What on Earth Is a Protein Beer? And Does It Actually Taste Like, Well, Beer?
I tried an unconventional swap for your usual shake, and here's my honest review.
If you’re a weightlifter, runner or any other category of athlete, you probably have one of those shaker cups with a wire ball inside that mixes and stirs the clumps out of your protein shakes somewhere in your gym bag or kitchen. And if that’s the case, you've probably heard of Optimum Nutrition, the fitness-focused nutrition brand that produces whey protein, pre-workout and creatine, and other powders used for bulking up, boosting performance and balancing macros. But this week, the company announced a limited-edition ready-to-drink protein product you definitely won’t want to shake up before you take a sip: Protein beer.
What is ChampionSips protein beer?
ChampionSips is a collaboration between Optimum Nutrition and Wisconsin Brewing Company. The protein drink is actually a nonalcoholic beer boasting 10 grams of plant protein (sourced from pea and rice) per 16-ounce can. That’s about five to ten times as much protein as a regular, alcoholic brew. (If you’re counting carbs and calories, each can of ChampionSips contains 90 calories and 11 grams of carbohydrates.) However, like many NA beers, it should be noted that ChampionSips “contains less than 0.5% ABV.”
Protein beer is not necessarily new to the market, as there are few U.K. brands including Thrive and Lifted (both also nonalcoholic), and Protochol, a protein-enhanced hard seltzer. But Optimum Nutrition and parent company Glanbia Performance Nutrition sees an opportunity for beer to fit into more people’s nutrition regimens.
“We’re constantly looking at how consumers’ needs and routines are evolving and where we can create something new,” Jeff Schoenfield, Director of Innovation at Glanbia, says. “ChampionSips reflects that mindset, opening up an entirely new occasion for Optimum Nutrition and challenging expectations of where the brand can show up.”
What does protein beer taste like?
According to an announcement from Optimum Nutrition, ChampionSips is described as an “American pils-style beer” and is “crafted with malted barley and hops” and “delivers notes of citrus and hops with a crisp, refreshingly familiar finish.”
“When Optimum Nutrition came to us with ChampionSips, it challenged us to think differently about what a nonalcoholic brew could be,” Kevin Zerman, President of Wisconsin Brewing Company, explains. “The partnership may seem unconventional, but that’s what made the challenge so interesting to us. We were able to approach the brew differently while still delivering the crisp, refreshing taste and familiar drinking experience people expect from a cold one.”
I received a pack of ChampionSips to try for myself. As someone who has tried a lot of protein products, I could detect a bit of the pea protein. But largely what I tasted was a very malty pilsner, heavy on the caramel and toasted notes. While it may not pass as your favorite beer, it does its job of swapping some pretty palatable protein into a pleasant beer drinking experience.
Where can you buy ChampionSips?
ChampionSips is available to order online exclusively from optimumnutrition.com. Each pack contains four 16-ounce cans and retails for $14.99, plus shipping and any applicable taxes. (Also, the announcement notes the beer is “not available for purchase in Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska and South Carolina.”) And even though it’s NA beer, you still must be at least 21 years old to buy a pack.
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