NAPERVILLE (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - For Joe Chura, alcohol and alcoholism was in his DNA.
"I was drinking too much. I watched others close to me succumb to the disease of alcohol, including my brother. My father passed away as well," he recalled.
In 2020, he decided to turn around the family cycle and stop drinking.
"I needed personally to take a step back from drinking," he said.
It transformed his life and his career path.
"During COVID, my wife and I decided we'd quit drinking for 75 days and, up to that point, I had not not drank since I was 14-years-old," he added. " I felt like I had superpowers after not drinking for that long. I lost more than 40 pounds and felt so much better. I realized there's something here."
Joe Chura, owner and founder of Go BrewingLisa Fielding
"I saw non-alcoholic beer as an emerging market. What I found is that a couple of the good NA's [non-acholic] on the market curb my craving for alcohol. There was something to that," Chura said.
That's when he came up with an idea, to brew his own non-alcoholic beer.
"I had to find a brewer and understand how it's done. Once I found a brewer, I had to get some equipment and a space," said Chura.
Go Brewing was born in his garage and eventually moved to a 9,000 square foot space in Naperville.
Lisa Fielding
"One of the big differences was with what I knew existed and what didn't. There were lots of non-alcoholic beers out there, but no one had their own physical brewery, let alone a tap room," Chura said. "I would go out at night, and, at times, when I didn't want to drink, there was nowhere to go."
Go Brewing is a first-of-its kind in the state of Illinois. Chura and his team specialize in non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic beers, something he says meet a major niche.
"What if we can create something that didn't revolve around alcohol but still provided the taste and experiences if you were at an alcohol establishment, namely a brewery like this?" he smiled.
Go Brewing now brews and distributes about 3,000 cases a month and produces 20 different kinds of brews. A tap room offers a new alternative to people who choose not to drink alcohol but still want the social aspect.
Lisa Fielding
"People are waking up in the morning not saying to themselves, 'I wish I drank more last night.' It's quite the opposite," Chura said. "Forty-percent of our customers are people that want moderation in their lives, and there's a segment of people that just haven't drank for years. We get people from all around Illinois and all over the U.S. that are coming to this bar because it's one of the only places you can get an NA on tap."
Chura knows what he offers is unique.
"There is something really special to know that you are drinking something that was produced on site, by hand, in a craftsman way, in small batches with natural ingredients. It's the freshest beer you can possibly get," said Chura.
They've also developed a special edition brew called "Not Another Story," and 10% of the sales go toward the Institute for Non-Violence Chicago.
Lisa Fielding
"We've partnered up with them to make a difference. It's a Double IPA and 10% of the proceeds is being donated to this organization," Chura said. "We created the beer in July, and it sold out immediately. We had an artist design the can, and it was created especially for this charity. The next batch will benefit another organization."
Chura said the sky's the limit with Go Brewing, and he already has plans to expand.
"We've grown exponentially. We are not only selling on our website, we're on Amazon and we serve out our taproom, and now we started distribution. You can find us in 200 places now, and, by the end of the year, we hope to be in 800-1,000 places. We have something called Mission Midwest. We want to be known as the number one brewer in the Midwest." he smiled.
Lisa Fielding
In a short three years, Chura has built a concept and a community, a path he admitted he couldn't have predicted but he realizes it's given him new purpose.
"I realized that I was prone to alcoholism from my family and my history. Doing this led me down a path where I'm going to be much more productive in ways I could never do without being consumed under the umbrella of alcohol use. My health improved a thousand fold. Every bio marker was headed in the wrong direction," he said, shaking his head.
"I have a new purpose, a new purpose to help people know there is an alternative to alcohol consumption."
Go Brewing is tapping into a new and growing sober market. For more information, log onto gobrewing.com. Their warehouse and tap room is located in Naperville at 1665 Quincy Avenue #155.
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