One new and amazing partnership style emerged in 2023. This is something that we think can really grow the smaller and local NA craft industry, local bottle shops and brewery collaborations. To date, we know of three who have collaborated, two of which made NA beer together. Since beer in the focus of this site, those two stories are being told with a goal to inspire and share lessons with the industry and highlight their success.
The first up is in Lafayette, Indiana, where amazingly 4 of the local breweries have some form of NA. Three of them are NA Beers. Lafayette is also home to Generation NA, one of the largest NA bottle shops and bars in the US. This is not a coincidence. Rob Theodorow, founder of Generation NA, has pushed non-alcoholic within the community and carries 3 of their beers on tap in the store. Fontana Farms, a local brewery, only serves their NA on premise at Generation NA. Down the street Lafayette Brewing Company has an NA on tap in their brewery and at Generation NA.
This story is about the third brewery, People’s Brewing Company, who have two locations in town. Around May 2022, which was the time Generation NA opened, Chris Johnson, Brewer and Co-founder, was exploring making non-alcoholic beer. He had seen the industry grow with beers like Athletic Brewing featured in industry news, and knew it was here to stay. Now People’s Brew is both on draft at the brewery and in Generation NA. Recently the two teamed up to launch a co-branded Gingerbread Brown NA and a Citrus Hop Water, with more planned in the future.
Here is the rest of our conversation with them:
1) How the idea of collaborating came about?
Rob: We were looking to grow the Generation NA brand beyond just a bottle shop and explored ways to do so. I thought it would be a great way to help get out name out in the local community, and beyond, and it’s turning out to be an early success.
Chris: I knew Rob and saw he opened a bottle shop. First, I thought he was crazy. Now we have made several batches of NA beer and put them on draft at the brewery and his shop.
2) What have the business benefits been for both parties?
We’ve been able to sell cases to restaurants, bars, and even other breweries that have limited NA options. It’s been a boost in sales for People’s and a way for us to quickly get our name out into the hands of customers.
Chris: When we made our first batch of NA beer, we almost threw it out, but decided to put it on tap. Rob came over and tried it, saying he hadn’t had much NA on draft before, and liked it. It went well with customers too and has only grown since.
3) Brew methods briefly without trade secrets to encourage other similar efforts?
Chris: We have tried a few different methods, each with different success. We didn’t have to buy new equipment though, because we don’t remove alcohol. We’re happy with our current batch which takes the learning from all the previous ones. We’ve not yet tried strains of yeast designed to produce NA, just other methods like mash temp adjustment, acidity, and more. However, yeasts could complement this, and we may try them in the future.
4) What about safety, I know it has heavily been discussed recently. Rob, can you elaborate on your draft system safety also?
Rob: This is a potential issue, nobody wants an ill customer in the NA sector. For us we follow guidelines, clean our draft lines very regularly, and maintain proper cold temperatures of the lines and kegs (<38 degrees F). Transporting the beer, we also try to keep it as cold as possible.
Chris: The first step is the pH of the beer and keeping it below 4 (note; alcoholic beers naturally are this low, which is why they are ‘safer’). This prevents the development of many potentially harmful organisms. While we can’t pasteurize, we do add a small amount of potassium metabisulfite. (This is an antioxidant and antimicrobial also commonly used in wine) We also have always had a lab, which helps us monitor safety and keep tabs on shelf stability.
5) Other thoughts on future opportunities.
We have some exciting things in the works on future collaborations – one may or may not include a major University. 😀
This is the first in our local collaboration series. This will feature local leaders of the NA movement, like local NA bottle shops and bars, collaborating with local breweries to craft and/or promote locally made NA beer. Two more planned in the coming weeks. Feel free to comment or email tyler@reducaholic.com with suggestions of similar content.
All pictures by Rob at Generation NA. Generation NA is an amazing local NA bottleshop and bar in Lafayette, IN who has 8 NA beverages on draft. They are all local or regionally made.