August of 2023 began with a series of notifications rolling in on the morning of the fourth. Everyone in my NA beer groups was abuzz with news that Two Roots Brewing Co. was closing its doors. A quick check of my email and Facebook pages confirmed the sad news that Two Roots was shutting down. This was a layered piece of bad news because, like many people across the country, I loved Two Roots’ beers, but in addition to that, this was my only home state NA brewery and a place I frequented to get NA beer on draft. Considering this connection, I wanted to write something that paid homage to these great brews and the people who served them and speculate what this means to the NA beer industry.

First, a little history of Two Roots Brewing Co. may help you understand where they were and what their business looked like. Originally out of California, Two Roots offered NA beers in two forms: with THC and without. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Two Roots shifted their business model to eliminate THC-infused beers and focus solely on the NA beers. This was during the most significant boom in the NA craft beer movement. To capitalize on distribution, Two Roots moved their operations across the country to Auburn Hills, Michigan, where there was currently a production facility for full-octane beer manufactured by Rochester Mills Brewing Company. Rochester Mills started in a restaurant/brewery a few miles from the production facility. As they grew and began distributing nationwide, they built the production facility that Two Roots now had its eyes on. It’s also important to note that the restaurant/brewery and the production brewery were separate business entities, and the restaurant remains open and continues brewing its beer in-house.

Two Roots Brewing Co. purchased the Rochester Mills production facility and combined their business operations into Rochester Mills’ operations, effectively now a facility that housed two breweries. The nearly three-story dealcoholizing machine was installed in the building (pictured), and the sky was the limit for what was possible. Because of the established base of Rochester Mills, Two Roots was able to add a brand-new variety of beers to its NA selection. Anything Rochester Mills made could effectively go through the dealcoholizing process and become a Two Roots beer. We suddenly saw the Black Out Stout, Irish Red, and the Passion Pucker Sour, all of which were NA renditions of classic Rochester Mills beers, with all of the variety and limited runs that an established brewery like the Mills already had, the options for Two Roots opened up.

If you were a local NA fan, all this meant even more. The production facility operated a taproom open to the public Thursday through Saturday and hosted special events regularly. In addition to the Rochester Mills taps, there were now multiple taps for Two Roots NA beer. Anyone who drinks NA beer knows how rare it is to get the unpasteurized draft beer we used to enjoy, and now we have this as a local treat. The taproom started with three taps showcasing draft versions of Two Roots Brewing Co. flagship beers: New West IPA, Straight Drank IPA, and Helles, and soon swapped out flagships for unique limited brews like sours and stouts and finally ending their run with five taps. It was a dream. With five different NA beers on draft, you could get a flight of NA beers and dive in. It was a unique and needed experience in a world of cans and bottles that arrive in boxes.

Then, one day, seemingly without notice (I was at the taproom the weekend before), the brewery announced closing. Discount codes and clearance sales echoed throughout the beer groups, and shipments came with bonuses like beer koozies and pint glasses, and it was clear that this was a full liquidation. So, what happened? Why did a brewery with one of the widest distributions of all the NA breweries close its doors and shut down operations? The answer is currently only known to those at the top who make decisions, but you could speculate about many things. Were they able to buy Rochester Mills because they were already trending downward, and there was insufficient business between the two breweries to keep them afloat? Was the real estate too high to justify the operations? (The facility is HUGE!) Or, and what I believe is more likely, is this a sign of an oversaturated niche market?

When I first started trying out NA beers in 2018, only Partake was available to anyone. Sure, there was always O’Doul’s and other garbage, but if you wanted an NA IPA, you were likely drinking Partake. Then, over the next four years, NA breweries started popping up everywhere. Heineken 0.0 got a Super Bowl ad, and Budweiser, Stella, and Corona released NA beers that mimicked their high-octane counterparts. The industry was exploding, growing 30% year over year. A bubble was growing, and as we know in this country all too well, bubbles always burst.

We went from one NA brewery to dozens in just a few years, and it’s important to point out that these are NA breweries, not regular alcoholic breweries making an NA beer. So many craft breweries can co-exist in the market because the local consumers will always keep them afloat. People generally love their alcohol (notably a problem in the grand scheme of humanity). The difference for the NA brewery is that their distribution sustains them. No city in the world has enough NA drinkers to sustain a small craft NA brewery. The distribution and sales from places like ZeroProofNation and UpsideDrinks are how these breweries make their money and direct sales through their website. If they even have a taproom, they are often small with limited hours and exist solely for entertainment and public image reasons. Most NA breweries don’t even have a taproom, which is ironic since that’s how breweries classically start.

In my humble opinion, what we saw with Two Roots Brewing Co. resulted from too many options in a market with a plateau of sales. For those who quit drinking and enjoy an NA beer, there is tapering off of interest. When I noticed I started buying and drinking fewer NA beers as time went on in my sober journey, I heard from many others who had that same loss of interest. There will be a peak in sales and no natural way to create more without the world changing its attitudes toward alcohol. Only those big enough to corner the market (Athletic Brewing) or small enough to keep their overheads as low as possible will survive and keep producing. Two Roots is the first of what I fear will be quite a few more NA breweries that we will see close down in the next few years as the industry levels out and the big guys, i.e., Anheuser-Busch, give the people enough options to drive the little guys out.

So, cheers to the ladies and gentlemen at Two Roots Brewing Co. From Eric, the vice president of brewery operations, to Jess, the lead bartender with the husky who was so friendly to everyone, everyone at Two Roots was exceptional and helped make an impression on a market that deserves more attention than the world tends to give it. Thank you for your service, and cheers to whatever is next.