve.

in misery, a teaching moment: Confused by beer adjectives like “malty”? Arabic malt beverages are less syrupy than their Goya counterparts, and the plain ones are good examples of what nerds mean when they talk about maltiness. Malts are grains that release their sugars when brewed, giving the final product its sweetness. These sodas have lots of added sugar, but the malt flavor—akin to the filling in Whoppers candies—still shines through. At least something’s getting through today.

Seen an interesting quaff lately? E-mail beerspotter@washingtoncitypaper.com