Caitlin Landesberg discovered she was gluten-intolerant. One of the biggest problems? She couldn’t find a decent gluten-free beer.

So she created one herself. Today, Landesberg is founder and CEO of Sufferfest Beer Company, which specializes in gluten-removed beers and craft beer for athletes like herself. 

Landsberg previously worked at Strava, and she wanted to cater to people who love beer, and care about what they put in their bodies. To reach this group, they launched by pouring for 1,200 trail runners at the Way Too Cool 50k trail race, America’s largest 50k trail race, and launched with Epic Pilsner and Taper IPA in 25 select locations across the Bay Area.

In this interview, Caitlin talks about being a gluten-free beer pioneer, the evolving beverage market as it starts to the fitness market, Sufferfest's  #WillSweatForBeer ambassadors, her own running goals as a runner and business owner, and much more. 

In 2015, the world’s best beer milers were gathering in San Francisco for the World Beer Mile Classic. It was like the Olympics for the beer mile.  

I flew out from my home in Milwaukee to write about this event for DRAFT Magazine. In the middle of this scene, I met the team from Canada, and a quiet but confident 21-year-old Lewis Kent. Lewis told me all about his plan. He knew he was an underdog, but he was confident that he could pull the upset. 

Fast forward to today. Lewis Kent is now a published author who has a new book coming out called A World Champion's Guide to Running the Beer Mile: A Manual and Memoir of Running, Chugging, and (Not) Throwing Up. 

Lewis Kent did end up winning that race where I met him in San Francisco. Actually, he crushed the whole field. And that set off a media frenzy and fascination in him and the beer mile. He appeared on The Ellen Show and countless other media outlets while still in college. 

This summer, he’ll make his beer mile comeback at the World Beer Mile Classic in Berlin. It’s been nearly four years since we first met, and I caught up with Lewis before his book comes out to talk about the whirlwind of his to fame and what he’s up to now. 

Social media links: 

Lewis Kent

The Beer Runner