Image: Sprecher Brewery
Sprecher Juvee energy drinks
As the current oldest craft brewer in Milwaukee, Sprecher Brewing Company continues to add beverages beyond its signature European style beers. Sprecher’s recent acquisition of Los-Angeles-based Juvee, an energy drink from the gaming and lifestyle brand 100 Thieves, marks the company’s first venture into the energy category.
Sprecher Brewing Company CEO Sharad Chadha expressed excitement for the purchase of Juvee and sees it as a key part of Sprecher’s aggressive growth strategy. “The energy category is a huge category of beverages that Sprecher did not participate in. With Juvee, we will be able to play in the craft energy beverage space and fulfill our consumers’ needs for a great tasting craft beverage,” he says.
Juvee, short for rejuvenation, was started in 2022 by 100 Thieves CEO Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, along with his friend, Sam Keene. Haag regularly consumed energy drinks since his teen years but eventually desired more flavorful products with better ingredients. He collaborated with Keene, who worked in the beverage industry, to create Juvee.
Juvee is available in seven flavors including Galactic Berry, Caramel Apple, Peachy Mangopuff, Blue Raspberry, Kiwi Strawberry, Tropical Crush and Watermelon Lime. In addition, with a caffeine boost, Juvee was formulated to improve mood, focus and well-bring. The brand has grown exponentially through an online community.
In addition, Keene will become Sprecher’s chief marketing officer. All of Juvee’s production, bottling and warehousing will be moved to Sprecher’s Glendale headquarters.
Growing Beyond Beer
Sprecher’s craft sodas including Root Beer, Ginger Ale and Cherry Cola have earned praise from food writers and bloggers from the New York Times, Uproxxx and Sporked. The craft sodas are available in over 25,000 retail stores in 49 states.
“Craft soda is where craft beer was 20 years ago. Beverage drinkers’ tastes are becoming more discerning. The want quality, locally sourced, handcrafted beverages that taste great,” Chadha observes.
Sprecher’s craft beers and sodas are made with a fire-brewing process, in which the ingredients are brewed in a kettle under a flame until the sugars in the honey are caramelized. The process is not uncommon for beer but is rarely used in soda production. Sprecher uses locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, including pure raw honey.
In addition to crafting their own line of sodas, Sprecher also owns nostalgic soda brands Black Bear, Green River, WBC and Olde Brooklyn, along with Caruso’s Italian soda. Sprecher also acquired Ooh La Lemin Lemonade in October 2023.
Despite its aggressive expansion into craft sodas, and now energy drinks, Sprecher hasn’t lost its focus on making beer. Customers can still find favorites such as Black Bavarian and Oktoberfest, and the brewery recently won eight awards from the 2023 Tasting Alliance Beer Competition: a double gold medal for XII Dragons; a gold medal for Framboise Raspberry Lambic Ale; and six silver medals for Hefe Weiss, Vienna Style Special Amber, Original Lager, Black Bavarian, Doppelbock and Abbey Trippel.
For more information, visit sprecherbrewery.com.
