The Story Double IPA

This beer began as a one-off called Not Just Another Story, created to raise money around gang violence in the Chicago area. We live just 25 miles from underserved neighborhoods where violence is far too common — the news reporting murders, too many times with children as the victims. We wanted people to understand: this was not just another story.

We took the beer to the community at a run in Garfield Park, one of those underserved areas — a blank black wall, cans of spray paint, and an invitation to cover it in the messages people wanted their neighborhoods to hear. Art proceeds went to the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, and the original can design was an actual photograph from that activation.

★ Art proceeds → Institute for Nonviolence Chicago

The style came from you. In early 2023 we simply asked our customers what beer styles they wanted to see. Rob Theodore of Generation NA told us the hottest style he'd ever had was an NA double IPA — and we took that as a challenge. Little did we know the beer would hit the market and become one of the top retail sellers just a year or so later.

★ One of the top retail sellers within about a year

As distribution spread to the west and east coasts, the mission of the beer needed to expand with it. Searching for its evolution, our founder attended The Possibility Festival — a two-day event designed to rewire the way you connect, with a huge focus on leading change around mental health. Everything ran free, for everyone: free lemonade stands, joy boards, open conversations — a protocol built to remove whatever stands between people and real connection.

The day kicked off with Alex Banayan, the movement's founder, saying: "The most important story is the one you tell yourself." Unannounced, that same day turned into a film set — the start of a documentary we hope will one day reach millions, anchored by a free, actionable protocol for fighting the mental health epidemic so many of us face today. There it was — the mission this beer was always meant to carry. The Story is just that.

“The most important story is the one you tell yourself.” — Alex Banayan

The can depicts a road less traveled — the one only we can figure out and travel — with a sign in Latin that translates to "fate will find a way," and a crow perched on top. The crow symbolizes destiny and fate: a sign that change is coming and life moves forward. The illustration took months to complete, designed by Dan Schroeder — our founder Joe's cousin and a partner at Go Brewing.

★ Illustrated by Dan Schroeder · Fata viam invenient