River to Town Water Shoes: Astral Brewer 3.0 Review

The waves were getting bigger, my paddleboard was deflating, and the situation was getting more extreme with every passing river mile. I’d embarked down the Roaring Fork with a motley group of friends on an old paddleboard I hadn’t inflated in over a year. Much to my dismay, about 20 minutes into our 3-hour float, I started leaking air profusely, and my board became very hard to balance and navigate through the whitewater.

That meant I was going in — more than once and on several occasions — through rapids with 3- to 4-foot waves. It was June, high water, which meant we were also moving pretty quickly. As I held onto my board, feet out in front of me, my closed-toed Astral Brewer 3.0 Water Shoes protected my toes and soles from rocks, branches, and other sharp, pokey things lurking beneath the roiling water.

When we finally arrived at our terminus, and I paddled onto the boat ramp at Two River’s Park, I was very much sinking, but thankfully, not yet sunk.

More than once that day, I’d been grateful that I chose the Astral Brewers over my Chacos. With as much time as I’d spent in the water kicking off rocks and treading the river bottom, my feet likely wouldn’t have made it out so unscathed otherwise.

In short: The Astral Brewer 3.0 is a unisex, zero-drop water shoe perfect for river, lake, pool, and ocean adventures. You can even wear them around town or on light bike rides. They have built-in sock liners for barefoot comfort and G.ss Rubber and Flex Grip outsoles that stick to dry or wet surfaces. They drain and dry quickly and protect feet better than sandals. The updated Astral Brewer is an excellent option for a reliable and comfortable shoe for water activities.

Compare the Astral Brewer 3.0 to others we’ve tested by checking out GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Water Shoes.

Astral Brewer 3.0 Water Shoe Review

Versatility

Typically, whenever I’m on water, I wear my Chacos. They’ve accompanied me rafting, tubing, into slot canyons filled with water, down rivers on paddleboards, and to the beach. But I can also wear them on short, non-technical hikes. They transition easily from river to trail to town, and that’s why I love them.

The Astral Brewer offers similar versatility. Yes, it’s a dedicated water shoe, but it’s also wearable for mild bike rides. I wore the shoes on my bike ride from Glenwood to the river put-in in Carbondale and around town.

I didn’t switch shoes before heading to a brewery after our float. This versatility is one of the big reasons we named the Astral Brewer our Best Overall Water Shoe in our Best Water Shoes guide.

They also look pretty darn fly compared to many water shoes I’ve seen. They look like any other zero-drop sneaker you might see on the street. The understated earth-tone colors are pretty stylish, too, and I appreciated the versatility of the Typhoon Navy color I tested.

Fit

I have wide feet, and these fit like a glove when I first slipped into them. I didn’t even need to adjust the laces. If I had narrower feet, that might have been a different story. But with my wide paddles, I felt like Cinderella. I experienced no pinching or hot spots at all in these shoes.

Granted, I wasn’t hiking in them either. I walked around town in them and wore them while I packed cars and loaded/unloaded river equipment. But I limited most of my activity to standing (on my paddleboard), kneeling (also on my paddleboard), and pedaling (on, you guessed it, my bike).

Grip

Of course, grip is one of the most critical factors for any water shoe. You don’t want footwear that loses all traction when it gets wet. Lack of good grip is one of Chaco’s shortcomings, but it’s where the Astral Brewers shine.

The tread pattern on this shoe isn’t special. But the grip of the G.ss Rubber and Flex Grip outsole was notable on my board, on shore, and even while wading through the water over mossy river rocks. I was impressed by it. I imagine they’d grip very well on boat decks or similarly slippery surfaces.

(Note: My bike pedals did leave some permanent marks on the tread of the Astral Brewers, as pictured above. That’s something to be aware of, as it could cause greater wear and tear over time.)

Quick Drain, Quick Dry

If you hold the Astral Brewers up against the light, you can see through the top of the upper. It’s woven so loosely that it’s almost a mesh layer. Water quickly drained straight out of it and through the drain holes on both sides. That squishy, wet sneaker feeling never lasted too long with the Brewers.

The upper is made of quick-dry material, so after all the water rushes out, the material dries pretty fast, too. Within 10 to 15 minutes of getting out of the water and walking around in the sun, these shoes were barely damp.

After 30 minutes on dry land, they were dry to the touch. Astral made the upper with 100% recycled material, so you can feel great about the performance and sustainability of these shoes.

No Socks Necessary

The Astral Brewers are designed with a built-in sock liner, so they feel entirely comfortable on bare feet. Some water shoes can feel abrasive when wet — even the straps of Chacos get uncomfortable to wear barefoot after getting soaked.

Not these, though. I was surprised by how comfortable I felt wearing them all day long, through dry bike pedaling and wet river paddling, without wearing socks.

Astral Brewer 3.0 Water Shoe: Room for Improvement?

Our tester noted this in the buyer’s guide for the Best Water Shoes, but the Astral Brewers can be hard to wash the sand out of. I found this to be the case on the river, using the dunk method, but when I got them home and used a hose to wash them out, the sand came out much more easily.

My personal biggest gripe with these shoes is the lace system. The laces are small and hard to use when your fingers are cold from playing in a river for hours on end.

I would prefer an elastic tightening system or BOA, sans laces entirely. I know that would make them less “river-to-town” friendly, as they’d look less like a sneaker and more like a river shoe. But that’s just my two cents.

Astral Brewer 3.0 Water Shoe Review: Who Is It For?

If you recreate on rivers, lakes, oceans, or anywhere else you need to get your feet wet, these are amazing water shoes. They look great, drain and dry extremely quickly, and grip wet and dry surfaces well.

To boot, they’re versatile for different activities. Our buyer’s guide tester wore them through three airports without anyone taking a second glance at them. I felt perfectly normal wearing them to a brewery after our float trip. And for short bike rides (especially if it’s to a put-in or reservoir), these shoes are great.

Now that I’ve got these Astral Brewers, my Chacos will get a lot less use this summer. I feel like I’m cheating on a long-time partner, but these shoes are better for real river adventures. They’re more protective, grippier, and far more comfortable than sandals, and they cost about the same.