Feeling Gruvi with an IPA, Sour and Prosecco

By Natasha Lovato

Pot parties are all fun and games until the guests get cross-faded once they’ve also had a few drinks. At least that’s what Niki Sawni discovered when marijuana was legalized in Canada in 2018.

Sawni then decided he liked the option of a non-alcoholic beer that allowed guests to enjoy social drinking, without getting sick. Sawni and his family packed their bags and moved to Denver to launch their business ─ Gruvi, a craft, non-alcohol beer.

“Hops and marijuana go well together since they’re so similar,” Sawni said. Currently, Gruvi NA craft beers are offered as an IPA or a sour style beer, as well as a prosecco. Consumers can enjoy mosaic, citra, galaxy and ekuanot hop tastes in a beer allowing them to be social without consuming alcohol and all the calories that go along with it.

According to Sawni, most NA beer is made through vacuum or heat processes that can affect the flavor in a negative way. Gruvi is made through arrested fermentation, which is a process of brewing beer that prevents the yeast from producing alcohol.

Gruvi can be found at larger liquor stores in Denver and Boulder as well as places like Il Posto restaurant, which serves a Gruvi Prosecco mocktail. Keep an eye out for Gruvi at upcoming festivals, pop-up pot pairings, and bars that serve tasty, non-alcohol products.

“You can’t have a liquor and pot license, but now you can have both,” Sawni said.

Aside from the use alongside marijuana, NA beverages have the appeal for other reasons as well.

“Pregnant women enjoy the Prosecco. People that have struggled with sobriety enjoy it. It has zero alcohol and all the taste of wine so they don’t have to feel like they’re missing out on anything,” he said.

There are many reasons to enjoy a craft beer or wine without the side effects of alcohol ─ and that is something to raise a glass to.