A caffeine- and protein-packed collab
Miramar's Athletic Brewing and Austin's Super Coffee craft first "pre-workout brew"
Athletic Brewing, America’s leading producer of non-alcoholic craft beer, has teamed up with Austin-based Super Coffee, the third-largest bottled coffee brand in the U.S., on the world’s first pre-workout brew.
Called Suped Up, the new non-alcoholic beer was inspired by the power of positive energy and the grind of endless grit. It is brewed with high-quality coffee and spent brewer’s grains. The result is a rich, Extra Dark brew that is full-bodied and contains five grams of protein.
“Suped Up is a wonderfully balanced brew made with two pounds of coffee per barrel and upcycled barley rice protein,” says Athletic co-founder and Chief Product Officer John Walker. “It took us several months to develop and refine our process, but we’re super excited with the final recipe. It has distinct roasty and chocolatey notes with a pop of bold coffee flavor.”
The idea for Suped Up was born out of a friendship between Athletic co-founder Bill Shufelt and Super Coffee co-founder Jimmy DeCicco. The pair met at a fitness event in 2021 and quickly bonded over the daily grind of entrepreneurship. Shufelt and DeCicco would periodically check in with one another to share ideas, and quickly recognized an overlap in their respective customer bases.
“There is so much crossover between customers who reach for Super Coffee and those who keep Athletic Brewing in their fridges,” says DeCicco. “We thought it would be fun to team up and give our audiences a beverage that combines the best of both worlds–a protein coffee in a non-alcoholic beer format.”
To promote the new brew, the two companies created a catchy jingle and commercial that will run across social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The ad features four athletes–Athletic ambassador Brian Mazza, fitness influencer Matt Choi, personal trainer Tara Nicole, and Austin-based creator Rose Lichtenfels–working out in lumberjack outfits while drinking Suped Up.
“More than anything, we wanted to have fun with this collaboration,” says Shufelt. “Nevertheless, Suped Up was a unique technical challenge for our brewing team, and an exciting opportunity for us to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in non-alcoholic beer.”
Suped Up will be available to purchase exclusively on Athletic’s website for a limited time, beginning Tuesday, March 7. Each 12-ounce can of Suped Up comes in at less than 0.5% alcohol-by-volume and contains 130 calories, 23 grams of carbs, 5 grams of protein and zero fat.