Non-alcoholic booze isn’t about stopping the fun – it’s about keeping the party going, well into middle age…
Summer 2022 has, without a doubt, been the summer of excess. It marked the first real liberation from lockdown and, I don’t know about you, but we’ve all more than made up for it. Even the weather treated us to excessive temperatures in July – all in all, it provided the perfect conditions for having ‘one too many’ every day! Except… we didn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I love an ice-cold rosé when the heat rises, or a jug of Pimm’s at a barbeque, but I’m equally happy now to quench my thirst with a non-alcoholic G&T or ‘zero’ lager, too.
Working in the food and drink industry, I’ve definitely seen a dramatic shift towards non- or low-alcohol drinks in the last couple of years. While ‘non-alcoholic booze’ sounds like a complete paradox, you know it’s not a fad when global brands like Heineken are plastering their alcohol-free beers on billboards at all major sporting events.
Like it or not, the market is expanding, and it’s doing so in response to the way in which the world is moving. ‘Non-alcs’ are a new breed of consumer – whereas before they were people who had reasons to avoid alcohol (illness, pregnancy, drivers), now they simply choose not to.
Maybe it’s a legacy from Covid when we couldn’t socialise in pubs or clubs but equally we didn’t want to drink every night at home on our own. Or maybe it’s a response to the fact that younger people seem to be more clued up about what alcohol really does to our bodies (I’m just starting to reach that age when even one G&T seems to catch up with me in the morning – if only I’d listened to my non-alc 18-year-old son!). The fact is that last year, sales of non-alcoholic drinks increased by over 300% globally.
There was a time when the only alcohol-free alternative was the dreaded Kaliber beer or Eisberg wine, and to be honest you’d have been better off sticking with a Diet Coke. Now, though, there are countless non- or low-alcohol options at the bar which replicate the quality drinking experience we are accustomed to – and, crucially, are seen as more than acceptable alternatives.
You may think I’m delusional, but I really think producers have cracked non-alcoholic lager and cider, with spirits not far behind. Many of these are top quality, premium offerings, spear-headed by small, local producers who are innovating with small-batch, craft drinks and sophisticated flavours.
I love that there’s now so much choice on the market for those days when I don’t want alcohol. But just as I don’t call myself vegetarian because I have meat-free days, I would never claim to be a teetotaller – I could call myself a flexi-drinker, but having previously panned the term, I probably shouldn’t! Whatever I am, my head – and liver – thank me for it!
Going non-alc in the Cotswolds
Hogan’s Cider High Sobriety
One of our favourite local cider producers, Allen Hogan created his 1% ABV cider at the request of his wife, Jane. Just as you’d expect from a Hogan’s cider, this is authentically pressed to produce a light, medium-dry, refreshing and lightly sparkling drink that tastes just like cider. It was a unanimous winner on TV’s Sunday Brunch and has won many other plaudits
Cotswold Green No 1 Alcohol-free spirit
Developed by WC Fowler & Sons in Tewkesbury, this blend of botanicals is to all intents and purposes a non-alcoholic gin and makes a fantastic alcohol-free G&T. Traditionally distilled, you get the same hints of juniper, spice and citrus and a smooth, clean taste. The extracted oils are deliberately retained to help deliver a fuller flavour.
Butcombe Brewery Goram IPA Zero
Based on Butcombe’s multi-award-winning Goram IPA recipe, the Zero version manages to have all the aroma, taste and flavour of a normal IPA. Made with a punchy blend of UK, USA and New Zealand hops which balance stone fruit, citrus and bitter notes, it is also a SIBA Gold award-winner in its own right.
Warner’s Supermarkets is the headline sponsor for the 2022 20th Anniversary Cotswold Life Food & Drink Awards. foodawards.cotswoldlife.co.uk
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