As you hinted at, early America's drinks of choice were ale/porter/beer, cider, wine, brandy, rum, and whiskey. But other non-alcoholic drinks were readily available. They had to be. One of America's early sizable communities were the Quakers, who were teetotalers.
All the links below link back to the letters, receipts, and publications of various Founding Fathers/Mothers in the late 18th Century, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, James Madison, John Adams, and Abigail Adams, describing their non-alcoholic beverage habits.
On the occasion when people weren't drinking alcohol, then the drinks of choice were tea (1, 2, 3), coffee (1, 2, 3), water (1, 2, 3), and milk (1, 2, 3). (You'll need to CTRL+F the beverage in question to see the relevant section of those Founding Fathers' papers.)
Of those four non-alcoholic beverages, milk was probably the least frequently consumed by adults, but it nonetheless was. John Adams even went on a milk and bread diet at one point. Tea consumption was widespread, as evident by the famous "Boston Tea Party". Less well remembered are the protests in other port cities against the Tea Act. It's been estimated that about 6.5 million pounds of tea were being imported to the Thirteen Colonies annually by the time of the Revolution. This out of a population of 2.5 million people means that, if a pound of tea yields 200 cups, then, on average, an American was drinking 520 cups of tea per year.
Historians from the colonial period may also be familiar with the Founders' love of coffee. Coffee-houses were ubiquitous in America's largest cities, including Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. They were often used as meeting places for politicians and other prominent men. Probably the most famous coffee house of colonial America was New York's Tontine Coffee-House, which was at the corner of Wall Street and Water Street in downtown Manhattan. It was frequented by traders, merchants, and brokers, a group of whom signed a document in 1792 called the Buttonwood Agreement that was the genesis of the New York Stock Exchange.
A good example of what the Founders were consuming can be seen in Thomas Jefferson's Memorandum Books of 1776 which listed a lot of his expenses. Among the items are two purchases of tea, three purchases of milk, and a purchase of coffee and a "coffee mill".
Similar is the record of the estate of of Daniel Parke Custis, who died in 1756-57. Among the "slaves and personal property" he left behind were tea pots, tea kettles, tea chests, coffee pots, milk pots, and water pots.
Other than that, other non-alcoholic drinks available to the colonists would have been lemonade and possibly limeade (limes were bought in juice form anyway), though probably not as frequently consumed by adults as alcohol, tea, coffee, and water. Lemons and limes were two fruits that were regularly available in the Thirteen Colonies, direct from the Caribbean colonies. These fruits appeared in many different alcoholic drinks of the time, and also in its non-alcoholic lemonade form. The drink appears in Thomas Jefferson's memorandum books of both 1785 and 1786, and Abigail Adams wrote about lemonade as well.
In the same sentence in the same letter, Adams also wrote about a more forgotten beverage that she spelled "orgee". This was probably "orgeat", a "cold beverage made of barley, almonds, or orange-flower water" according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Aside from that, there are also references to cocoa and vegetable juices in the papers of the Founding Fathers. There were probably some non-alcoholic apple, pear, and cherry ciders produced as well, particularly among the Quakers in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.
In short, the Founding Fathers essentially drank all the same stuff we do today, except for fizzy soft drinks and artificially flavored drinks that came in the 19th Century and after. They didn't have access to all the varieties of fruit juices that we have today, but they did have access to some, and tea, coffee, milk, water, and lemonade, as well as various alcoholic beverages, would have been familiar to Americans at the time the country was founded.
After the late 1700s, I am sure other beverages arose in the U.S. before carbonated soft drinks came around. Maybe somebody else can add more info about that period.
FURTHER READING:
"History of Coffee In Old New York", All About Coffee by William Harrison Ukers, 1922
Tea Drinking in 18th Century America: Its Etiquette and Equipage by Rodris Roth, 1961
Food and Drink In America: A History by Richard James Hooker, 1981
Abigail Adams: An American Heroine by John P. Kaminski, 2007
John Adams: A Life by John Ferling, 2010
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A few follow up questions.
Benjamin Franklin writing to John Lining on 17 June 1758 refers to a "a kind of hot punch, made with water, mixed with honey, and a considerable proportion of vinegar."
George Washington wrote in his diary on the 15th of February 1760 "Went to a Ball at Alexandria—where Musick and Dancing was the chief Entertainment. However in a convenient Room detachd for the purpose abounded great plenty of Bread and Butter, some Biscuets with Tea, & Coffee which the Drinkers of coud not Distinguish from Hot water sweetned."
John Adams wrote in his diary on the 22 December 1779 "Drank Tea at Senior Lagoaneres. Saw the Ladies drink Chocolate in the Spanish Fashion. A Servant brought in a Salver, with a number of Tumblers of clean clear Glass full of cold Water, and a Plate of Cakes, which were light Pieces of Sugar. Each Lady took a Tumbler of Water and a piece of Sugar, dipped the Sugar in the Tumbler of Water, eat the one and drank the other. The Servant then brought in another Salver of Cups of hot Chocolate. Each Lady took a Cup and drank it, and then Cakes and Bread and Butter were served. At last Each Lady took another Cup of cold Water and here ended the repast."
Was water sweetened with honey or sugar a common thing to have?
Where is coffee coming from during this period?
Was drinking "Chocolate in the Spanish Fashion" popular? Adams' description makes it sound as if it were uncommon.