Revolution Brewing is getting into the non-alcoholic (NA) beverage game.
The Chicago-based craft brewery has launched Super-Zero sparkling hop water, its first NA offering.
The zero proof hop water is available in 12 oz. can 6-packs at retailers now – in time for “Sober October” – as well as direct-to-consumer through Revolution’s website. The new offering’s tagline “Save the Day,” reflecting “its goal of catering to a variety of alcohol-free occasions,” according to a press release.
“We’ve been looking deeply at potential offerings for new customers as the craft beer segment matures and drinking occasions change,” Revolution CMO Doug Veliky said in the release. “Not everyone drinks, and even the biggest Revolution fans are presented with situations where they are passing on the opportunity to consume alcohol for one reason or another.
“The exciting challenge for us was to create an appealing choice for both groups, built on our expertise with hops and commitment to quality,” he continued.
Super-Zero has been in development since 2022. The final product uses two contemporary hop varieties and “matches the hop dosing rate of the brewery’s best seller, Anti-Hero.”
“We took a look at a lot of different ingredients over several batches, but Super Zero’s recipe ended up with just carbonated water, hops and citric acid,” head brewer Jim Cibak said in the release. “Sabro and Nectaron are two of the highest quality varieties and we wanted to let those refreshing fruit notes shine. We used whole hop pellets, no oils, extracts, or sweeteners, and found that anything else would just get in the way of that big rush of fresh hop flavor.”
Super-Zero will also “take center stage” in a January campaign. Additionally, Revolution is sponsoring the first “NA Lounge” at the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild’s Festival of Wood and Barrel-aged Beer in November.
Revolution was the 39th largest Brewers Association-defined craft brewery in 2022, producing 69,590 barrels of beer (-3% versus 2021).
Several other top-50 craft breweries have announced new or increased investment in NA in the past year, including Sierra Nevada, Harpoon and Deschutes. Last week, Brooklyn Brewery also announced a minority investment in Hoplark, which produces hop tea, sparkling water and NA beer.
NA beer sales have increased +31.4% year-to-date (ending August 13) in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels, claiming 0.79% share of beer dollars. NA volume has increased +19.8% YTD. The segment consistently reports double-digit growth year-over-year, and is one of the few beer segments to record growth, along with flavored malt beverages (FMBs) and imports.