Homemade alcohol-free relaxing "beer"

Recently Sarah went on an antibiotic that means she can't drink any alcohol for a while. She is also on a no-sugar kick, so even if it was any good (it's not) fake beer isn't ideal given the malt. It's not the end of the world, but a beer sure is nice at the end of a difficult day, so I figured it was worth trying to see if I could come up with a reasonable replacement. The goals I had were:
1. Good taste
2. As beer-tasting as possible, especially on the hop side (as Sarah likes super-hoppy IPAs)
3. Actually relaxing (not just beer-flavored)
4. Ideally looks / feels kind of like beer too (carbonated, in the yellow-orange family, bonus points for foamy head)

Here is the most recent version (iteration 3, with many more likely to come) of the "recipe" I came up with for a single "beer" (I usually make a large batch of the hops extract to reduce the work per "beer"):
1/4 cup dried whole hop flowers (I actually didn't have pure hops so I used a homemade blend of relaxing tea with hops, skullcap, chamomile, and a few other things)
Skullcap extract (I happened to have some we weren't using we got from Mom)
Club soda
1/8 tsp Truvia fake sugar OR 1.5 tsp agave nectar or barley malt syrup if not avoiding sugar
optional: Angostura bitters or orange bitters (note: these are alcoholic so I used a very small amount, see below)

I start by adding the hops / herbs to ~1 cup of water, bring it to a boil (in the microwave thus far), then remove from heat and let it steep for 15 minutes. I strain the herbs out and end up with about 3/4 cup of tea. Boil this (I put the tea in a glass measuring cup in the microwave) until it is reduced by half (halfway between 1/4 and 1/2 cup). Note that the tea gets a bit frothy as it boils so be sure to use a 2-cup measure or just closely watch it to prevent spillage. Alternatively, just boil the herbs and water in the saucepan, then strain it out for a stronger flavor. Once it is reduced, you will have an intensely bitter / hoppy flavor essence for the base of your beer. Stick it in the freezer or fridge until cool (earlier attempts used ~ 1 shot of tea so the heat wouldn't make the overall beer warm, but this is way better).

Remove the cool hoppy tea from the fridge, add ~ 1 dropper of skullcap and the Truvia and stir until it dissolves. Pour into a pint glass and add 12 oz club soda (or less, to taste). Optional: if you want more complex flavor and a darker color, add no more than 10mL orange bitters or 5mL Angostura original (Gentian) bitters. The original bitters add a nice color as shown above, and great flavor, but it is 58% alcohol so it's important to not use much. The nice frothy head goes away fairly quickly, but regardless you end up with a drink that is carbonated, hoppy and bitter (but not too bitter thanks to the Truvia), and relaxing (hops is a soporific that helps you feel sleepy, skullcap in a nervine that makes you generally relaxed).

It's not a true substitute for alcohol, but it's a pretty tasty, pleasant, and relaxing beverage, and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to avoid or minimize alcohol but who enjoys beer. If you like darker beers, here's our "stout" variant: http://veganladyeats.blogspot.com/2015/05/homeade-alcohol-free-stout-beer.html