While the craft beer industry has exploded in recent years with a variety of new beverages using fresher and more flavorful ingredients, the same cannot be said for malt beverages, alcoholic seltzers and ciders.
But one brewer is hoping to change that.
Willie’s Superbrew is a new line of light and refreshing alcoholic beverages that employ simple ingredients and avoids chemicals that other drinks tend to use, such as artificial flavoring and sweeteners.
The company currently produces two flavors: The Sparkling Ginger & Lemon, (which is kind of like a lighter version of a Moscow Mule), and the Sparkling Pomegranate & Acai flavor. Both recipes are composed from a variation of six simple ingredients.
“On everything you eat, you have an ingredient list and a nutrition label. Alcohol is the only thing you put in your body that doesn’t require that, and we think that is pretty messed up.”
“Fundamentally, we are aiming to create a new category in alcohol,” Bruce Downes, head of marketing at Willie’s Superbrew, told Rhode Island Inno. “There is a way to be proud of your ingredients and still enjoy alcohol that is light and refreshing.”
The company, which launched in May, is the brainchild of a goat farmer on Cape Cod named Willie Fenichel, who first started brewing the original version of the Sparkling Ginger & Lemon in his basement, with no intention of starting a business.
But when his friend and fellow beachgoer Nico Enriquez, the founder and CEO of Willie’s Superbrew, tasted the brew, he knew he had to bring it to the world. Enriquez, a published neuroscience researcher, worked with Fenichel to perfect the recipe — meanwhile Fenichel is a silent partner, and considered the “soul of the brand.”
Downes said the goal of Willie’s Superbrew is to not only provide delicious alcoholic beverages, but also to get people to look at alcohol the way they look at other foods and drinks.
“On everything you eat, you have an ingredient list and a nutrition label,” he said. “Alcohol is the only thing you put in your body that doesn’t require that, and we think that is pretty messed up.”
In addition to having no artificial sweeteners or flavors, Willie’s Superbrew beverages also have less than 120 calories and 9 grams of sugar.
In a short amount of time, Willie’s Superbrew, which is distributed out of Pawtucket-based Isle Brewers Guild, has become a top seller at Wegmans and Whole Foods in Massachusetts.
Downes said the company is already working on some other flavors, but for now, the company is focused on building awareness and educating people on the fact that they don’t need to choose between flavor and their health when it comes to alcohol.
