Danville Man Launches Canned Vodka Seltzer Drinks

DANVILLE, CA — A Danville man has launched a craft canned vodka seltzer brand sold in stores throughout the Tri-Valley and the East Bay.

Brad Layous said in an email that he launched parent company Community Beverage Co. in late 2020 "to create a drink that I loved and a brand that represented my personal passions and values." His vodka seltzer brand, Krushwell, was born of a love for homemade hard seltzers and dissatisfaction with the cliched flavors found in stores. "It was just this sea of the same stuff," he said.

"I couldn’t get this idea out of my head and knew I’d regret it if I didn’t pursue it," Layous said.

Enter Krushwell, which launched in June with a focus on East Bay retailers. It's a seltzer made with electrolytes but without fermented cane sugar and artificial ingredients, he said.

Layous said he currently offers two flavors — blackberry mint and lemon ginger — and more are coming. Each 12-ounce can is 100 calories, sugar free, carb free and gluten free and contains 5.2 percent alcohol by volume.

Layous is passionate about health and fitness, so Krushwell donates a portion of sales to independent local gyms and studios "as a way of saying thank you for taking care of all of us, especially during these challenging times," he said.

"The brand is inspired by the culture, spirit and style of the massive and engaged fitness community, personified by challenge, camaraderie and character," Layous said. "My vision is to bring the spirit of this community to as many as we can."

Krushwell is sold at 13 East Bay locations, most of which are in the Tri-Valley.

Primo's Pizzeria & Pub is the first restaurant to put Krushwell on its menu and has held two tasting events, said Primo's Marketing and Events Manager Lindsey Swift. The launch has been a success.

So far patrons have been happy to drink a vodka seltzer that doesn't cause a brutal hangover or leave a bad aftertaste, she said. And they're happy to be supporting a local business and "helping out a fellow Danvillian," Swift said.

Primo's began sells Krushwells by the can but has since started selling them by the bucket. Restaurant employees joke that "Krushwell is crushing it with a 'K,'" she said.