In August 2017, Seattle Weekly published an article posing a simple (albeit cheeky) question: “Is N/A Body Making Good Nonalcoholic Beer?” Eight years later, the column’s well-reported answer—no and probably never—best serves as a reminder for how nonalcoholic beer’s become so good, so big, so fast.
Example A: Nine months after that article was published, nonalcoholic (NA) beer maker Athletic Brewing opened its first production facility in Stratford, Connecticut. In the seven years since, Athletic has a) purchased additional brewing facilities in California, twice; b) become America’s second fastest growing food and beverage company; and c) earned an $800 million company valuation.
