Despite the somewhat intelligible handwriting, Non-Alcoholic Beer is actually one of Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based artist Jason McLean’s most straightforward pieces. With no drawings aside from the cover illustration, the black-and-white, staple-bound zine is, as its title indicates, an informal guide to non-alcoholic beer (or N/A beer for short) of all varieties. The self-proclaimed “masterlist” shows McLean to indeed be a sophisticated purveyor of N/A beers, with tastings crossing between Portugal, the Netherlands, Canada, China, the U.S, the Middle East, and Germany.
Some of the reviews are offhand “so-so not great”s, while the less informal ones go into flavor profiles. These casual appraisals are accompanied by McLean’s characteristic quips, such as “Near-beer nearly destroyed my life — by Jason McLean?”, disclosure of his own medication and beverage habits, and unexpected fun facts about the popularity of non-alcoholic beer in Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. The zine also features some N/A beer tips at the end, with gems of advice like “have your kids drink it while at parties you look like a wild parent.” Sober but merry, Non-Alcoholic Beer tempts one to follow through on its call to “Say no to Energy Drinks, yes to Non/Alcohol Beer.”
“Recording his daily experiences, observations, and personal stories in a range of media, Jason McLean has likened his work to a ‘mental map.’ He cites Ray Johnson, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Raymond Pettibon as artistic influences, though he also draws inspiration from his children’s drawings, bottle cap designs, stamp art, frozen pizza boxes, and found objects that pique his interest. Recalling the automatic drawings of surrealist artists, his bright, graphic collages and works of ink on paper feature a web of semi-connected words and themes related to pop culture, daily life, and McLean’s inner world and struggles with schizophrenia.” — Artsy