I didn’t take part in Dry January this year, although I am contemplating starting it up after a $2 beer and $2 hot dog Griffins game Friday.
That said, I’ve been trying to be more conscious about how much booze I’m taking in and there’s been so many alternatives popping up in recent years as U.S. alcohol consumption continues to sink.
For starters, I got a great shipment from Athletic Brewing – an early pioneer in amazing non-alcoholic beer. Its core lineup, including the OG flagships Run Wild and Upside Dawn, are just delicious options. But they don’t stop expanding their lineup.
Athletic just announced its first-ever Nitro Brew: Nitro Emerald Cliffs. It apparently took 18 months of development and is releasing just in time for next month’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
Speaking of nitro brews, another fascinating non-alcoholic option I received recently was from Float House, THC Nitro. Obviously by the name it’s a cannabis drink, but it was delicious.
The line of “Can-NA-Brews” were actually all exceptional, from the stout clone to the THC Lite and THC IPA and THC DIPA. It was fascinating the quality of the beers, particularly the lite, not just for a non-alcoholic beer, but for one with THC. They also come in 10MG per can and the great 3MG per can that helps take the edge off in almost the exact way a beer does.
Another brand similar for that is Dad Grass, which has a great line of canned THC cocktails.
Anyway, next time I’ll dive into a fun cocktail or other beverage trend.
Pour one out for Rogue Ales
Late last year, an innovative craft beer pioneer Rogue Ales announced it filed for bankruptcy with more than $16 million in debts. Well, this week, the Oregon-based brewery announced its liquidating all its assets.
The Rogue saga feels like a crushing blow to the craft beer industry that has seen a steady decline over the past decade after an humongous high, particularly here in Grand Rapids and Michigan. For much of the 2010s, the Brewers Association counted far more brewery openings than closures. Last year, 4% of breweries, or 434 across the US, closed. Approximately 268 opened, the second-straight year more breweries closed than opened.
I was never high on Rogue beers, but they were no doubt a significant driver of the growth in the 1990s and helped inspire innovation in brewers across the country with some of its strange specialty beers, like the one brewed with a brewer’s beard yeast and its Sriracha Hot Stout.
Rogue was also part of one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever written, “1988 Was the Most Important Year for Craft Beer,” for Thrillist.
Restaurants closing
I’m staunchly an advocate for local eats and supporting restaurants. I mean in the times we’re in a fast-food meal is well over the price of a large portion of local joints for far superior quality. But now that that’s out of the way:
On my Substack newsletter, Saturday Sips, a buddy and I have been working through a variety of chain restaurant comparisons, launched by our journey to discover which casual steakhouse brand – probably Outback, with caveats – is the best and if an upscale steakhouse is worth it – really probably not.
We also recently did Applebee’s vs. Chili’s and are setting off on Bonefish Grill vs. Red Lobster this week. Which is all to really dive into the trend of restaurants closing, like Red Lobster announcing its shutting down “dozens” of restaurants this year. That’s on top of the approximately 130 they shuttered during its bankruptcy in 2024.
Wendy’s also recently its closing 5-6% of its footprint of nearly 6,000 US locations in the first half of this year. That could be up to nearly 400 stores.
There’s certainly a number of other companies shutting down as well, from Bloomin’ Brands (Outback, Carrabba’s and Bonefish) to Applebee’s, Pizza Hut and Denny’s. Locally, we’re down at least some Chili’s and an IHop.
These big companies are largely trying to shore up their operations with better performing stores and reinvesting in them. Personally, at least here in West Michigan, I hope it’s a signal customers are choosing to spend their precious dollars for dining out at locally owned restaurants.
