#90 Re-imagining beer

UK sales of low-alcohol and no-alcohol beers have almost doubled in the last five years. Alternative versions of global brands, while a raft of launches from independent businesses, have helped give drinkers an increasing number of options when it comes to the beer they drink. If we look back at research from earlier this year, research group IWSR revealed that UK drinkers bought some $454m of alcohol-free and low-alcohol brews in 2021, $200m more than they did back in 2016.  And during that period, the curious and determined duo of Bill Shufelt and John Walker brewed more than 100 test batches of non-alcoholic beer on a small home brewing system in order to perfect their proprietary process. In doing so, they went on to start the US-based Athletic Brewing. Since starting out, they’ve gone from being one of the smallest breweries in America to a top-20 craft beer producer. In this episode, co-founder Bill Shufelt talks us through the brewery’s journey, its expansion into the UK market and why losing the alcohol from your beer, shouldn’t mean you lose the variety.