ENAY is a recently launched non-alcoholic beer brand based out of Virginia. They now ship direct to consumer nationwide and are available in many NA bottleshops across the country through the wholesale site Air Goods. The brand is started by Precarious Beer Project who are fully committed to the non-alcoholic space to offer the growing sector more choices and be more inclusive to their loyal patrons beyond just Dry January. Precarious is one of many craft breweries across the US to launch their own, separately branded, non-alcoholic beer in the past several years.
Author’s Note: I recently tried both of their beers, purchased from Bendicion Bottleshop in Chicago, a great way to buy a variety of NA beers. I really enjoyed the Day Ripper Pilsnear, it had a good body and flavor and continued to validate my “I didn’t care for pilseners when drinking alcohol, but there are some really good NA ones” journey. The Sun Shifter West Coast IPA was a favorite too, really impressive IPA flavor profile throughout. I’ll definitely be getting more of both of these.
Interview continued after the images:
Interview with ENAY and Precarious Beer Project – Julie Tridente, Director of Brewing Operations, and Adrian Garrett, Head Brewer.
-What made you decide to make NA beer?
Adrian: It started as an interest in sober {Dry} January, but we realized it was more than that. It wasn’t going to be a dry month thing, but a way to be inclusive to a growing group who drink less. We definitely see it as a good business opportunity going forward.
-What role does Precarious Beer Project play?
Julie: Precarious plays a big role in the ENAY brand. We’ve been a brewery since 2017 and that directly correlates to our ability to make amazing beer and in turn make non-alcoholic beer that tastes like beer.
-How do you brew, by removing alcohol, or by biological methods where alcohol is not produced?
Adrian: We brew in a very similar way to normal, so we can use our existing equipment. We do a combination of things, including adjusting our mash temperatures and times along with different yeasts and fermentation times. We also use a yeast strain that is geared for minimal alcohol production. We experimented a lot and came up with something we really like.
-What are some of the challenges?
Julie: It is a commitment, especially around the safety. We chose to package it, primarily based on the discussions and guidelines available at the time and we also felt it was the best for our model. This means pasteurizing, which is new equipment for us. We are committed though as we believe it’s part of the future.
Adrian: Beyond safety, it took some time for us to get it into our production process. We brew nearly every day, and the non-alcoholic process is a bit different. It basically requires similar/more steps but in a shorter time frame, so we allocated labor and time differently.
-Any future styles planned for 2024?
We’ll likely try to introduce another couple styles and then leave it at that. A hazy IPA and a sour most likely.
This is the first in the series on medium-sized craft breweries getting into NA Beers, especially those who rebrand the NA beers at launch. There are several examples and they continue to grow, showing the possibility and potential of the industry and for existing breweries to be part of it at various scales.