Two East Vancouver friends, David Bowkett of Powell Brewery and Doug Stephen of Downlow Brands, have come together to bring a new non-alcoholic beer brand to the growing zero-proof market. Dry Goods Beer is a buzz-free beer collection for people who love beer, but want to skip the alcohol. Customers can choose from three styles: West Coast IPA, Grapefruit IPA and Classic Pilsner.

Dry Goods Beer is available at Powell Brewery and The Drive Canteen and will be available at The American and Hero’s Welcome soon.

“It’s been fun to R&D Dry Goods Beer in the last little while – we knew it was a project we wanted to partner with [Stephen] and Lindsey [Mann] on,” said Bowkett, who opened Powell Brewery with his wife Nicole Stefanopoulos in 2012. “Our goal was to create a non-alcoholic beer alternative that tastes like beer – from colour, smell, to taste. We think we’ve achieved this, and look forward to working on more styles very soon. There might even be a non-alc sour beer on the horizon.”

“[Bowkett] asked me stop by about a month ago to try a new non-alcohol beer he was working on and it floored me, a West Coast IPA that contained all the flavour and texture I used to love, but with none of the alcohol,” said Stephen, who co-owns DL Chicken, Downlow Burgers, Vennie’s Sub Shop and The Drive Canteen with his wife and business partner, Mann.

“I’ve been pretty open about my personal struggles with drinking, which have led me to a life of sobriety, so having the chance to be a part of something that isn’t just qualitatively outrageous, but also really suits my personal lifestyle, was great. I can’t wait for people to give Dry Goods Beer a taste.”

Dry Goods’ label design was created by Bowkett and is rooted in classic Americana soda and beer brands with a vintage colour palette featuring red, evergreen, magenta and teal tones.

“Whether you’re living a sober life, are sober-curious or, as our brand says, just love beer, we hope you’ll try one of our new Dry Goods styles,” said Stephen.