Athletic Brewing Company founder, Bill Shufelt (Ep.151)

Athletic Brewing Company Founder, Bill Shufelt, goes on the Blister Podcast
Athletic Brewing Company Founder, Bill Shufelt


Athletic Brewing Company is a fast-growing brand in an emerging category that is about to blow up: non-alcoholic craft beer. So we talked to Athletic Brewing’s founder about why he started the company; the stigma of not drinking; why “near beer” has been so bad; why there’s such a need for products like this in the outdoors community; Athletic’s brewing process; how he feels about the emerging competition in the space; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

  • When / why did start thinking about starting Athletic? (2:17)
  • Stigmas around not drinking (5:06)
  • Stigmas around “N/A” beer (8:31)
  • Why didn’t N/A beer take off sooner? (12:45)
  • Parallels: N/A beer & the plant-based meat industry (28:17)
  • Two For the Trails program (31:02)

5 comments on “Athletic Brewing Company founder, Bill Shufelt (Ep.151)”

  1. I really appreciate this episode. I stumbled across their Near Beers a couple of months ago. Very cool that there is this option in the beer world.

  2. Great podcast and I was so happy to hear Bill as a real stand-up guy and not a corporate douchebag. I have seen this on the shelf and never reached for it but maybe I will next time. I found the stats on Americans who drink little or no alcohol to be higher than I imagined. Personally, I drink seltzer (not hard) with a little fruit juice. I was hoping to hear about how they manage to brew without alcohol, it sounds like it is not removed but rather brewed in such a way the alcohol is never formed? I was also hoping to hear about pricing, which to be honest kept me from purchasing since it costs as much as a high end craft beer and hopefully they are paying less tax. With the supply/demand the way it is I guess they can charge whatever they want. I was also wondering if this is a ‘gateway’ for recovered alcoholics to slip back into drinking, as I have heard this before. In any case I was so happy to hear from someone who pursued his dream and made it happen for the overall betterment of people.

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