Great Beer. Period.
Written By: SAVANNAH BLAKE
After a never ending winter, summer has finally arrived. You’ve tuned your bike, cleaned up the yard and fired up that old grill. Adventure is calling your name. It’s the season of festivals, BBQ’s, and day drinking. But this is Utah, its dry and hot out there and it’s time to find something that will keep you cool. Sparkling water? A tall glass of lemonade? No, you know what’s calling your name. Beer. Beer is refreshing. Beer is your friend. It went from being an acquired taste to being the taste you crave. It’s given you memories; friends.
It’s also given you high blood pressure and even lower energy. Beer put you at risk for a liver or heart condition. Beer gives you gas and makes you bloat. For heavens sake it gives you hangovers. And let’s be honest, at your age you can’t afford to take two days to recover every time you accidentally polish off a six pack. The next day you’re always a little more sluggish. Tired even though you slept 9 hours.
So what’s the alternative? There may be plenty of non-alcoholic beers out there that are just fine. They taste more like someone whose never had beer whispering what they think it tastes like to you through a cup on a string, but they’re fine. Having tried enough of them that left me underwhelmed I personally decided to leave well enough alone. Concluding that if I wanted a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage I’d opt for a virgin Mojito or Mai Tai, but something recently changed my mind.
This past weekend while at the Salt Lake City PRIDE Parade a friend offered me a beer, insisting on clarifying that it was non-alcoholic. Seeing as it was 100 million degrees, I graciously accepted. Without examining the can I popped it’s top and was more than pleasantly surprised. This non-alcoholic beer tasted exactly like a beer. It was crisp yet subtle and finished off with a flavorful bite of citrus. If my friend hadn’t mentioned that this delicious beer was non-alcoholic I would have thought I was drinking an Epic or Uinta. But this golden ale dubbed Upside Dawn isn’t a local at all.
With bicoastal locations in California and Connecticut, Athletic Brewing Company is the only non-alcoholic brewery that owns and operates its own fully-dedicated facilities. And they are turning the non-alcoholic brewing frame on its head. Wether in brewing or in life, the folks at Athletic know that what you reep is what you sow. They believe that what you put in is what you get out and with a strong emphasis on community they source local, all natural ingredients whenever they can.
Athletic Brewing’s mission is to positively impact their customers health, fitness, and happiness while greatly impacting their communities and environment for the better. Their dedication is proven by the contributions they make through the Athletic Brewing Community Impact fund. Including their contributions include the Sacred Heart University Brewing Program’s diversity scholarship, maintaining world class levels of water recapture and efficiency, converting their breweries to be completely solar powered, and $2 million annually to protect and restore local trails.
Not only is their passion and dedication to our global community clear, but Athletic Brewing Company is solid proof that you don’t have to sacrifice quality, experience, or impact when making a non-alcoholic beer. So the next time you’re craving a post-work ritual without the usual side effects, consider supporting a beer with a cause. Your tastebuds, and planet, will thank you.
