Veteran-owned brewing company pays tribute to fallen heroes: 'Great American beer' to honor sacrifice

One veteran-owned and operated brewing company is honoring the nation's heroes by selling beer dedicated to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for American freedom. 

Armed Forces Brewing Company CEO Alan Beal spoke out on his decision to launch the company during "Fox & Friends" and why he decided to dedicate the beers to various groups of service members and first responders. 

"While some guys are making some bad decisions out there, we're making great American beer that tributes the service and sacrifice of our men and women who have served our U.S. military and our first responders," Beal said Wednesday. 

VETERANS SHARE PATRIOTISM, PRIDE AND PRODUCTIVITY WHILE ALSO PROMOTING ‘MILITARY WORK ETHIC’

"We've got a very experienced team with an award-winning brewmaster and a lot of incredible veterans on our advisory board and in the ownership as well," he continued. 

The Virginia-based company sells various beer flavors, with one, the Special Hops, being a tribute to Navy SEALs specifically. 

"This is actually overtaking Preamble as our number one seller," he said. "This is Special Hops IPA. Got a little more happiness to it, but this is our tribute to U.S. Navy SEALs, and you can see we have three SEALs on the label there."

Beal said another flavor, the Preamble, is one of the classics, and is comparable to a light domestic beer. 

"Case in point. On our Preamble, We the People light session lager, this is our tribute to the Constitution, the oath that our service members take as well to defend," Beal said. "And we're using a crystal hop, one hop in that beer, that is veteran grown out of a hop farm that's veteran-owned up in Michigan."

The company donates a portion of the Preamble proceeds to the Heart of the Lion Foundation, a nonprofit started by PGA champion John Daly and retired Army Major Ed Pulido to provide physical and mental wellness for American veterans and first responders. 

Armed Forces Brewing Company's various beers

According to the company's website, it also partners with organizations like Special Operations Transition Foundation (SOTF), Uncommon Grit Foundation, the Navy SEAL Foundation and MarineParents. 

The brewing company is already in various chain supermarkets, including Walmart, Publix, Winn-Dixie and Sam's Club. 

"We're distributed in eight states right now and going to scale out into 17 in 2023, but we're really chain heavy right now," Beal said. 

Customers can also buy the American-branded beer from the company's website, which ships to 36 states across the country. 

The U.S. beer market has been turned upside-down in recent months as Modelo has overtaken Bud Light as the nation's top-selling beer for the second consecutive month. 

The drink outpaced all rivals, including Anheuser-Busch's Bud Light, which has been the top-selling beer in terms of sales dollars and volume since 2001, according to the consulting firm.

The most recent data shows that Modelo Especial saw an 11.4% increase in dollar sales and a 5.7% increase in volume in the week ending July 1. Over that same time, Bud Light saw a 28.5% decline in sales dollars and a 32% dip in volume, the data showed.

John Kahl, a bar owner, fisherman and jack of all trades, collected thousand of beer cans in his lifetime right in his hometown of Pearl River, La. (Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP)

The backlash that Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch have been experiencing started in early April, not long after the company created and sent custom beer cans to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to mark "365 days of girlhood." Some beer drinkers reacted by swearing off Bud Light, hurting the brand’s sales in recent weeks.

But Modelo isn't the only beer company reaping the benefits of Bud Light's controversy. 

Yuengling rolled out limited-edition, 12-ounce cans that read, "Let’s Go USA," while featuring a Stars and Stripes design last month to commemorate 194 years of business. 

It remains America’s top craft brewer, selling more beer than any other U.S. brand with over 2.2 billion barrels per year.

FOX Business' Daniella Genovese and Kristen Altus contributed to this report. 

Bailee Hill is an associate editor with Fox News Digital. Story ideas can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.