Seven years ago, non-alcoholic beer accounted for just 0.3% of total U.S. beer sales. Today, the subcategory comprises upwards of 5% of total beer dollars in many retail channels and accounts for up to 20% of total beer sales at some leading grocery retailers. Two significant, dovetailing factors have been chiefly responsible for that sizable increase: consumers’ shifting perspectives on alcohol, health, and mindful drinking matched with vastly improved quality and innovation from non-alcoholic beer producers. Leading the charge in terms of the latter is the country’s largest non-alcoholic beer producer, Athletic Brewing.
Since launching in Stratford, Conn., in 2018, Athletic has been on a tear, reimagining and revolutionizing the non-alcoholic beer segment with products in line with the craft-beer subculture, and a focus on what can be gained through the embrace of non-alcoholic brews versus what’s missing. It’s been a winning formula, and company founders Bill Shufelt and John Walker have been playing catch-up from the get-go.
In 2020, Athletic laid down roots in San Diego, converting Ballast Point Brewing’s former R&D brewery on Miramar’s Trade Street into its West Coast headquarters. Since then, Athletic has grown 60 times over, reaching capacity locally, and leading Shufelt and Walker to take over another Ballast Point property, the company’s 107,000-square-foot production headquarters on nearby Carroll Way. Brought online in mid-September, the brewery — San Diego County’s largest — will allow Athletic to double its annual production capacity and meet rising demand for its non-alcoholic beers.
Empty aluminum cans ready to be filled at the Athletic Brewing Company facility in Miramar. Their beers are non-alcoholic with less than 0.5% of alcohol by volume. (Howard Lipin / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
We recently met up with Shufelt to discuss Athletic’s astronomic rise, its expanded local presence and the state of the non-alcoholic beer segment.
What inspired you to get into the beer industry?
Back in 2013, I realized that alcohol was really the only inconsistent element of my high-performance lifestyle — it felt like a ceiling on everything I was doing. So I stopped drinking. But I still loved great brews and the connection that comes with sharing one. The problem was that there weren’t any non-alcoholic options that delivered on taste or experience. That frustration turned into an idea: What if there was an exceptional non-alcoholic beer that you’d choose for its quality, not just because it had no alcohol?
That’s when John came in. He was an accomplished brewer who shared my curiosity and willingness to challenge the status quo. Together, we set out to reimagine the brewing process from the ground up — not just to make non-alcoholic beer, but to create a movement with brews that could stand shoulder to shoulder with their full-strength counterparts. After conducting hundreds of small-batch trials in John’s garage, we developed a proprietary method for producing non-alcoholic beer, re-engineering nearly every step of the brewing process through extensive experimentation.
What do you feel was key in being able to quickly make a name for Athletic?
We didn’t position Athletic around sacrifice or what people are giving up. Instead, we’ve built the brand around possibility and what you are gaining. For decades, non-alcoholic beer was marketed as something you drank when you couldn’t have alcohol. From day one, we set out to break down those stigmas and create something positive, aspirational and inclusive. We want to prove that great non-alcoholic beer can be part of a modern lifestyle that values mindfulness, balance, and connection just as much as flavor and social experience.
A glass of Upside Dawn Golden at the Athletic Brew Company in Miramar. Their beers are non-alcoholic with less than 0.5% of alcohol by volume. (Howard Lipin / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
That’s why our messaging has never focused on abstinence, but instead on moderation. We know that 80% of our customers still drink alcohol, and 94% of non-alcoholic beer purchasers are also buying alcoholic beer, wine and spirits. By shifting away from outdated narratives and focusing on limitless occasions for enjoyment, we’ve been able to create new beer occasions rather than compete for existing ones. That’s why you see people drinking Athletic in all kinds of moments — after workouts and at finish lines, on weeknights and weekends, at live music and sporting events, or simply when they want to stay sharp for whatever life might bring their way.
By widening the aperture of audiences being invited to enjoy great-tasting non-alcoholic beer, we’ve redefined the category, attracted a much broader audience to the beer aisles, and connected with people who want to enjoy all the social moments of beer — without compromise.
When did the brand start to see major traction?
Shortly after launching in 2018. Early on, we were canning small batches and shipping them straight to customers through our website. I’ll never forget the first time we released a limited-time offering online and watched it sell out in just a few minutes. That was the first real indication that demand was there and that people were thirsty for better non-alcoholic options.
Fermentation tanks at the Athletic Brewing Company facility in Miramar. Their beers are non-alcoholic with less than 0.5% of alcohol by volume. (Howard Lipin / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Another major milestone came in 2020. We had just opened our first San Diego brewery when the pandemic hit. Suddenly, people everywhere were rethinking their routines and reassessing their relationship with alcohol. Our messages and storytelling around moderation, mindfulness and active lifestyles really began to resonate, and sales exploded. We went from making 7,500 barrels of beer in 2019 to surpassing 100,000 barrels in 2021. In 2022, facing capacity constraints, we expanded again, completing construction on our 150,000 square-foot facility in Milford, Conn., which was 50 times larger than our original Stratford brewery. That year we landed at No. 26 on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies and were named to the Time 100 Most Influential Companies list.
What led you to select San Diego as your West Coast base of operations?
Some of the most health-forward, outdoor-oriented, and on-trend areas in the country — places that really align with our values and our target demographic — are along the West Coast. In the early days, we were shipping a lot of beer across the country from our Connecticut brewery, which was enormously unprofitable. We were using great ingredients on a small scale and losing money on every beer we sold.
So, when the opportunity came to expand west, San Diego made perfect sense. It’s one of the greatest beer cities in the world — on par with the best in Europe — and home to incredible brewing talent and infrastructure. There was already a strong local customer base, a culture that values active living, and a deep appreciation for craft brews. It was the ideal place to plant our West Coast flag.
The canning line at the Athletic Brewing Company facility in Miramar can run at 1,200 cans per minute. Their beers are non-alcoholic with less than 0.5% of alcohol by volume. (Howard Lipin / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
What made Ballast Point’s HQ an ideal site for expansion?
The opening of our new Carroll Way brewery is a major leap forward for Athletic that more than doubles our company-wide brewing capacity, giving us the ability to produce up to 1.2 million barrels per year while dramatically improving efficiency, quality and sustainability. The new facility has about five times the capacity of our original Miramar brewery and features cutting-edge equipment and automation to enhance our efficiency. Our Trade Street brewery has been operating at full capacity for the last three years, and this expansion enables us to meet growing demand, while also pushing quality forward with significant lab upgrades.
Where do Athletic and the non-alcoholic beer segment stand at present?
We launched commercially in mid-2018 and produced just 875 barrels that year — making Athletic one of the smallest of nearly 10,000 U.S. breweries. Last year, we brewed just under 400,000 barrels and were ranked by (industry trade organization) the Brewers Association as the 8th-largest craft brewing company and the 18th-largest overall brewing company in America. Athletic is the No. 1 overall non-alcoholic beer brand in the U.S. with 19% market share, and the No.1 non-alcoholic craft brand with 52% of the craft non-alcoholic segment — more than 45 share points ahead of our next closest competitor.
Of course, all that growth has brought a flood of new entrants. There are now more than 500 non-alcoholic beer brands in the U.S., up from a handful when we launched in 2018. This includes numerous celebrity-backed brands that aim to ride the non-alcoholic wave, along with major flagship launches from multinational brands. We welcome competition. It validates the category we helped build, and at the end of the day, we are confident that taste, quality, and authenticity are what drive repeat purchases — and that’s where Athletic continues to lead.
Athletic Brewing Company CEO Bill Shufelt, left, holds a can of Upside Dawn Golden, and Chief Operating Officer John Walker holds a can of Run Wild IPA at their Miramar facility. Both are company co-founders. Howard Lipin / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The future for non-alcoholic beer is incredibly bright. We’re still in the very early innings of a generational shift in how people think about drinking.
Brandon Hernández is founder of San Diego Beer News (www.sandiegobeer.news), a site providing daily coverage of the county’s brewing industry, a beat he’s covered for 19 years. Follow him @sdbeernews or contact him at brandon@sandiegobeer.news