#104 Going global

When it comes to the world of no-and-low beers, they no longer on the periphery of the conversation – they are the conversation. The sale of low-alcohol and no-alcohol beers in the UK have nearly doubled in the last five years. Various product releases from global brands, coupled with a raft of launches from independent businesses, have helped give drinkers an increasing number of options when it comes to the beer they drink. A glance at research from last year courtesy of research group IWSR showed that UK drinkers bought some $500m of alcohol-free and low-alcohol beers in 2021, a 40% increase on what they procured back in 2016.  In that time the curious and determined duo of Bill Shufelt and John Walker brewed more than 100 test brews of non-alcoholic beer on a small home brewing system in order to perfect their proprietary process. As a result, they went on to start the US-based Athletic Brewing. Since founding the business, they’ve gone from being one of the smallest breweries in America to a top-20 craft beer producer. In this episode, we revisit our chat with co-founder Bill Shufelt who talks us through the brewery’s journey, its global expansion and why losing the alcohol from your beer, shouldn’t mean you lose the variety.