Best Day's Tate Huffard on Fitting Into Non-Alc Beer's 'Belonging' Phase

Best Day's Tate Huffard on Fitting Into Non-Alc Beer's 'Belonging' Phase

From Brewbound Podcast by Brewbound

July 15, 2026 · 41 min

About this episode

Tate Huffard discusses the evolution of non-alcoholic beer and Best Day Brewing's growth in the market.

Best Day Brewing founder and CEO Tate Huffard believes the modern non-alcoholic (NA) beer movement is now in its second wave – one characterized by "belonging." "What we see now is that non-alcoholic beer belongs on menus, it belongs in beer sets," Huffard said on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast. Best Day was made for NA beer's second wave in which coolers on boats in the summer are stocked with NA and alcoholic beer and fridges at parties also include both options, Huffard said. "All of these beer occasions warrant a great non-alcoholic beer and yet part of the magic is unpacking and uncovering these new occasions that deserve a beer," Huffard said. "Case in point for me is a lunch beer." The first wave – driven by the rise of Athletic Brewing Company – helped normalize NA beer and remove the penalty box elements of old-school offerings, Huffard explained. "I give those guys an incredible amount of praise for creating an environment where people could participate in the category and it wasn't weird," he said. "And the concept of non-alcoholic craft beer was born in that first wave." The second wave is about growing the pie, expanding grocery baskets and taking NA…

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Guest: Tate Huffard

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Organizations: Best Day Brewing, Athletic Brewing Company, Anheuser-Busch InBev

Products: Michelob Ultra Zero

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