MAINE, USA — For folks looking to avoid alcohol but still want to enjoy all that the Maine craft beer world has to offer, there are some new options for you.
"We had a guy who came in a couple weeks ago and said this is my first pint of beer I've had since getting sober three and a half years ago... that's cool... that's great," Patrick Rowan, owner of Woodland Farms Brewery said.
That's because non-alcoholic beers are on the rise in Maine. Rowan said that many of the people who are interested in this option are either in recovery or looking to cut down on carbs and calories.
"You can take to a campfire and you know sit around with our buds and feel like we're part of the crew," he added.
Woodland Farms is Maine's first brewery making non-alcoholic beers, but not the last.
KITna Brewing is doing trail batches and other tests now.
Will Fisher and his business partner Rob Barrett are co-owners of KITna, which exclusively brews non-alcoholic beer. The brewery is still in the beginning stages, but Fisher agrees with Rowan that this trend isn't going away.
"It's one of the fastest-growing sectors in the craft market space," Rowan said.
"I think non-alcoholic beer is going to be huge... it already is growing a lot," Fisher added.
Both brewery owners say they expect to see other breweries start to release non-alcoholic beer, too.
And Rowan says he's looking forward to hopefully collaborating, for a Woodland Farms, KITna non-alcoholic brew.