Best known for his ongoing role in the hit Bravo series, Summer House , Carl Radke also has a growing passion for the non-alcoholic space, with a desire to create an elevated environment where people can enjoy social beverages without alcohol. In our conversation, Carl shares his perspective on why the category is in dire need of proper places to enjoy these drinks in the social setting for which they're intended, and how that led to the development of Soft Bar + Cafe , opening later this summer...
Jun 24, 2025•41 min•Season 2Ep. 11
An underrated foodie town with a mosaic of tastes meticulously crafted in Cleveland's diverse neighborhoods, thanks to a couple of local innovators it's also a city that now supports a burgeoning non-alcoholic scene. On the heels of our visit to nearby Pittsburgh we sit down with Molly Cheraso, owner of the city's first and only non-alcoholic bottle shop, Verbena Free Spirited Shoppe , and Emily Tanski, owner of zero-proof bartending and events startup, Drink Fleurish . Together they have also l...
Jun 04, 2025•38 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Drinking craft beer is communal, a ritual meant to be shared amongst friends and family members. It is also often local, built around a shared community based on geography or shared interests. In today's bonus episode, we sit down with Mark Ruf and Tyler Keough, founders of the NA Beer Market, a new addition borne from the same platform that created the NA Beer Club in 2021. We talk about how the idea evolved from Mark sharing beers with his dad, to Tyler's passion for building community, and wh...
May 29, 2025•27 min
Who said local breweries can't do an NA beer profitably? And how did Pittsburgh wind-up with so much happening in the local non-alcoholic scene? In this Part II of our two-part series from the Steel City, we finish our interview with The Open Road 's Mel Babitz, and the Loaded Food Group 's Katrina Tomacchio (also known as The Northeast Ginger on IG), who talk about the local scene and what's coming up. We then chat with owners Mike and Jen Onofray of the city's Two Frays Brewery , with an updat...
May 21, 2025•31 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Nearly a year removed from our first visit, we return to the Steel City in the new location (and future lounge) of the longest-running non-alcoholic specialty retailer in the country, The Open Road . With so much happening in the local NA scene, we split our visit into a two-part episode. In Part I, we include much of our interview with The Open Road's Mel Babitz, and Katrina Tomacchio of the Loaded Food Group (also known as The Northeast Ginger on IG), who share their thoughts on everything fro...
May 19, 2025•25 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Is the craft brewing industry in serious decline, or just in a state of transition to what it may look like tomorrow? We traveled to Indianapolis for the 2025 Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo to get answers to that, as well as to better understand the broader landscape of beverages, including THC and non-alcoholic beer. Interviewed in this episode: Julie Rhodes, Co-Owner, Kick Beverage Company, Inc. Jason Pickle, President, Volunteer Botanicals Also mentioned: Bart Watson, Brewers Associati...
May 06, 2025•17 min
After a hospitality career that included stops at some of the most exclusive brands in hospitality, Ian Blessing is no stranger to world-class food and beverage experiences. In this episode, we sit down to talk about how he and his wife, Carly, have built a unique, handcrafted product set around non-alcoholic bitters, a category that lends itself perfectly to collaboration. Using what he learned at legendary establishments like The French Laundry and the esteemed Opus One winery in Napa Valley, ...
Apr 23, 2025•41 min•Season 2Ep. 7
It's been quite a year in the U.S. hemp market, which is still just getting started. The explosion of hemp-derived THC/CBD beverages has, not surprisingly, collided with regulations that have come fast and furious at the state level. In an effort to make sense of it all we sat down with David Spang, Founder of Coastal Green Wellness , a hemp/CBD retailer with locations in South Carolina and Georgia, as well as a new line of THC beverages, Nine Dot . As someone who straddles the line between reta...
Apr 09, 2025•33 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Craft beer's evolution includes a spectrum of new and mindful choices. This episode captures the vibrant atmosphere of the fifth installment of Little Beer , a festival held in Duluth, Georgia celebrating lower-gravity brews such as English Ales and Lagers. In this bonus episode we chat with industry leaders there who understand the need for a full spectrum of beverage options to meet the changing needs of today's consumer. First up, two members of Asheville, North Carolina-based Burial Beer sha...
Mar 31, 2025•14 min
The origin story of Spiritless begins deep in Kentucky Bourbon country, where the trio of co-founders initially bought large quantities of Old Forester at their local Total Wine, while enlisting the services of a sump pump to help power their early experiments. Alongside her two other co-founders, Lauren Chitwood's brand journey dates back to before the pandemic, and in those early days they sought to craft a brand and liquid that would come to resonate with those seeking moderation. In this epi...
Mar 19, 2025•25 min•Season 2Ep. 5
While the non-alcoholic beverage space is booming, the low and no-alcohol wine category has had its own unique set of challenges. This episode features an in-depth conversation with Brandon Joldersma, CEO of Surely , and the Founder/CEO of Arlow , two brands at the forefront of this emerging space. In our discussion Brandon shares his candid thoughts on the low-alcohol wine category he's trying to help create, explaining the potential he sees for its future compared to the fully non-alcoholic si...
Mar 05, 2025•33 min•Season 2Ep. 4
While the hemp-fueled THC beverage category may be just getting started, it's been a more complicated path for an over-arching industry still waiting on perceptions and legislation to catch-up with consumer preferences. Today's episode features a sit down with Ricardo Baca, named one of the 7 Most Powerful People In America's Marijuana Industry, and founder/CEO of a leading integrated communications firm, Grasslands. In our conversation Ricardo talks about how his journalism work helped educate ...
Feb 13, 2025•39 min•Season 2Ep. 3
As mindfulness and moderation in drinking continues to become a bigger thing, so too are festivals that celebrate discovery in the non-alcoholic world, along with finding holistic wellness and community. In this bonus episode we recap our visit to Bluffton, South Carolina for the first-ever Lowcountry Dry Fest. Hear from the three principals behind this new event; Kayla Lewis of NAPS Chicago, Jessa Frances De La Rosa of Untoxicated World, and Jane Harmon of Amethyst NA Spirits. Mentioned in this...
Feb 05, 2025•19 min
While Athletic Brewing may today be known as one of the fastest-growing breweries the craft beer industry has ever seen, its origins were more deliberate and intentional, with a rollout strategy that stayed local for as long as possible. Bill Shufelt's founder story goes back nearly a decade, and in those early years he carefully constructed a foundation that would serve the company well as it emerged as one of the faces of a new mindset around adult drinking. In this episode we talk with Bill o...
Jan 28, 2025•39 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Entrepreneurial from a young age, Busty Lush founder Laurel Harrop has always been open to trying something new. Little did she know when starting a successful lighting recycling business that her next venture would involve creating a stylish icon of the non-alcoholic drinking movement. In our conversation, we talk with Laurel about a number of topics related to Busty Lush's first four years in business, including: What drew her into the NA category initially. Why being female-driven, owned and ...
Jan 16, 2025•36 min•Season 2Ep. 1
How many beverage companies started by making their product in a 53' tractor trailer that traveled the country? That was the question we asked ourselves upon hearing the origin story of the Wynk THC-infused seltzer brand, which initially competed in the state-by-state regulated cannabis industry. In our conversation with co-founder and CEO Angus Rittenburg, we talk about where the brand started, how they have evolved, the ways they're navigating a highly fragmented (and increasingly regulated) c...
Dec 10, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 22
In a category still getting its footing in the consumer consciousness, creating a perfectly flavored cocktail infused with THC/CBD is a task with many layers to it. So explains today's guest, Ben Kennedy , who along with his wife Kristen founded Fable Libations , a Denver-based brand in the growing hemp-derived beverage space. In our conversation Ben talks about how his background in advertising and marketing helped him lay the groundwork for building a brand, and the meticulous process he and h...
Nov 20, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 21
How can a mountain town, hundreds of miles from the ocean, be expected to defend itself from a major hurricane? That's what the residents of Asheville, North Carolina and the surrounding Blue Ridge mountains had to be asking themselves on Friday, September 27th, the day Hurricane Helene took a devastating path through the region. In this episode we return to the story of our first-ever N/ATION road trip back in February. On that day we experienced the AVL that we know and love; clear blue skies,...
Nov 04, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Cannabis beverages have exploded in the market, not coincidentally just as consumer preferences seem to be shifting away from alcohol. In today's episode we're joined by Lehua Brands CEO Sierra Elaina, herself a veteran of the alcohol industry having formerly held key leadership roles in sales and marketing for Diageo. In our conversation we talk about what's driving the category, how the cannabis industry is recovering from prior setbacks, parallels that exist to growth in the NA sector, and la...
Oct 16, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 19
If you've enjoyed an American craft beer over the last few decades, you've benefited from the efforts of our guest today. Keith Villa founded Blue Moon Brewing Company for Miller Coors back in 1995, which would of course become an iconic brand that helped usher in a new era of craft beer that we know today. His trailblazing efforts in craft beer didn't stop there, though, as he would start Ceria Brewing in 2018. Ceria is known for two things. One, launching a very early-stage, cannabis-infused b...
Oct 03, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 18
The state of the (NA category) is strong, and getting stronger. Today's episode has a bit of a "state of the industry" feel to it, as I'm joined by Laura Silverman, founder of Zero Proof Nation , one of the most authentic voices in the non-alcoholic beverage movement. In our conversation we first talk about her advocacy in the space, and how much has changed in the time she's been involved. She made a decision to go alcohol-free in 2007, well before the modern movement even existed. We then talk...
Sep 18, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 17
"The good news for beer is beer is a non-partisan issue." So proclaims this week's podcast guest, Brian Crawford, President and CEO of The Beer Institute, a Washington DC based trade association representing the interests of the industry primarily at the federal level. In our conversation we talk about the growth of non-alcoholic beer, including how BI views the category as a nascent one within the overall industry, with health habits and drinking preferences quickly evolving. We then dive into ...
Sep 10, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 16
The phrase, "slow and steady wins the race" could easily apply to Portland, Maine's Kit NA Brewing. In a category largely defined by rapid growth and headlines around the ramifications of younger consumers not drinking like their older counterparts, this New England brewery has set out to build a brand that's built to last, with a focus on the product above all else. In this episode we'll hear about how Kit's co-founders started the business, their philosophy around growing comfortably but respo...
Aug 28, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 15
It all started with two forty-something friends exchanging texts, and suddenly realizing they both were mixing NAs with full-strength beers for a blended ABV at the same time. In our latest podcast episode, we chat with Dad Strength Brewing co-founder Ryan Kutscher on defining a new NA-adjacent category of low-alcohol beers, how NA played a role in their origin story, why they wanted to be a part of the growing moderation movement, and what Dad jokes have got to do with any of this. Mentioned in...
Aug 19, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Ted Fleming has been in the adult non-alcoholic beverage category since 2013, before many were even thinking about it. He founded Partake Brewing in 2017, but four years prior had launched one of the world's first online non-alcoholic e-commerce stores. Since that time, he has steered the Partake brand through an accelerated period of growth, and more recently, through an influx of newer players entering the category. In our conversation we talk about what Partake has prioritized in building a m...
Aug 09, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Non-Alcoholic beer is basking in the glow of incredible growth and significant improvements in quality and taste, but challenges that could threaten its trajectory remain. In our most technical episode to date we're re-joined by Reducaholic's Tyler McMahon, who helps us break down some of the most important questions facing the young category, such as safety and handling, profit margins, consumer cost perceptions, and the ramifications of an industry still very reliant on contract brewing. Our f...
Jul 30, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 12
We travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for this episode, and sit down with the co-owner of Two Frays Brewery , Mike Onofray, and the owner of The Open Road , Mel Babitz. The two businesses have forged a partnership with a series of unique collaborations that have helped bring non-alcoholic beer and beverages to their Pittsburgh community. In our conversation we talk about how they each got started, why the LGBTQ community has been so far in front of the NA movement, what inclusiveness means to th...
Jul 09, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 11
In the second stop of our summer road trip series, we take a visit to Naperville, Illinois, home of the taproom and brewery for Go Brewing, and sit down with Co-Founder and CEO, Joe Chura. The brewery has been on a whirlwind of growth since launching from Joe's garage two years ago, and we get his perspective on why he started an NA brewery, his philosophy on taking chances in business having previously started other companies, and what he sees as the future and opportunity not only for Go, but ...
Jun 19, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Residing in one of the smallest markets in the country currently supporting an AF bottle shop, Lafayette, Indiana's Generation NA has become a leader in the non-alcoholic beverage movement. In this episode, owner Rob Theodorow shares his founder story, including who is primarily coming into the store, and how each generation has its own expectations and attitudes toward the growing category. He also talks about the ways in which he's built the store experience around the premise of functional dr...
Jun 12, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this episode, we sit down with Chicago craft beer savant turned podcaster, Dave Zalatoris, host of the popular Chicago podcast Beer In Front (part of the OddPods Media Network ). In our conversation we talk about the craft beer scene in the Windy City, how N/A fits into that vibe, as well as Dave’s thoughts on how non-alcoholic options there are growing, and what we’d all like to see for that to happen a little faster. We end with him sharing his own recipe for flavored hop water, perfected a...
May 28, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 8
