Go Brewing introduces a 45-calorie non-alcoholic lager for the mainstream beer aisle

Go Brewing, a Chicago-area non-alcoholic brewery, is introducing a new beer called Cold Standard as it tries to push alcohol-free beer further into the mainstream light-lager market.

The company said Cold Standard is a 45-calorie, non-alcoholic beer made to compete with premium domestic lagers on taste, price and shelf placement, rather than being marketed only as a specialty wellness product. Go Brewing said the beer will move through a retail network that already places its products in nearly 10,000 stores, and that 12-packs of 12-ounce cans are scheduled for a storewide launch at Wegmans in January 2027.

The release comes as Go Brewing uses its recent growth to argue that non-alcoholic beer can move beyond a niche segment. The company said the Brewers Association ranked it the fastest-growing brewery in the United States among producers making more than 15,000 barrels in 2025. According to the company, that ranking reflected 116% growth during that year.

Go Brewing’s message around Cold Standard is notably different from the way many alcohol-free brands present themselves. Instead of leading with fitness, moderation or recovery language, the company is pitching the beer as familiar and uncomplicated. Its promotional material describes Cold Standard as “crisp,” “classic” and “easy,” and frames the product as a beer for everyday occasions such as watching games, standing in parking lots before events and waiting at the finish line of a race.

That positioning is central to the company’s sales pitch. Go Brewing said Cold Standard is “priced and built” to sit next to major light beers, a sign that it is trying to compete directly with large domestic brands rather than remain confined to a separate non-alcoholic set. That approach also reflects how the company wants to be seen by buyers and distributors: not as a small novelty producer, but as a scaled brewery with national distribution.

The brewery said Cold Standard is made and canned in-house, not by a contract brewer. According to Go Brewing, the company operates its own lab and pasteurizer and handles production internally. Founder Joe Chura and head brewer James Bigler were identified as the main spokesmen for the product and the company’s brewing operation.

Go Brewing also tied the new beer to its broader expansion story. In its material, the company said it grew from a garage operation to two facilities in less than four years and increased production tenfold over that period. It presented photos dated October 2021, August 2022 and February 2026 to illustrate that development, from early informal toasts to a larger brewhouse and rows of fermentation tanks.

Chura, in a statement included in the company’s press material, linked the brewery’s creation to lifestyle changes he and his wife, Heather, made during the COVID-19 period. He said the couple reassessed their alcohol consumption after noticing weight gain, poor eating habits and changes in annual blood work. Chura said they agreed to stop drinking for 75 days and later saw an opening for better non-alcoholic beer. He said the company then spent months developing recipes with brewers and beer-quality consultants before opening online and in its taproom.

The company said it now sells through national and regional retailers including Kroger, Costco, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, H-E-B, Meijer, Total Wine, Jewel-Osco, Mariano’s, Binny’s, Giant Eagle, Ralphs and BevMo. That breadth of placement matters for the Cold Standard launch because it gives Go Brewing an existing distribution base at a time when many smaller brewers still struggle to win space in major chains.

Go Brewing is also using outside rankings and consumer ratings to reinforce its standing in the growing non-alcoholic category. In addition to the Brewers Association growth ranking, the company pointed to user reviews on Untappd, saying it held the highest average score among non-alcoholic breweries with at least 5,000 ratings as of September 2026. The company said its brewery average was 3.49 out of 5, ahead of several larger names in the segment. Consumer app ratings are not the same as industry audits, but they are often used by breweries and retailers as signals of brand recognition and repeat purchase interest.

The launch plan for Cold Standard also leans heavily on lifestyle marketing. Go Brewing released a new ad centered on spectators rather than athletes, with the line “Maximum spectating effort.” The campaign imagery features coolers, folding chairs, backyard gatherings and riverfront scenes around Chicago. The company is also planning what it calls a “Non-o-Influencers” program, in which consumers receive a free six-pack to share with a neighbor, and a “Hot Dog Can” promotion that places specially marked cans into circulation. Winners would receive prizes including a year of hot dogs, barbecue gear or a backyard barbecue makeover with a chef.

The beer’s rollout suggests Go Brewing sees room for an alcohol-free product that behaves more like a mass-market lager than a functional beverage. Its language avoids technical brewing talk and keeps the focus on ordinary drinking occasions, retail availability and scale. For a category that has often been sold through personal-improvement messaging, Cold Standard is being presented as something simpler: a non-alcoholic beer that wants to blend into the cooler rather than stand apart from it.