Former NHL player Brantt Myhres experimented with drinking energy drinks and other beverages to remain sober in environments where other people drink alcohol, but said a non-alcoholic beer felt what was most needed.
Myhres has been sober since 2008, and said he was inspired to create UnHammered, a new non-alc beer he's brewed with Alley Kat Brewing Company, after a health scare that followed a trip to Las Vegas.
"When I got home, something was wrong in my heart," Myhres told Taproot. "The ambulance came, and (the paramedics) said, 'You had a massive panic attack. What have you done in the last few days that's been different?' I said, 'Well, I was going to bed at 2am, and I was drinking 15 Red Bulls a day.' So I thought to myself after that, 'I'm never touching another energy drink.'"
Myhres said it's common for people who choose to be sober to face invasive questions in situations where everyone else is drinking alcohol. "'Why are you having a bottle of water, or why are you having a Diet Coke?'" he recalled hearing. "At least with (UnHammered), I find that it's trendy enough and bold enough that if you're holding it in your hand, it's a little bit of a statement."
UnHammered launched in September. And though it faces an increasingly crowded market for boozeless beer, Myhres said he thinks his will stand out because of the very public pain he went through before deciding to create it.
"Nobody has my story," Myhres said, speaking on the phone from Calgary, where he was giving a keynote speech at the Alberta Recovery Summit, a conference focused on mental health and addiction. "I think what separates us from the other (non-alcoholic beers on the market) is that there's a real, long, grind-out story of somebody that should have been dead in '06 and got a lifetime ban from the NHL for substance abuse, then crawled his way back. I think that's what resonates with people."
Myhres grew up in Cold Lake and lived in the United States while playing for seven NHL teams, from 1994 to 2006, before moving to Edmonton, where he still lives today. He said he's the only player banned from playing in the league for life because of his past alcohol and cocaine abuse. He became sober by 2008, studied substance abuse and behavioral health at Mount Royal University in Calgary, and worked with the LA Kings on sobriety. Penguin Random House Canada published Pain Killer, his bestselling memoir about these experiences, in 2021.
He's far from alone in struggles with alcohol addiction. In 2024, there were more than 47,000 emergency department visits for alcohol abuse in the province, per the Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System.
Former NHL player Brantt Myhres and sports reporter Gene Principe make a toast during the Sept. 19 launch party for UnHammered at MKT Fresh Food and Beer Market. The non-alcoholic beer is now Myhres's main focus. Myhres played for seven NHL teams but received a lifetime ban from the league in 2006 due to substance abuse. (Supplied)
To get away from energy drinks, Myhres was drawn to beer as a non-alc product when he tried a non-alc Corona. Not only did it pair well with his Mexican meal, he said, it also contained Vitamin D (which he said is also in UnHammered).
Thus began a 19-month quest to take UnHammered from the droplet of an idea into a can. Part of that quest was finding "bold" branding that took the dweeb-y feeling out of abstinence, he said. Each can of UnHammered depicts a skeletal hand crossing its fingers (think: Liquid Death). Myhres developed the concept with Power Brands, an American branding agency that has worked with both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo (as well as beverage mogul 50 Cent).
While Myhres's beer is new, the zero-proof industry is not. Macro brewers like Anheuser-Busch have sold beers below the legal threshold for alcohol since the Prohibition era. But sober living has become trendier (and thus more profitable) since Dry January began in 2013.
More recently, Spilt Zero Proof became what its owners said was Edmonton's first mocktail bar last year. Even now, Sea Change Brewing is running a contest that skewers LinkedIn speak and asks contestants to guzzle non-alc beer during the workday to win unusual prizes.
When Myhres's book came out in 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from holding a book launch or tour, so he started a podcast called UnHammered to talk about it and to connect with guests and listeners about sobriety. The last episode came out in March, and Myhres said it's now on pause.
Myhres also said UnHammered, the near beer, is now his full-time job. He's focused on getting it to retailers and hospitality joints. UnHammered will soon be available at Boston Pizza's locations in Windermere and The Hamptons, and retailers can stock it by ordering through Liquor Connect.