The Boston Beer Co. has released a nonalcohol beverage, General Admission. The fruit brew combines the flavor attributes of a nonalcohol beer and fruited seltzer water. It’s designed for drinkers that want to limit their alcohol intake, and has less than 0.5% ABV, the Boston-based beverage company said.
General Admission comes in Lemon-Lime, Orange Ovation, Grapefruit Groove and Raspberry Remix. It’s available in stores in Albany, New York; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Indiana, as well as online at www.drinkGA.com.
The nonalcohol segment is seeing explosive growth, up more than 30% in 2023, according to NIQ data, said Tim Kerrigan, The Boston Beer Co.’s assistant head of innovation.
“Knowing that, we wanted to create a new type of product that offers a much broader view of what we believe nonalcohol can be,” Kerrigan said. “We believe it’s actually alcohol drinkers that are the primary consumers of nonalcohol products, and we must find a way to make something that appeals to everyone, whether they drink spirits, beer, wine or only nonalcohol. That was the inception point for General Admission, and we’re excited to see how consumers will respond to this unique brand and its distinct proposition.”
General Admission is the first brand from Boston Beer that will utilize direct-to-consumer shipping as a method of product distribution.
“With General Admission, we’ll be testing not only how drinkers respond to the product itself, but also how we can best leverage a direct-to-consumer platform as an impactful sales tool for the future,” Kerrigan said. “Because General Admission is nonalcohol, we have the opportunity to simultaneously test and market our hypotheses on both a regional and national scale, both at traditional retail locations and through the growing e-commerce channel—it’s really a win from all angles.”
The Boston Beer Co.’s brands include Samuel Adams, Truly Hard Seltzer, Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head and more.
Other beer companies have come out with nonalcohol versions of beers, like Blue Moon Brewing Co.’s Blue Moon Non-Alcohol Belgian White, Heineke-owned Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher, Heineken 0.0 and Guinness 0.
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