Find local beers with all the flavor, none of the buzz
By Kristen Kuchar
The non-alcoholic (NA) beer scene in the U.S. has soared in recent years and isn’t slowing down. In fact, the market is projected to reach more than $23 billion in 2025. A desire for healthier drink options and less alcohol consumption is certainly a part of the surge, but another possible reason for this popularity is the improved quality and taste of NA brews.
Keith Villa, founder of Arvada-based Ceria Brewing, saw a lot of potential in the alcohol-free space with a growing number of people wanting to reduce or eliminate alcohol. Villa created the popular Blue Moon back in 1995 while at Coors Brewing Company, now known as MolsonCoors. He retired from Blue Moon in 2017 and created the brewery dedicated solely to making alcohol-free beers.
The goal was creating an alcohol-free beer that still maintained a good body, taste and smell, similar to alcoholic beer. With his Blue Moon background, kicking off with a Belgian-style white ale, known as Grainwave, was a no-brainer, he says. The alcohol-free beer has an aroma of coriander and orange peel and a taste of slightly sweet maltiness followed up by citrus, coriander and bitterness. It’s a really nice feeling on the palate, he adds, and it tastes great served with a sliced orange.
The popularity of IPAs led to his second beer, Indiewave, which is dry-hopped with Citra and Amarillo hops. “You get this initial very hoppy aroma,” Villa says. His beers are pasteurized to protect the beer against bacteria or wild yeast, and the process also prevents the chance of cans starting to bulge or explode.
By the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau’s (TTB) definition of non-alcoholic beer, it can have up to 0.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). But Ceria’s brews are completely alcohol free, making it a go-to option for those who don’t want a trace of alcohol for medical, religious or other personal reasons. It provides options, Villa says, for someone who wants to spend a week completely sober.
“You don’t absolutely need alcohol to have fun,” Villa says. He adds people can enjoy these beers and socialize while still being alcohol-free, or grab a beer at lunch and go back to work. For Villa, who studied beer making in Belgium, producing non-alcoholic beers is also a platform to produce cannabis beers, which are sold in dispensaries.
For Steve Indrehus, president of Tommyknocker Brewery, the concept for producing non-alcoholic beer actually started while shipping concentrated beer to Finland, at the same time the idea of “better-for-you” beverages exploded.
He opted to create a non-alcoholic Blood Orange IPA since the Idaho Springs brewery’s full-strength version is its number one beer. With less than 0.5 percent ABV, the NA beer is brewed with Citra, Summit, Mandarina Bavaria, Mosaic and Chinook hops as well as blood orange peels. The beer has received a lot of positive feedback from consumers.
“The whole non-alcoholic category is still surging,” Indrehus says, adding that the technology for NA beers is getting better and better. These non-alcoholic beers aren’t necessarily only for those not consuming any alcohol, he points out. For example, a beer drinker is out to dinner and wants to have a full-strength IPA, he says. If they’re done with alcohol after that one, but still want something that packs flavor and complements the meal, a NA beer could be a good option. “It gives a consumer more control over their beverage choices,” he says.
Another time that NA beer is a go-to for Indrehus is for a beverage after endurance sports. Finishing a 10-mile run bright and early in the morning, it feels better for him to opt for a non-alcoholic option.
Entrepreneur Anika Sawni says the inspiration for starting Grüvi came from something many have experienced at some point — situations in which you don’t feel like drinking for one reason or another. The co-founder and director of marketing wanted more interesting options when she didn’t want alcohol.
“We quickly realized the category was lacking innovation and a whole lot of love, and saw this amazing opportunity to create something new,” she says. In addition to NA beers, Grüvi also produces red wine, bubbly rose, sangria and dry secco.
Non-alcoholic beers include Juicy IPA, Golden Lager, Mocha Nitro Stout and Weekday Wit.
Golden Lager is a top seller and was selected as the Best Non-Alcoholic Beer, winning the Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup. Grüvi was also the first NA craft beer company to develop a nitrogen-dosed non-alcoholic beer Mocha Nitro Stout.
Sawni says that customer feedback is a huge part of how recipes are perfected. For example, after the first batch of the Juicy IPA, people said they wanted the tropical flavors and pineapple notes to shine through. So, for the second batch, that was taken into consideration.
Oskar Blues Brewery also recently released Hardly, available at the Longmont taproom. The non-alcoholic pilsner has a mild hop presence and a distinct floral hop aroma. “We have been exploring the possibility of making an NA beer for years in order to give OB beer drinkers more options,” says Aaron Baker, senior marketing manager at Oskar Blues. “We’re stoked to continue working on this project in order to get it exactly right.”
Kristen Kuchar is a Colorado-based freelance writer covering all things beverage — wine, beer, cider, and more.
This article appeared in the January-February issue of our print magazine. Click here to read the full magazine online.