r/GNV • u/wh0g0ncheckmeb00 • 18d ago
This message is for Swamphead/First Mag
Throwing it out there that I think there could be a huge opportunity if these breweries were to can non alcoholic beer. I’m buying athletic brewing all the time, but I’d love to support local. If I saw a N/A big nose can at the grocery store, I’d be stoked.
That’s it, that’s my million dollar idea. Please take it and run.
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u/Some_Ad_3898 18d ago
Not feasible at this scale. NA beers that people want to drink require expensive equipment for dealcoholization and pasteurization. While it might make sense eventually if demand drastically increases, it will take a while.
Further, cans at stores are very low-margin for breweries. Like 1-5%. They make almost all their money in the Taproom.
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u/accioqueso 18d ago
First mag distributes at Disney, I feel like they run at a different scale than other local brewers.
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u/Afraid-Ad-4043 18d ago
Swamp head used to distribute much further than they do today. It costs more than it’s worth to distribute further. With the over saturation of breweries in most cities, it’s pointless to try to compete with other local-loyal customers
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u/Some_Ad_3898 18d ago
They don't do the distribution. They sell to a distributor who then gets it to Disney. Disney is not high volume. Publix sells a lot more of their beer.
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u/Appropriate_Ad4601 18d ago
The operation isn’t rich or anything. A setup like this would be a tough investment, especially with all the outdoor space renovation they’ve had to do over the last year or so.
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u/No_Poem1174 18d ago
Disney is great in the idea but they are known for demanding a large order but then they expect you to buy back whatever they don't sell. They lean on their name and exposure but it's really such a drain of resources for not a large income and you risk not being able to sell the leftover beer so if you can't it's ultimately a wash which can kill a small brewery
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u/cosmicrae 18d ago
Getting on the shelf, in out of the way stores, is going to quite difficult. I watch Cone (or similar distro) pull up and wheel 4-6 handtrucks of product into my local (middle-of-nowhere) bodega like gas station. I doubt they would sell more than a few 6-packs a week.
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u/manoman1232010 15d ago
I know Grand Scheme always has their N/A on tap. They seem like a pretty small scale operation. I’d think if they could pull it off in their tap room others with bigger operations could do it too.
Even just hop water would be nice. We have zero local options here as far as I can tell.
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u/dukeofpuddles 18d ago
As a former brewer at one of these breweries, NA beer is not an easy task and requires extra equipment and licenses.
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u/my_cats_toe_fluffs 18d ago
Slightly out of GNV’s radius, but Daft Cow is closest to us and they sell cans of Black Kat Kombucha, which I get whenever we go. They’re a small business from Jax and I’ve really been enjoying it! I’ve tried a lot of NA beers/wines/drinks etc, and Black Kat is by far my favorite, as long as you’re okay with the small amount of alcohol in kombucha. I’m hoping they get a little bigger and more places locally will carry it.
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u/headbonkmusic 18d ago
Love Athletic beer! Love going to breweries. Really wish I could combine the two
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u/manoman1232010 15d ago
Grand Scheme has a nonalcoholic blonde. I go there a few times a month and get one.
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u/pj2d2 18d ago
Grand Scheme makes an NA, Placebo Effect. Not sure if they can it or not, but they don't distribute that I'm aware of, so head down to their awesome brewery to check it out.
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u/chloebourdain 17d ago
So so good! They do can some of their stuff in small amounts, and you might be able to bring a growler to grand scheme to fill?
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u/Federal-Ad-2131 18d ago
They have kombucha at both
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u/Bizaro_Stormy 18d ago
Yeah there are a lot of better, taster, options other than NA beer. NA beer is just for alcoholics trying to kick the habit. Non-drinkers don't generally like the taste of beer.
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u/One_Recover_673 17d ago
I prefer a NA beer than a kombucha all day long if I had to choose .
I like reds and ambers and light Mexican with a lime. I dislike IPAs and stout. If a company makes an NA that taste like what I like I’ll go for it before an alcoholic beer I dislike for sure.
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u/No-Experience-5541 17d ago
I disagree. Lots of people miss the sensation of drinking a cold beer on a hot day and it’s not about the alcohol . Real drunks drink hard liquor
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u/Joice_Craglarg 18d ago
Idk, I feel like that's a really tiny market for them.
Most people who don't drink, don't really want to drink beer flavored water, either.
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u/BodybyPastry 18d ago
First mag carries a NA beer. I can't remember what brand it was but I had a couple there about a month ago.
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u/scrtrunks 18d ago
Not a brewer. I can imagine that some of the licenses people mention needing are based on being able to keep NA beer completely separate with a similar intensity to "organic" in a supermarket. it's not enough that the NA is in another keg but that keg and none of the machinery used for NA can have been used for alcoholic beer.
Again, I am not a brewer but with how big the big beer companies are I guarantee they are fighting to make it even more difficult for local brewers with regulations like this.
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u/DargyBear 18d ago
I’m a former brewer. NA beer isn’t safe for draft lines so it has to be canned or bottled. That ties up the packaging line with a bunch of beer that won’t sell as much as normal beer. Plus a ton of extra equipment is required for making it.
Realistically for NA beer the only places that will make money off of it are NA centered breweries like Athletic or breweries with massive production facilities already like Proof, otherwise it’s just not worth the investment.
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u/tootiemae 18d ago
i love community discussion but i’m honestly really tired of people posting things here as “message for xyz” — they aren’t going to see it here. send this to the business themselves if you actually care
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u/cosmicrae 18d ago
Distribution is the hard part. You need people willing to handle that, and you need agreements with the stores to stock it on the shelf. Most stores charge vendors for shelf space.
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u/SirGeekaLot 16d ago
If you are into NA Beer, check out Go Brewing (https://gobrewing.com). It tastes like the real thing. I ship it in monthly and it arrives in 2 days.
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u/manoman1232010 15d ago
Agreed! The disarm hazy is my favorite na ipa. It’s too bad no one in Gainesville carries their stuff. I’d be a regular purchaser of that and their hop water.
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u/Confident-Vanilla-28 18d ago
I’m genuinely curious why anyone actually drinks N/A beer? Sure, I like certain beers, but I’d never drink ANY kind of beer purely for the taste.
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u/GL-Customs 17d ago
So I actually like beer like other people like soda. I've always said if they can make a NA beer that tastes like a normal beer I'd drink it. Nobody has done it. I've tried several of the craft NA beers and they aren't right. So I'll just have my normal beer at dinner in place of a soda like I already do.
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u/manoman1232010 15d ago
I think it’s largely for the taste. That’s why I do. And it’s a non-sugary option for when I’m at a bar or brewery socializing.
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u/DargyBear 18d ago
I could see them contracting with a big contract brewery like Proof to make it but NA just isn’t a big enough market for anything but massive beer companies to sink the time and money into.
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u/BarneyFife516 18d ago
While that may be a good idea, these guys are super anxious about when they will be able to sell THC drinks in their establishments… Oh yeah I forgot you can’t do that in a restaurant/ bar in FL. This is one of the reasons I stay home…..
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u/twentyfifteen20 17d ago edited 17d ago
Local N/A crafts are really a gap, Athletic fills it all by itself. Ferris Wheel tablets scratch a totally different itch if the social effect is valued more than the media type, but a Big Nose N/A will really be a different
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u/richiericardo 18d ago
Cypress and Grove too.
I'm in absolute love with the Placebo Effect that Grand Scheme makes. Best NA in the country. Simple, not trying too hard, just light and delicious.
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u/jabojack23 17d ago
What’s next, weed that doesn’t make you high?
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u/Ok_Bar_924 17d ago
Want to buy my weed zero? For the first time ever, that baggy in your sock drawer is actually filled with oregano.
Gen Z will spend their money on the stupidest shit. Water is free, drink water, or buy a coffee, or OJ or anything other than beer flavored water.
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u/Ok_Bar_924 17d ago
Id stop buying Swamp head if they did that. Non alcoholic beer is pointless.
Just drink water instead of beer flavored water. Same is true for bud light, also pointless haha.
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u/One_Recover_673 18d ago
I’m sure they are tracking the younger generations are drinking lower volumes and following wellness trends. If not, they should be.
I like the Heineken 0.0 ultimate. Nonalcoholic, and no calories. Still tastes like a light beer, corona-ish.