Member Spotlight: Deschutes Brewery Announces BrewVo® Technology

Crafting the Perfect Non-Alcoholic IPA: No Compromises on Taste

Deschutes Brewery has been crafting beloved beers since its inception in 1988. What began when Gary Fish established a small brewpub in downtown Bend, has grown into a family and employee-owned craft brewery that employs over 250 people in Central Oregon and sells more than 225,000 barrels per year across 32 states (and even a few other countries). Utilizing the volcanic filtered waters of the Deschutes River and hops from local farmers in and around Washington and Oregon, Deschutes is committed to a high standard of craftsmanship and quality, and well known for its best-selling brands such as the Black Butte Porter, the #1 porter in the US.

Deschutes Brewery has recently unveiled its latest investment in BrewVo® Technology, positioning itself at the forefront of the rapidly expanding non-alcoholic beer sector. This groundbreaking technology reflects over five years of dedicated research and development and an investment surpassing $5 million. Deschutes is the first brewery of scale to have installed BrewVo® technology along with the necessary end-to-end technical capabilities which enables the brewery to gently remove alcohol from the beer while preserving the sensory elements that contribute to a full-fidelity craft beer experience.

“Crafting a full fidelity non-alcoholic beer that delivers the flavor, aroma and mouthfeel of a great craft beer involves a lot more than just removing the alcohol. When we began our research and development five years ago it became clear to us that the technologies in broad use to produce non-alcoholic beer all led to certain degrees of sacrifice on sensory experience of the final product. We didn’t want to accept sacrifice in the beer drinking experience and sought a better way. Our patented and proprietary process, rooted in decades of brewing experience, ensures that our non-alcoholic products offer an excellent craft beer experience without the alcohol,” said Peter Skrbek, CEO of Deschutes Brewery.

The advent of BrewVo® Technology comes in response to an increased demand for non-alcoholic beer options, a category that has seen 163% growth in sales from 2019 to 2023. Deschutes Brewery is putting the groundbreaking technology to work with the introduction of Fresh Squeezed Non-Alcoholic IPA, which features the same Citra and Mosaic hops as its alcoholic counterpart, offering refreshing notes of bright citrus and tropical fruit, with less than 0.5% ABV. The Fresh Squeezed Non-Alcoholic IPA comes on the heels of Deschutes’ first packaged non-alcoholic beer, the Black Butte Non-Alcoholic, which quickly became the brewery’s highest rate-of-sale six-pack. The Black Butte Non-Alcoholic was inspired by America’s favorite craft porter, Black Butte.

Deschutes has also installed a 65,000-pound tunnel pasteurizer, which ensures the safety and quality of its non-alcoholic beers, giving the brewery a unique advantage to maintain full control of supply which enhances their ability to deliver on consumer demand; many other non-alcoholic brewers rely on third-party cross-brewing, co-packing and off-site tunnel pasteurization.

Peter explained, “With the launch of Fresh Squeezed Non-Alcoholic IPA and the installation of the BrewVo® technology, as well as our tunnel pasteurizer, we aim to redefine the craft beer experience for our fans. We want our non-alcoholic beers to be excellent when compared to any beer with or without alcohol. Gone are the days of our fans and customers needing to make trade-offs in their beer drinking experience based on whether a beer has alcohol.”

Deschutes Brewery’s Fresh Squeezed IPA, Fresh Squeezed Non-Alcoholic IPA, Black Butte Porter and Black Butte Non-Alcoholic are available nationwide at select retailers, bars and restaurants. For more information, use the “beer finder” to find the closest retailer or visit DeschutesBrewery.com to purchase the new non-alcoholic options online.