Grills restaurants launch alternative to Bud Light: 'We're trying to speak the truth'

Five months after Bud Light was pulled from Grills Seafood Deck and Tiki Bar restaurants in Port Canaveral, Melbourne and Orlando, diners are getting a locally brewed alternative: Grills Alt Light.

The beer will be available on draft and in 12-ounce cans starting Labor Day weekend.

Grills owner Joe Penovich made the decision to remove Bud Light from his restaurants in April in response to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney posting an Instagram video of herself drinking Bud Light, talking about the beer's March Madness contest and showing off a Bud Light can with her face on it.

The move garnered local and national attention, with stories showing up on multiple Florida media outlets, on Fox Business News and in the New York Post.

Penovich said at the time that he hoped to replace Bud Light with a local beer. After much prayer and research, he said, he found Brew Theory, an Orlando company that offers contract beverage production with packaging and distribution services.

"It's not my goal to sensationalize or beat a dead horse, but it's time to take back that position, to offer an alternative and spread the truth with love," Penovich said.

Brew Theory chief operating officer Andrew Phillippe worked with Penovich and his staff to come up with the right flavor profile for a light beer that's less than 5% alcohol by volume and can be sold for the same price as name-brand light beers.

How it started: Grills owner in Brevard, Orlando pulls Bud Light: ‘God is telling me to take a stand’

Shoutout to Ayn Rand's John Galt?

The Grills Alt Light can features a Gothic-looking font. The T in "alt" looks like a cross, though Penovich said it's actually a sword, in reference to a Bible verse, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword," Matthew 10:34.

The design also is a not-so-subtle nod to John Galt, the hero in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged," a 1957 novel about — CliffsNotes version here — what happens "when thinkers go on strike."

A statement at the bottom of the can reads: "We welcome everyone, but will not celebrate or market what we do not believe in. Thank you for trying Grills Alt Light, a much higher quality light pilsner than you've settled for in the past. Brewed locally and responsibly by people who are tired of corporate B.S."

The back of the can includes a disclaimer: "God created alcohol for our enjoyment. Use in moderation has great benefits, but getting drunk has never been good for anybody. Please get help if you need it. Visit our QR code for more information."

A scannable code next to the statement will access a video explaining why Penovich created the beer as an alternative to Bud Light.

"There's a lot going on there," Penovich said about the label. "It's a statement. We're trying to speak the truth, but not make it an incendiary thing."

He hopes the beer, and the whole controversy, will lead to meaningful conversations.

"We want people to ask real spiritual questions about what's happening," he said, "to ask questions without being judgmental."

Penovich said in April that he never intended to make a big show of removing Bud Light from his restaurants, but he went into defensive mode after an April 14 post in a Rockledge community Facebook group accused his staff of publicly tossing the beer while using anti-gay slurs.

"Myself, management and our employees are devastated by the fact that this post deeply hurt members of the gay community and our employees that we have cared about and treated with the same non-judgmental respect we have given everyone for over 25 years," he wrote in a letter posted on Grills' social media accounts a few days after the inflammatory post.

On June 9, the man who wrote the post apologized to the owner and employees of Grills in another Facebook post. In the apology, he said "at no time" did he hear a Grills employee use an offensive slur about gay people.

Penovich said he lost a few employees over the controversy, but it didn't have much effect on his business.

An outspoken Christian, he said he does not judge gay or transgender people, but he feels strongly about children being allowed to have gender-altering surgeries. He didn't agree with what he saw as Bud Light's celebration of Dylan Mulvaney's transition from male to female.

'We wanted an alternative'

The April fuss happened as dozens of bills restricting access to gender-affirming therapies for patients younger than 18 were being proposed across the nation. The Florida Senate had passed a bill banning gender-affirming care for new patients younger than 18 and restricting access for those older than 18, legislation that was signed into law in May by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The trend toward restrictions and bans prompted major medical groups like the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association to issue statements opposing such legislation and affirming support for the treatments, which are supported by nearly all major medical associations in the country. Some transgender people are diagnosed with gender dysphoria, the psychological distress that can occur when one’s gender doesn’t align with their sex assigned at birth. That distress can lead to suicidal ideation, which is why many experts and advocates say gender-affirming care is medically necessary and potentially life-saving.

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Penovich said he had no delusions that removing Bud Light from his restaurants would have any real impact on parent company Anheuser-Busch, but felt he needed to take a stand.

Over the years, Penovich said, he has been approached by breweries wanting to make a beer just for Grills, but because of the high volume of beer the restaurants sell, it needed to be an operation that could keep up with demand.

The partnership with Brew Theory means enough Grills Alt Light can be made to supply all three restaurants. Eventually, he'd like to offer it for sale at other outlets.

"We wanted an alternative," he said, "but we wanted a good product."

He and his staff have been tasting and refining the recipe for a couple of months.

"People who appreciate a light pilsner will really like this beer," Penovich said.

Grills still carries some Anheuser-Busch products, Penovich said. The company owns more than 100 brands, including Budweiser, Michelob, Stella Artois and Beck's.

"But we have fewer, because Anheuser-Busch had to sell off quite a few brands," he said.

On Aug. 7, Tilray Brands, a cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company, announced it had acquired eight brands from Anheuser-Bush: Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, Blue Point Brewing Company, 10 Barrel Brewing Company, Redhook Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Square Mile Cider Company, and HiBall Energy.

Penovich said he is assessing options and could add more Grills-label brews to his menu to replace major brands.

"I feel now it's time to double down," he said. "We don't have to accept the things that are opposed to our faith."

Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Reach her at sleonard@floridatoday.com. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard. 

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Grills Alt Light, a Bud Light beer alternative, launches in Florida