Joe Chura, founder of Go Brewing, is redefining what it means to “Raise a Glass.” After a successful career in the automotive industry, Chura turned his passion for wellness and innovation into creating a first-of-its-kind brewery focused largely on non-alcoholic craft beer.
Pouring into a new business
As a guest on NCTV17’s “The Morning Show,” Chura reflected back on Go Brewing’s humble beginnings during the COVID-19 Pandemic. At that time, Chura and his wife Heather decided to make healthier lifestyle changes that would ultimately lead to him brewing up a brand new idea.
“So we decided to do this challenge for 75 days. And there were a bunch of things in this challenge. But one of them, and the hardest one for me, was to stop drinking for 75 days…And it wasn’t until I was like 30 days in that I started to feel different, but I still had this massive craving as I developed over decades of drinking. And I found by accident that nonalcoholic beer really was a tool to help me get past that night.”
Less than 18 months later, the Churas formed a team of brewers and consultants to create hundreds of recipes and opened up shop both at their Naperville taproom and online.
Sober but soaring
The Go Brewing brand has garnered so much appeal that it has been named the fastest-growing NA brewery in the U.S. Its products are now sold on Amazon, plus more than 5,000 locations across the country, according to Chura.
“The ability to sell online too was a big unlock for me…if you look at the history of beer or alcohol, you couldn’t sell it online. So when I found out you could, to me, that was the best marketing opportunity to essentially, I call it like selling liquid billboards in people’s homes, because the reality is I’m able to reach every state in the U.S. within two days of someone ordering it. And, last month alone, we sold 10,000 online orders just online through our website and on Amazon,” said Chura.
In addition to serving beer with very little to no alcohol, Go Brewing continues to serve the community with live music and workshops that promote health and wellness.
Storytelling on tap
NCTV17 has followed and shared Chura’s entrepreneurial journey from the beginning to the growth and success it enjoys today.
“Each one of our beers, they have a meaning behind them. And I think if you can’t tell a story that isn’t well-known, necessarily like a national story, if you can’t tell a story about something small or something more meaningful, it’s a big miss …And that’s what NCTV17 does so well. And just like beer, when it’s closer to the source, it’s better, right? And for everyone in here, if we didn’t have NCTV, we wouldn’t be able to hear these stories like we are hearing today,” said Chura.
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