Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr.’s Non-Alcoholic Coffee Beer Tastes Just as Unusual as It Sounds

(Photo: BERO)

Nearly a decade after meeting on-screen in “Captain America: Civil War,” Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland are joining their real-world business ventures for a beverage that feels as quintessentially 2025 as Dubai chocolate bars and Labubu dolls.

On Monday, the duo unveiled a pair of limited-edition products that combine BERO, Holland’s non-alcoholic beer brand, with happy, Downey’s 100% Arabica coffee company. Fans of the past and present superheroes can pick which vibe they’d like to lean into. For its part, BERO has debuted a stout-style Coffee Draught that clocks in at a slim 0.36% ABV, while happy is offering an Eternal Hoptimist ground coffee blend that combines beans from Colombia and Brazil.

The products are now available through the brand’s respective websites and can be picked up in person at Target locations nationwide.

Whether or not the brands say it outright, it’s fair to say that the collab leans hard on the Marvel Cinematic Universe connection. But there’s a personal angle that warrants mention as well. Both Holland and Downey Jr. have had well-documented struggles with sobriety throughout their careers, turning their non-alcoholic beer into a sort of victory lap and self-discovery journey bundled into one.

“This is the kind of collaboration you can only do with a friend,” Holland shared in a news release. “Robert knows coffee better than anyone, and we wanted to bring that same level of care to a beer that celebrates what both our brands stand for: quality, craft, and a premium experience in every sip.”

We were eager to see what the A-listers had in store. BERO is, for our money, one of the best NA beers currently available on the market. The brand’s Noon Wheat delivers a delicious combo of orange, lemon and grapefruit flavor, while its Golden Pilsner dials up the malty goodness with plenty of biscuit and green apple notes. Though Holland finds himself in increasingly tough competition against his contemporaries (John Mulaney, Charlie Sheen and Dax Shepard have all backed zero-proof beers over the past year), his brand has held strong thanks to a combination of savvy marketing and preeminent starpower.

Whether or not that starpower could justify a slim-proof coffee draught — an oddball combo, and likely the first of its kind — was yet to be seen. We cracked open a can to investigate for ourselves.

Bero Coffee Draught Taste Test

Poured into a glass, the beer fizzes up with that signature creamy head found in many of the most iconic stouts. We’re tempted to say it looks like Guinness, though Coca-Cola might be the better comparison. The bubble density dissipates after a few seconds, leaving behind a thin layer of froth that sticks to the upper lip after every sip.

Hints of coffee grounds, malt and dark chocolate dominate the aroma. Side by side with the carbonation, there’s something about the combo reminiscent of soy sauce. Not salty, per se, but as if there’s an indescribable umami character hiding just beneath the surface. It’s a note that beer fans have observed in countless other stouts, and it’s present here in full force.

The palate is where everything begins to come together. Flavors of cocoa, walnuts, malt and orange zest immediately place this as a dark beer. And a decent one at that. BERO has always done a great job at imitating the hoppy, bittersweet bite of alcohol, and the vibes at play within the brand’s Coffee Draught absolutely live up to the high bar. There are some faint caramel notes, a whisper of wheat and a subdued effervesence that all pick up on the finish. If we didn’t know any better, we’d guess it was canned at no less than 4% ABV.

Downey Jr.’s contribution feels understated by comparison. Yes, the Arabica is there, but not enough to tip the scale into morning cup of joe territory. Instead, you get subtle floral and fruit vibes by way of dried berries, orange blossom and lingering acidity. Flavors right at home within the stout beer vocabulary. It’s an effective ratio, paying homage to coffee rather than incorporating it front and center. The product description claims this only contains 5 milligrams of caffeine, and it’s easy to imagine that the happy was poured in with a light touch.

If you told us 10 years ago that Spider-Man and Iron Man were collaborating on a non-alcoholic, stout-style coffee draught, we’d probably respond: Consult a dictionary; those words make zero sense lumped into the same sentence. Oh, how the industry has changed over the past decade.

Though the beer is sure to raise its fair share of eyebrows among even the most die-hard of Marvel, Holland and Downey Jr. fans, it’s worth a try if you’re interested in the Wild West that is the non-alcoholic drinks space. If you’re interested in reading more, find our full review of BERO Coffee Draught here.