Connecticut’s Two Roads Brewing gets into the non-alcoholic beer sector

Two Roads Brewing Co. has been pushing beyond beer for some time — hard seltzers, RTD spirits-based cocktails and now a brand-new line of non-alcoholic beer offerings. The Stratford, Conn.-based craft brewery plans to roll out a number of NA beer brands over the coming months, starting with a non-alcoholic version of its Juicy IPA. From the press release:

According to Director of Marketing, Collin Kennedy, “an NA (non-alcoholic) Juicy makes perfect sense from a trend standpoint. Juicy IPAs, and non-alc beers in general, continue to grow in popularity, making this entry a very logical first step.”

Two Roads has developed a 70-calorie, non-alcoholic Juicy IPA. On the alcoholic Juicy side, the brewery also recently announced the brand was doing a 16-oz Hazy IPA variety six-pack (also a first), which included two 16-oz cans of each of Two Roads’ “Juicy Family” offerings, including Lil’ Juicy Hazy IPA, Mega Juicy Hazy Imperial IPA and the extremely popular Two Juicy Hazy Double IPA. The NA Juicy IPA is out now in 12-oz six-packs in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The packaging will be bright and vibrant and employ the Two Roads logo.

Kennedy added, “It was important for us to leverage the significant consumer awareness of our brand and our reputation for innovation and quality that we’ve built over the last 10 years.”

Making non-acholic craft beer is not easy. Just ask Two Roads Master Brewer Phil Markowski. He was definitely challenged with this new NA concoction.

Reflecting on the R&D process, Markowski noted that “developing an NA beer has been one of the more interesting challenges in my brewing career. We’d already built a successful line of traditional, Juicy IPAs including Two Juicy, one of the most highly rated beers of this style, so the bar was set high in terms of nailing an NA. After about 18 months of trial and error I love where we’ve arrived. We have a flavorful, authentic tasting Juicy IPA that is non-alcoholic, but drinks like any of our other traditional Juicy IPA products.”

Markowski has been professionally brewing since 1989 and has received countless accolades including numerous GABF medals and the renowned Russell Scherer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing. As for the brewery, Two Roads opened its doors in December 2012, and the brand will be celebrating 10 years soon. Currently, Two Roads has two tasting rooms on its 10-acre campus including one at its Area Two Innovation Center. Go check them out here.