ST. LOUIS, MO—With sales of its non-alcoholic craft beers soaring, the WellBeing Brewing Company® has announced plans to expand its production capacity in collaboration with New Realm Brewing in Virginia Beach, VA.
“Our biggest opportunity has been keeping up with consumer demand,” said WellBeing co-founder Jeff Stevens. “We have been actively looking for a second location on the East Coast as we continue to increase distribution in new states. We are enthusiastic to have found a partnership with a world-class, award-winning team such as New Realm Brewing. This partnership allows us to increase capacity as well as launch new styles in 2021 and beyond.”
After posting gains of 6.6% in 2019, the low- and no-alcohol beer category continued to grow rapidly in 2020, spurred by consumers’ decisions to limit calorie intake or cut back on alcohol for health reasons. Trends like Sober October and Dry January—which led one-fifth of U.S. consumers to give up alcohol in January 2019—add to the acceptance of NA beers.
WellBeing expects to start brewing at the new location in March, using its unique vacuum distillation method to de-alcoholize the beer after it’s brewed and fermented—a process that retains more of the body, mouthfeel, aroma, flavor and smoothness than other methods of producing NA beers.
Brewers of all sizes, from local craft beermakers to international behemoths, are targeting NA beers, recognizing that about 30% of adults don’t drink alcohol at all—and seeing that the global NA market grew by 38% in the 12 months ending in November 2020.
“Since we started in 2018, our mission at WellBeing has always been to foster inclusion and social connection, and to reframe the stigma associated with not drinking alcohol to one of positivity and being ‘Proudly Non-Alcoholic’—a tagline we have on all our labels,” said co-founder Genevieve Barlow.
Stevens and Barlow understand the many motivations beer-lovers have for choosing NA beverages, and WellBeing Brewing is leading the way in promoting mindful drinking for adults in all social occasions.
WellBeing plans to brew several of its beers at both facilities and continue to produce its full line in Missouri. They’re excited to work with New Realm Brewing’s CEO Carey Falcone, CSMO Bob Powers and Brewmaster Mitch Steele, whose collective experience in the brewing industry exceeds 100 years. The trio founded New Realm in early 2017 in Atlanta and, after running out of capacity, opened the Virginia Beach production facility in late 2018.
Due to the steady growth of its national distribution and sales, WellBeing was looking for a partner whose beers were widely respected but who still had extra capacity and room to grow with them. Both companies are ready to hit the ground running this spring.
“The entire New Realm Team is excited about our long-term partnership with WellBeing,” said Falcone. “Since we are both focused on quality, core values and slow, disciplined growth, there is complete alignment in our professional and personal approach that will ensure our partnership is successful.”
In addition to WellBeing’s non-alcoholic craft beers—Hellraiser Dark Amber, Heavenly Body Golden Wheat, Intentional IPA, Victory Wheat and Intrepid Traveler Coffee Cream Stout—the company offers a line of sparkling craft waters infused with CBD.
Craft beer lovers can find WellBeing products at major retailers throughout the U.S., including Total Wine, BevMo, Spec’s and Hy-Vee. Consumers can also order all five styles to be shipped directly to their door at wellbeingbrewing.com.