Skip to main content

Athletic Brewing reimagines the post-shift drink with return of popular beer

A session ale of sorts brewed for a post-shift cheers

By Mark Stock Published May 13, 2026

Athletic Brewing Aftershift. — Athletic Brewing Company

The after work drink looks a little different in 2026. While there’s no denying the popularity of modern classics like the Jungle Bird cocktail or a riff on a Martini, many are searching for something zero proof. Unsurprisingly, one of the leaders in the NA beer sector is on top of it.

Athletic Brewing just rereleased Aftershift, a light and bright brew made with hospitality workers in mind. The intentional release comes during May, otherwise known as Mental Awareness Month. Part of the proceeds will go towards the Southern Smoke Foundation.

Recommended Videos

Now, about the beer. It’s billed as a zesty session with notes of citrus. It’s brewed with both lime leaf and yuzu. It’s a fitting spring beer release, greeting the milder season and style and offering something refreshing for when you punch out. If you’re looking for something new next happy hour, give it a go.

“Aftershift really hit the mark last year — not just for its flavor, but for what it represents,” said John Walker, Co-Founder and COO of Athletic Brewing. “We’re proud to bring it back with this incredible group of chefs and continue supporting hospitality workers nationwide.”

Athletic Brewing Company has become something of an expert in intriguing releases. Recently, they’ve dropped beers to celebrate everything from Earth Day to the classic Paloma cocktail. The company started in 2017 and has become a leader in the non-alcoholic beer realm, one that continues to grow to this day.

The beer is available online and at select retailers throughout the land.

Contributor

Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…

Topics

Liquor, Beer, Wine & Drinks

Food & Drink

Blended Scotch whiskies you’ll want to drink neat

These blended Scotch whiskies are too good to be used solely as mixers

Dewar's 15

If you’re a Scotch whisky drinker, I know you have at least a few bottles of blended Scotch whisky that you would never drink neat or on the rocks. Perhaps you were given a bottle, or you just bought one because of a flashy label, only to realize it was fairly unpalatable on its own, best mixed with soda or other ingredients. But, if you limit your whisky collection to blended Scotch whiskies that you’d never want to drink neat, you’re missing out on some outstanding expressions just waiting to be discovered.

I was once like this. When I first started writing about alcohol, I didn’t know much about Scotch whisky, and my only experience with blended Scotch was a less-than-stellar expression that came in an easy-to-grab plastic bottle. It wasn’t the type of whisky I was going to want to crack open when my friends or family members stopped by.

Food & Drink

A guide to destination drinking

A more authentic imbibing experience that explores origin stories

Glass, Alcohol, Beer

These days, it's not enough to pour a product. What splashes in the glass needs a good story, preferably one involving genuine sustainability efforts or a cool new hop variety. Moreover, that liquid becomes all the more intriguing when it reflects its origin, whether that's a coastal gin made with local botanicals and seaweed or a seasonal Georgian beer brewed with ripe peaches.

Wine may have capitalized on the concept of terroir but it certainly didn't invent it. There's an element of place in all of agriculture, meaning there are distinctive flavors tied to Nevada-grown whiskey grains and Washington state hops, destined to be showcased in an India Pale Ale.

Food & Drink

Rotisserie chicken is back and better than ever

Slow-turned birds are back, baby

Rotisserie chicken at ROSTO.

What goes around comes around, again and again. Certainly the culinary world knows as much, just consider the slow food movement or even a good Cosmopolitan cocktail recipe, back in its best forms since, well, the 90s. The latest thing to reemerge is slow-cooked chicken on a spit.

Yes, rotisserie is back and arguably better than ever. Like most things, the epicenter of the movement is taking place in New York City, but it's spread to other food-friendly towns, from Portland to Providence. Maybe we never wanted to let the style go. Maybe we're reliant on a relatively cheap protein in this wobbly economy. Regardless, there's no denying the deeply comforting sensation that is chowing down on some.