Virginia's newest nonalcoholic beer could go national

• By the end of the month, six-packs will be available locally at Kroger, Wegmans and Total Wine, and statewide distribution will happen later this year.

Why it matters: Nonalcoholic beer is big business. It made up less than 2% of the total U.S. beer market in 2016, and sales grew 23% by 2019 — and it's expected to keep growing, per industry publication Beer Maverick.

The plan is to take the Uncool brand national, while Three Notch'd beer will always be Virginia-only, thus the new brand, CEO George Kastendike tells Axios.

• "We think we came up with a pretty fun way to describe nonalcoholic beer," Kastendike says of the "Uncool" name.

Kastendike says the 10-year-old brewery spent three years researching and testing nonalcoholic beers, inspired by the success of Heineken and Athletic Brewing Company’s booze-free beer.

Plus, he says, customers — especially health-conscious millennials and Gen Zers — were asking for alcohol-free options.

• "Consumer sentiment evolves. Successful craft breweries have to evolve too," he says.

Of note: The brewery launched its first nonalcoholic beer as an IPA in 2020. It's now available under the Uncool label.