This month’s edition of NA Beer Club’s Featured NA Brewery highlights a brewery that deserves more attention than they’ve been receiving from the non-alcoholic craft beer community.
Nestled in the heart of Portland, Maine, this hidden gem is part of the Geary Brewing Company’s innovative venture into the non-alcoholic realm.
We honestly didn’t know much about 1820 Brewing Company until recently, and what we learned about their beer and brewing process was incredible.
We highly recommend you read about it below.
The Visionaries Behind 1820 Brewing
Founded by Robin and Alan Lapoint, visionaries with a background in global liquid filtration through The Strainrite Companies, 1820 Brewing Company benefits from unique expertise in craft brewing.
Their filtration prowess, combined with a passion for the perfect, sustainable beer, has birthed a lineup of non-alcoholic beers that stand out for their authenticity and environmental friendliness.
The Lapoints, also at the helm of Geary Brewing, New England’s first craft brewery in the post-prohibition world, infuse 1820 Brewing with a rich heritage of brewing excellence.
A Symbol of Change and Choice
Meet Charli the Chickadee
Charli the Chickadee is 1820 Brewing’s spirited icon, logo, and mascot. She symbolizes the brand’s ethos perfectly.
Why a Chickadee?
Each year in the autumn, the chickadee bird sheds its old brain neurons and regenerates new ones for a fresh beginning.
1820 Brewing invites its patrons to embrace change—a change towards healthier, responsible drinking without compromising on taste.
This choice of icon and mascot reflects a growing trend towards mindful consumption, offering an alternative that aligns with modern lifestyles.
High-Quality Brewing Practices
Starting with Sustainability
Sustainability isn’t just an afterthought for 1820 Brewing; it’s a cornerstone of their operation.
From donating spent grains to local farms to be used as feed and fertilizer, to powering their brewery with 100% wind-renewable energy, every step of their process is designed with the environment in mind.
True-to-Style Non-Alcoholic Beers
True-to-style brewing is when brewers strictly adhere to the rules and regulations that define each style of beer by meticulously selecting ingredients and following guidelines for brewing processes. However, true-to-style brewers can still experiment with flavors and ingredients to create their own innovative style.
1820 Brewing falls into this category of brewers. They boast that their NA beers are all true-to-style and delicious.
“Pure” NA Beer
Outside of brewing great beer, founders Robin and Alan Lapoint co-own a leading liquid-filtration equipment company called The Strainrite Companies.
While catering to a wide variety of industries, one of the applications for the Strainrite Companies’ liquid filtration systems is for commercial beer filtration.
This process removes all the impurities from the water used to brew the beer, only allows the desired particle from the beer’s mash into the batch, and ultimately filters out all the sediment at the end of the brewing process, creating some of the purest non-alcoholic beers in the market.
Sanitation and Safety
But their brewing standards don’t stop there… This beer filtration system also includes a sterilizing filter to use during canning, kegging, and packaging that is engineered to protect against micro-organisms and bacteria.
Finally, 1820 utilizes something called inline-tunnel pasteurization. This means that they send the canned beer through a tunnel that is both heated and cooled in two different sections. This pasteurizes both the beer and the can it comes in.
The hot section heats the beer with hot water or steam to about 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill any remaining bacteria or yeast in the liquid. The cold section cools the beer back down before any of the important qualities of the beer are affected.
This is the highest-quality method of pasteurization to protect sensitive liquids like non-alcoholic beer as it not only ensures all harmful bacteria is destroyed but also ensures that any remaining yeast is killed so that the beer cannot continue to ferment past an ABV of 0.5%, the legal limit for non-alcoholic beer.
The standards of their brewing practices are top-notch and it shows in their beers. Their beers taste so pure and clean that they give a hydrating sensation with no sediment or strange aftertaste.
1820 Brewing in the News
Recently two of 1820 Brewing’s beers were listed in Vine Pair’s article about the best NA beers to try in 2024.
The two beers featured were the Vienna Suite Golden and the All that Razz Raspberry Sour.
A Diverse Variety of NA Beer
For how much effort 1820 Brewing puts into making sure its beers are high-quality and positively impact the environment, it’s surprising that it can offer seven different beer styles of NA beer for any dry drinker to enjoy.
Get a sneak peek and click to learn more about each beer offered by 1820 Brewing, and where to find them, below.
A Better Blonde
Blonde Ale
This delightful beer is carefully crafted with malted barley and a select blend of hops, including Summit, Cascade, Willamette, and Centennial, to ensure a taste that is both classic and comforting. It’s an ideal choice for those who appreciate the nuanced flavors of a well-made blonde ale without the alcohol.
All That Razz
Raspberry Sour
This tart and refreshing beverage strikes a perfect balance, boasting a lightly-soured profile that’s complemented by the subtle sweetness of fresh raspberries.
Designed for those moments of relaxation, it’s an invitation to sit back, unwind, and indulge in a drinking experience that’s neither too sour nor too sweet.
Peek Interest
India Pale Ale
This non-alcoholic IPA stands out with its aromatic notes of pine and citrus, paired with just the right level of bitterness to appeal to enthusiasts and casual drinkers alike.
The careful selection of ingredients, including malted barley, malted wheat, and a blend of hops such as Simcoe, Citra, Centennial, Cascade, and El Dorado, contributes to its unique flavor profile.
So Witty
Witbier
A non-alcoholic Witbier that masterfully captures the essence of traditional Belgian-style white beer without the alcohol content.
This delightful brew is crafted with wheat malt, orange peel, and coriander, blending the classic fruity and spicy flavors beloved by aficionados of the style.
Stand Up & Stout
Stout
This medium-bodied stout-style brew captivates with its dark yet subtle appearance and a flavor profile that is mild while carrying a slight sweetness. The essence of its character is defined by a roasted malt finish, offering a complex sensory experience.
Its recipe includes a carefully selected mix of ingredients: malted barley, roasted barley, malted wheat, rolled oats, along with hops varieties such as Nugget, East Kent Golding, and Fuggles.
Vienna Suite
Golden Ale
Vienna Suite stands as a paragon of balanced, non-alcoholic beer. Its light amber hue is owed to the rich Vienna and Munich malts used in its brewing process, while the finish is graced with noble variety hops, contributing to a low bitterness and a subtle hint of floral hop aroma.
Wave Finder
India Pale Ale
Vienna Suite stands as a paragon of balanced, non-alcoholic beer. Its light amber hue is owed to the rich Vienna and Munich malts used in its brewing process, while the finish is graced with noble variety hops, contributing to a low bitterness and a subtle hint of floral hop aroma.
Go Check Them Out!
If you haven’t already, we highly recommend giving 1820 Brewing a try.
Their commitment to high brewing standards shows in the quality of their beers, expressing a pure, clean taste with every sip.
You can check out 1820 Brewing’s beers by ordering them online or finding them around Portland, Maine.
Discover More Great NA Beers
Want to discover other great-tasting non-alcoholic craft beers from around the country?
Or maybe you know someone who does?
Our non-alcoholic beer-of-the-month subscription makes for the best NA beer gift available here in the USA. Each month you’ll receive a new and unique non-alcoholic craft beer that you won’t be able to easily find in your grocery store.
Sign up today for yourself or a loved one and discover the amazing world of non-alcoholic beer with NA Beer Club.
