Athletic Goes Outside the Sobriety Box

Call it Action Sobriety. The kind of sobriety practiced by Off-Road Warriors — or Super Heroes. Straight-up straight edge with one caveat. Okay, so it’s two caveats. But they’re both uttered and implemented in a single exhilarating breath. Fit and Fun. That’s Athletic. The zero-proof beer for the Fit and the Fun.

We don’t mean fit for game board fun either. We mean fit for running, hiking, surfing, climbing and any of the other enjoyable activities fit folks work up a sweat for these days. Okay, so we also mean pre-game, post-game, sunrise, sunset and many enjoyable times that don’t demand a sweat. So yeah, I guess we also do mean game board night.

The point is, Athletic Brewing is brewing a collection of beers that pretty much go with everything done by everyone who’s truly living. They’ve even got an eye-opening, get-off-your-ass 30 second spot to prove it.

Athletic Beer

Yep, that’s the name this company has chosen to play this game, most likely because it’s so robustly active. We’re talking a good dozen different brews. Some of those brews are Limited Edition; others are Athletic staples. All go down with equal smoothness.

How could they not? In Styles such as Brown, Golden, IPA, Lager, Wheat and Stout. And Flavor Profiles that include Bread, Chocolate, Citrus, Coffee, Honey, Hoppy, Nutty, Malt and Pine, Athletic has shrewdly brewed a concoction of beers that fit any palate, no matter the mood. Heck, they’ve even got assortment enough to fit the chronic mood-swinger.

But though fun is a large part of this great equation, Athletic Brewing Company is first and foremost a serious enterprise. It’s not just they’re downright studious about their brewing (though there is that). It’s that they’re cogent about their market, which largely consists of people in recovery. There’s also the sober curious and the just anti-alcohol of course, as well as those simply seeking a healthier lifestyle. But when a company puts forth such a considerable effort heralding the joys of non-alcoholic living, it’s got definite respect for recovery.

So Run Wild you IPA lovers; go All Out you fans of the Extra Dark. After all, many, many others have done and are doing just that. Why? Because they dig a safe taste sensation for one. And also because they like to be rewarded by something truly Awarding.

That’s right. Athletic doesn’t simply strike a chord with folks, it earns high marks from folks who judge these things. So when Run Wild was entered into competition, the IPA walked away with the Gold at the World Beer Awards and the Best of Craft Beer Awards, as well as the U.S. Open Beer Championship. The All Out Stout in turn Bronzed in both Best of Craft and the U.S. Open, and took the same medal in the International Beer Challenge.

The Non-Alcoholic Revolution

Healing Properties has been enthusiastically reporting on the Non-Alcoholic Revolution, and we’ll maintain our enthusiasm so long as there are solid, sober-sided stories to tell. We’ve sang the praise of sober bars such as Denver’s Awake, first when it opened and then when we got a hold of co-owner Billy Wynne. We also delivered a piece heralding Houston’s Sipple, Pittsburgh’s The Open Road, Austin’s Sans Bar and Columbus’s The Dry Mill. We’ve welcomed non-alcoholic bottle shops such as L.A.’s Soft Spirits, Laguna Beach’s BrightLife Beverage Company, Manhattan’s Spirited Away and NY’s bi-borough Boisson. And, thanks to The New Yorker‘s great good John Seabrook, we’ve even had previous occasion to cite Athletic, along with non-alcoholic brethren Partake, Bravus, Surreal, WellBeing, and Brooklyn Brewery’s Special Effects.

So, yeah. We’re most definitely enthused about the Non-Alcoholic Revolution. But even in our enthusiasm, we can’t help also issuing a word of warning. These new non-alcoholic beers taste remarkably like their alcoholic counterparts, so recovery folk should approach them with caution. In fact, unless you’ve got a serious grip on your sobriety (and some equally serious sober support), we advise waiting until you do. We’re especially concerned with folks in early sobriety finding the taste just a bit too much of a sensation.

But if you’ve got a solid recovery program and you’re sure of your sobriety, have at it. Welcome sitting down with a table full of friends, ordering an Athletic and having no questions asked other than perhaps “How’s it taste?” See, non-alcoholic beers and liquors take a person’s recovery out of the general conversation and leave it as something personal. And that’s right where the subject belongs. It’s got nothing to do with shame or embarrassment; it’s simply a matter of privacy. And everyone’s right to keep themselves to themselves.

What do you think? Have you tried Athletic Beer? Any of its counterparts? And? Were you tempted to pick up an alcoholic brand or were you content with having this bold new alternative? We’d luv to get your feedback in the Comments of whatever social network you get this on. Mostly though, we’d luv to hear your recovery is proceeding along even better now that you can sidle up to the bar and order something that won’t at all interfere with your sobriety.

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