Portland, OR — Dry January is a globally recognized moment in which people consider their relationship to alcohol. Heck, a dedicated nonalcoholic beer company in Portland, is taking this opportunity to release the first in a series of collaboration beers, just as the brewery makes distribution inroads across the Portland metro.
For Dry January, Heck has teamed up with Puff Coffee to create a nonalcoholic coffee stout, titled Secret Handshake. The version available this month is an experimental beta batch, and the final version will be served as the first-ever nonalcoholic beer at Fort George Brewery’s Festival of the Dark Arts during Stout Month in February.
To create the coffee stout, Heck and Puff teams came together to discuss flavors and intentions during a coffee cupping. A special reserve Guatemalan blend was specially selected by Puff founder, Duane Sorenson, for its cocoa and fruit-forward character that compliments the beer’s rich chocolate and roast foundation. This beer represents the first in a series of Heck collaborations, all of which will be released under the Secret Handshake moniker.
Secret Handshake will be available in limited draft at select accounts across Portland during Dry January. Heck will announce the secret pop up events throughout the month on Instagram at @heckbrewing and through the brewery’s email newsletter.
Heck was co-founded by Andy McMillan and Justin Miller in 2021. McMillan was already known in the n/a beverage space for starting Suckerpunch, a pop-up zero-proof cocktail bar in early 2020, and before that in 2015 for building a dedicated n/a bar program into his experimental art festival and conference, XOXO Fest.
While Suckerpunch was closed during the pandemic McMillan teamed up with Justin Miller, previously the Head Brewer at Hopworks Brewery, and began making nonalcoholic beer. When Suckerpunch reopened in February 2022, Heck served its first beers at the bar and began making waves with people who wanted nonalcoholic beer, so the duo began focusing on Heck full time.
Heck currently has two delicious beers in 12oz 6-pack cans: Silver Linings IPA, a full-bodied West Coast IPA with citrus and pineapple hop character, and Gentle Persuasion Golden, smooth and crushable European-inspired beer. Heck’s beer can be found at some of Portland’s favorite restaurants and venues including Eem, Yaowarat, Nostrana, and Hollywood Theater along with great bottle shops and stores like New Seasons, Market of Choice, John’s Marketplace, and Belmont Station.
Photo by Jessica Zollman Winslow (she/they)
