Impossibrew - Interview and Review

April 11, 2023 Cameron Mackenzie

Great pint, feeling relaxed, no hangover. That’s the dream combo isn’t it? With alcohol-free beers becoming ever more popular, taste is perhaps the most important element that separates the best from the rest. However, there’s still something missing from the experience. You may not get a hangover without drinking alcohol, but where is that feeling you get when you have a beer or two? Can it be achieved without alcohol? Founder of Impossibrew, Mark Wong, was told it couldn’t be done. But with John Locke levels of determination, it was a case of, ‘don’t tell me what I can’t do!’

Onlycans spoke to the team at Impossibrew, to find out how they made it possible.

How did it all start?

It all started when founder, Mark Wong, aged 22 at the time and a lover of everything beer, received worrying news about his health and he was advised to stop drinking. He missed the experience of drinking but none of the alcohol alternatives did it for him. He began his research and started working with University Professors to create a new kind of functional non-alcoholic beer, designed for relaxation using active herbal ingredients. Many of them said it was impossible, and Impossibrew was born.

Can you give us a bit of background on your business?

Impossibrew is a UK-based functional non-alc beer startup with a mission to create the world's most relaxing alternative to alcohol that offers that ‘one or two pint feeling’. They brew top quality, enhanced 0.5% beers developed for relaxation, to take a slice of a market expected to reach £23.27bn in 2025.

What's Mark’s story?

Mark loves beer and started his professional journey into alcohol ever since he was 18. He became one of the youngest French Wine Scholars to get a distinction and has since been awarded multiple WSET industry certifications. But everything changed for him when he was told by his doctor that he could no longer drink because of health. Uprooting both his promising career in booze and personal social life in one go, he then set off on a journey to find a new, healthier, better way to unwind with a pint.

Did you have any early obstacles to overcome?

As mentioned above, at first Mark was met with scepticism when seeking advice and support from the scientific community. He brought his findings and enlisted help from various experts but many thought his project was impossible. Additionally, Mark started this project alone which was an obstacle in itself.

What was your first success?

You could say the first success was when Mark went on Dragon’s Den. It all started when an unexpected email from a BBC producer came through and invited him to go onto the show. Less than 6 months old, it definitely was somewhat of a foolhardy decision to go on so early. But in the end, as fortune (sometimes) tends to favour the bold, we couldn’t let this opportunity slip by - even though it could have been a complete disaster. Mark was terrified, but he decided to go anyway, and this catapulted brand visibility to nationwide recognition.

What's been the outcome since?

We’ve had 1700% growth from 2021 to 2022, and we now serve more than a can every minute just on our online shop alone. We’ve released new stock keeping units and brought more people on the team.

What was your reaction to being the first non-alc beer to be awarded a gold medal at the London beer competition?

I guess you could compare it to when your kid wins a trophy or gets recognition on a project. The pride you kind of feel like you want to tell everybody about.

What can the buzz from Impossibrew be likened to?

We like to describe the buzz you get from our beer as the ‘one or two pint feeling’ you get when you unwind after a long day.

How does it work?

Imagine the opposite of Caffeine, that’s what our Social Blend is like. It features active plants such as L-Theanine and Griffonia Seed that help achieve relaxation by interacting with GABA, Dopamine and Serotonin neurotransmitters.

Can you expand on the Kissa Yojoki?

The Kissa Yojoki is a fantastic book that Mark came across accidentally as he was researching alternatives to alcohol. It’s an old text written by a Japanese monk in 1211 AD - about the ways in which everyone can use plants to relax and live better lives. Inspired by those findings, he used the book as a foundation for exploring ways to create a uniquely relaxing experience, tailored to the modern palate with top-level professors at Durham University.

Is this a product that can be used by traditional non-drinkers, such as those practising Islam?
That’s correct. All our beers contain less than 0.5% ABV which is no more than the alcohol content in ripe bananas, store bought orange juice and burger buns.

Out of all your products, can you pick a few favourites?

It's a niche pick, but the newly released Vanilla Stout is #1. Even though a dark beer isn’t too popular as a category compared to say lagers or IPAs. The balance of bitter roasted malts and hint of vanilla is simply perfect - it could be an everyday drink.

What’s your main goal?

In a nutshell: to create the future of beer. The third way between drinking and not drinking.

What are your biggest inspirations, personally and product-wise?

Looking at brands and people that have revolutionised traditional food and drink categories (like Huel, Beyond Meat, Oatly etc.) to allow people to live healthier, yet uncompromising lives - they are huge sources of inspiration. We hope to do the same, and in our case, to alcohol itself.

The sky's the limit for Impossibrew it seems. Are there alternative applications for such a product?
There are. While we could theoretically use our blend on most types of non-alcoholic products, we’ll be focusing on beer for now - as that seems to be the toughest to crack.

What does the future for Impossibrew look like?
2023 alone is going to be an incredibly exciting year. We grew 17x from 2021 and now we'll finally be starting to move beyond the D2C space. We'll be launching a wide array of new products and a series of mega collaborations. We’ll also continue to venture into new ways of sharing our brand story through organic content, which is key to us.

Can we expect a draught version?
Everyone loves a draught beer, and we’re no different, it’s definitely something we’re considering.

Where can one buy Impossibrew?
The easiest way to get your hands on our beer is via our website. We are gradually partnering with independent bottle shops throughout the UK so keep an eye out for a can near you.

Many thanks to the team at Impossibrew for answering our questions. The idea is absolutely fantastic, but the real test now lies with the reaction of the consumers. And there are currently three beers to choose from, and OnlyCans tested them all out.

OnlyCans was able to obtain a case of Impossibrew beers. This included:

3 x lagers.
3 x hazy pale ales.
2 x vanilla stouts.
Free Impossibrew glass.

Having established how good these non-alc beers look, smell and taste, what about this 'one or two pint feeling?' This is the USP of Impossibrew, and the thing that the consumer wants to experience for themselves. The feeling after one of these cans may be subjective. However, Onlycans conducted its very own case study of the lager, pale ale and vanilla stout, to see if objective markers could also be identified.

Stress levels of the day included working in a high pressure office environment, then coming home to watch a football relegation six-pointer. A stringent test for Impossibrew. Onlycans did get that one or two pint feeling, straight after the first can. Slightly warm face, and the nice fuzzy feeling you get from a decent opening pint. Watching the match after a tough day at work, it just felt like relaxing with a tasty beer. The fact it was alcohol-free did not enter the mind.

With thirst quenched, and things a little calmer by the end of the night, it was time for bed. Using a smartwatch for objective measures, Onlycans compared sleep scores and stress levels the following morning, against average scores from the previous seven nights.

Stress-levels reduced by 6% which also included a lower resting heart rate. Three beats per minute lower than the average. The sleep score improved by 8% due to better quality measures such as deep sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. And importantly, no hangover.

Onlycans appreciates that this was a short but sweet experiment. However, the perception of how the beers tasted and the feeling it gave, as well as a fairly significant improvement in objective markers, makes for good reading for Impossibrew. It encourages trying this out again, which OnlyCans would be more than willing to do. The varying factor of your football team winning an important match may have helped matters, but there was no denying that feeling of having had ‘one or two.’

Overall, the initial thoughts are of congratulations to Mark Wong and his team. The future is exciting. The ‘third way’ really could be the impossible brew, made possible.

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