Brewery incubator Pilot Project Brewing is expanding its footprint in the non-alcoholic space this month with Years, a new non-alcoholic craft brewery by music industry veteran and No Fine Print Wine founder Pat Corcoran. Pat worked in the music industry for more than a decade; managed Grammy-winning musicians; was named to Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2017; and launched No Fine Print Wine in 2018, which is now producing 10,000 cases annually.
His latest venture with Pilot Project will produce non-alcoholic craft beer, starting with Years’ Pilsner, hitting the streets of greater Chicagoland as we speak. The team plans to roll out additional products under the Years' name later this year. Pat stopped drinking during the pandemic and, like many, began seeking great tasting alternatives. He believes the NA industry is ripe for innovation and looks forward to creating beers for everyone. The brand’s motto is, “It's not the years in your life, it's the life in your years.”
US sales of non-alcoholic beer averaged 31% growth over the past four years, according to data from NielsenIQ, and were up 32% in 2023. This is the second non-alcoholic brewery launch for Pilot Project Brewing in 2024.
Pilot Project was created as a purpose-driven, collaborative, and artistically curious brewing and tasting room facility to help support talented brewers in an industry with exceptionally high barriers. Modeled after the music industry, where Pilot's co-Founder, Dan Abel, originally met Corcoran, Pilot serves as a launch pad for start-up breweries, offering assistance with fine-tuning recipes, production scaling, business development, marketing, distribution and more. They maintain breweries in Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI.
Years’ Pilsner is available at both Pilot Project locations (Chicago & Milwaukee) with regional national distribution on the horizon.
More about Pilot Project:
Pilot Project launched in August 2019 in Chicago as a purpose-driven, collaborative, and artistically curious brewing facility and tasting room to help support talented brewers in an industry with exceptionally high barriers. Modeled after the music industry, Pilot serves as a launch pad for start-up breweries, offering assistance with fine-tuning recipes, production scaling, business development, marketing, distribution and, with the addition of the Milwaukee facility, unencumbered growth potential. It is Pilot Project’s mission to foster experimental and small-batch brewing, present an unparalleled consumer tasting experience, and operate as an industry-defining innovator in fermented malt beverages. Pilot Project opened a taproom and 70,000 square foot production facility in Milwaukee in fall 2022.
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