Non-Alcoholic Beer Company Growing In Sales and Awards
CHARLOTTETOWN – It wasn’t that long ago that alcohol-free beer was a common tv-show punchline. The freezer door for nonalcoholic beer would actually be a secret passageway. Kids would be having a wild party, only to find out they were tricked. The buzz they felt was nothing more than a placebo effect.
But the past few years have shown that consumers have become more conscientious about the amount of alcohol they consume. And worldwide demand for non-alcoholic options is growing in 2023.
Libra Beverage is one of the Atlantic Canadian brewers taking advantage of this trend. Mike Hogan, a co-founder and brewmaster of Libra, and its sister company Upstreet Brewing, which makes traditional beer. Hogan anticipates, based on consumer demand, that he will soon be making more Libra products than Upstreet.
“This time last year Libra might have been a third of our production, but now half of our production is non-alcoholic beer,” said Hogan. “And it’s just continuing to grow. So, in a few months we’ll probably be making more non-alcoholic beer than our regular beers, which is pretty cool.”
“I never would have imagined that back in 2015, when we started the brewery and started making our regular beers.”
Libra is even getting international recognition. The brewery took home a slew of awards at the recent New York International Beer Competition, including Canadian non-alcoholic brewery of the year. Libra’s individual beers also won awards. Libra Pilsner won a Gold, while its Lavender Sage Cream Ale won silver and its IPA and Cherry Sour took home a bronze.
“It’s super exciting,” said Hogan. “We’ve been seeing a lot of success on the sales side, especially in Atlanta Canada, and now we’re trying to grow it across the country. It’s one thing to have success on the sales side, but winning awards from an independent panel of judges means a lot to me too.”
Learning how to make a great-tasting beer, without alcohol as an ingredient, wasn’t easy for Hogan. One of the keys to a successful alternative brew is to have it taste like the real thing.
“We were at the Restaurant Canada trade show last week in Toronto, and we talked to over 500 Different people who came by our booth and tried the beers. The top feedback was ‘wow I can’t believe how real that tastes’,” said Hogan.
“I almost had to really relearn everything about brewing to be able to make non-alcoholic beer and sort of deconstruct the process and figure out what tweaks needed to be made to make a great non-alcoholic beer. You want it to have a proper amount of flavor. You want people to drink it. You want them to say ‘wow, that tastes like a real beer.’”
Libra is making a big push to be featured in restaurants. It was at that same trade show in Toronto where they got some good news on restaurant trends across Canada.
“There was a presentation on different beverage trends from a company that does point of sale systems for restaurants. And he said in the last year they’ve seen a 19 per cent increase of non-alcoholic beverage options getting added to the menus at restaurants. I think that’s going to continue to grow.”
“We’re even talking to a group of restaurants that’s thinking about removing alcohol from their menu and choosing Libra as the top non-alcoholic option on their menus.”
Hogan believes the surge in sales for non-alcoholic beer can be attributed to people wanting more balance in their life, especially when it comes to health. They may want to cut down on drinking alcohol, but still have an option that allows them to fit in with friends on a night out.
“Libra means balance in Latin, and that’s really what people are doing with Libra. I would say that most of our customers are not just people who are completely abstaining from alcohol, but people who are moderating.”
“It’s a Tuesday night and you’re going out with some friends, and you want to play it safe for whatever reason. And it’s nice to have an option that tastes good.”