Two central Oregon breweries are tweaking and adding to their nonalcoholic offerings, a nod to growing consumer demand.

Deschutes Brewery has forged a partnership with Patagonia Provisions to craft a certified organic Kernza Golden Brew and Crux Fermentation Project has rebranded its NøMø nonalcoholic brews to be reflect the unique places of central Oregon.

These brewers are adapting to what consumers as asking for: moderate beer drinking options with low, or no alcohol content, said Bart Watson, Brewers Association economist. Nonalcoholic beer represents just a small fraction of the beer industry, according to Nielsen IQ data over the past year, showing 2.4% of beer sales, Watson said.

Still that’s more than the year before when it was 1.8% of the beer sales, Watson said.

More: Here is Oregonian beer writer Andre Meunier’s ranking of best nonalcoholic beers

“There are a bunch of reasons for the growth, but I think the two main ones I’d point to are changing consumer preferences and the greater availability of a wide variety of brands and fuller flavored options,” Watson said.

Research is showing that consumers still drink alcohol, but they also have a preference for nonalcoholic versions.

“The nonalcoholic beer space is pretty top heavy, with few companies that have a very high market share,” Watson said. “It may make more sense for brands to be more focused in their ambitions, going deeper into their home markets rather than trying to compete against more scaled brands.”

Crux digs in

At Crux, NøMø has been a good seller since 2021, when the brewery launched its nonalcoholic line. Now, it’s selling three versions of nonalcoholic beer and they’ve been renamed: River Refresher, Sunset Summit Hazy, Galaxy Gazer.

The rebranding was the result of the brewery digging into consumer insights that showed the nonalcoholic category. It looked at sales. It looked at who’s drinking the nonalcoholic brews. And it examined its labels.

“Consumer research showed younger audiences are switching to nonalcoholic brews for health and wellness reasons,” said Ashley Picerno, Crux Fermentation Project branding and marketing manager. “They don’t want to be hung over.”

The new labels for NøMø feature a drawing of Smith Rock, the Cascade mountains and Tumalo Falls, Picerno said.

“We felt that the places were iconic to Bend,” Picerno said. “If you’ve never been to Bend, these are Pacific Northwest activities that you can relate to. The new labels highlight the places that people recognize. Consumers like to know we’re from Bend.”

Brewing beer is one of the attributes of Bend, which is home to about 30 craft breweries.

Crux, which distributes in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Northern California and recently into Montana produced 18,227 barrels of beer in 2023, said Cam O’Çonnor, Crux Fermentation Project managing director and brewmaster. NøMø makes up 35% to 40% of all sales, O’Connor said.

Picerno said, “The nonalcoholic category is expanding and we want to keep up with the competition. We can do that better when we are authentic to who we are and where we come from. Millenials do enjoy a beer that’s made for them. We want consumers to feel that and be proud to drink NøMø without shouting it’s nonalcoholic.”

Deschutes goes organic

Earlier this month, Deschutes Brewery, ranked No. 11 nationwide as a top craft brewer, announced it would add to its nonalcoholic offerings with two beers featuring a partnership with Patagonia Provisions, a food brand featuring sustainable products like seafood, pasta, crackers and beer.

Using Kernza, a deeply rooted grain that regrows and doesn’t need replanting, the brewery will produce Kernza Lager and Kernza Golden Brew, a nonalcoholic version.

Typically brewers source barley and hops from conventional farms, which use fertilizers and pesticides. The goal at Patagonia Provisions is to increase the number of certified organic growers in the United States.

The new beers should be on the shelves in mid-September, said Peter Skrbek, Deschutes Brewery CEO.

“I’m so stoked about this,” Skrbek said. “We’re using a nominally carbon negative wheat grass with organic malt. We want to make beer from regenerative components.”

When production gets under way, Skrbek plans to have this beer on shelves in all 50 states where Deschutes is carried.

“It’s a big step for Deschutes,” Skrbek said. “We want to make sure anyone in America can access this product. Partnering with a company like Patagonia that’s mission-driven will bring attention to to this fast growing subcategory of beer.”

Patagonia Provisions selected Deschutes because it has a long-standing record of brewing high-quality beers and demonstrated a tradition of supporting the environment, said Paul Lightfoot, Patagonia Provisions general manager.

“We don’t judge the size of the brewery,” Lightfoot said. “We can’t work with everyone who’s interested in making beer with Kernza, and we’ve had a ton of interest. Instead, we help any brewer interested in making Kernza beer by offering sourcing information, introducing them to suppliers, answering questions and collaborating with them when possible.”

Deschutes is making its own waves. While nonalcoholic beer sales represent just 6% of overall sales, its Black Butte nonalcoholic beer snagged a gold medal recently at the 2024 World Beer Cup, an annual event organized by the nonprofit trade group, the Brewers Association.

“That award validates our effort,” Skrbek said. “When we do the work and are passionate about it, we can see it where it stacks up with others. Now we have that answer.”

Between now and September when it hits store shelves, Deschutes is in the lab conducting research and development using the Kernza grain. One of the key hurdles is finding the right roller to mill the grain so it’s finer, he said.

Being green and protecting the environment is an important mission to the production brewery that sits across from the Old Mill District in Bend.

In 2017, the brewery announced it would invest in its own wastewater treatment facility instead of sending the wastewater to the city’s sewer system. The brewery also sends spent grain used to make beer to cattle farms to fatten cows.

Aslan Brewing in Washington and Hopworks Brewery in Oregon are among the nearly two dozen breweries nationwide partnering with Patagonia using the certified organic Kernza, according to the Patagonia Provisions website.

“This is the outgrowth of our long-standing commitment to protecting the environment,” Skrbek said. “Not only are we doing what we normally do here at the brewery, but we’re being environmentally sound going up the supply chain. We’re looking at how we partner with farmers. We want to look outside the four walls but increase the focus on the ingredients. Farmers are excited.”

— Suzanne Roig: 541-633-2117, sroig@bendbulletin.com