America's largest dedicated non-alcoholic brewer, Athletic Brewing Company, has partnered with cult olive oil brand Graza to release Cold Off The Press, a limited-edition NA pilsner brewed with Graza Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Available in 6-packs of 12-oz. cans exclusively at athleticbrewing.com beginning September 23, the SKU is a direct-to-consumer, limited-supply drop — the kind of release designed to generate earned media and DTC velocity without committing retail shelf space.
The olive oil isn't a flavoring agent. Athletic's brewing team incorporated the EVOO to nourish yeast during fermentation, producing a clean, dry pils with floral, herbal, and lemon aromas — 60 calories, 14g of carbs, and less than 0.5% ABV per 12-oz. can. The name Cold Off The Press references both cold-pressing of olives and the crisp character of the finished brew, a tight conceptual bridge that makes the collab legible to consumers of both brands without requiring explanation.
Why Cross-Category Collabs Work Here
This release is less about a single SKU and more about a repeatable brand-launch mechanic that foodservice and CPG operators should study. Both Athletic and Graza have built audiences around accessible quality — Athletic as the number-one NA beer brand in the U.S. by NielsenIQ data through August 2026, Graza as the fifth-largest olive oil brand in the country within four years of launch. Neither brand needed the other for distribution reach. The collaboration delivers something harder to buy: shared creative credibility with a highly engaged, food-curious consumer base.
For bar and restaurant operators, the pairing logic is already embedded in the product: the brand positions Cold Off The Press alongside pizza, grilled vegetables, charcuterie, and salty snacks — a menu-integration narrative that gives on-premise buyers a direct conversation starter. Operators running NA programs know that mealtime context is one of the biggest purchase barriers for non-alcoholic beer; a product literally built around food pairings addresses that friction directly. See how leading operators are building out non-alcoholic beverage programming as a revenue category.
Brand-Launch Intelligence
The structural decision to launch DTC-only, in limited supply, is worth noting for any brand or supplier evaluating collaboration strategy. It creates scarcity, protects retail relationships from a potentially short-lived SKU, and concentrates social signal in one channel. Graza has used similar mechanics across its product line — squeeze-bottle packaging, nitrogen-sealed refill cans, EVOO potato chips — each launch building retail proof-of-concept before wider rollout. Athletic, with distribution at over 75,000 retail locations nationwide, has the infrastructure to scale any SKU that earns velocity data. A DTC drop is an efficient way to generate that data without retail risk.
For suppliers and ingredient brands watching this collaboration, the takeaway is about ingredient storytelling at the SKU level. Graza's olive oil isn't incidental to Cold Off The Press — it's the hook, the name, and the media angle. Ingredient brands that can offer a credible flavor or process narrative, backed by a consumer-recognizable identity, have a sharper pitch to beverage and food manufacturers than those competing on spec sheets alone. For more on how ingredient brands are positioning for co-development deals, see our coverage of supplier brand strategy in beverage launches.
John Walker, Co-Founder and COO of Athletic Brewing, described the partnership as a product of shared creative chemistry between the two teams, noting the brand's willingness to pursue ideas that "sound a little wild" when the flavor outcome justifies it. Andrew Benin, CEO and Co-Founder of Graza, framed it as an extension of the brand's ongoing effort to demonstrate olive oil's versatility across unexpected applications.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
