Are you sober curious? No wonder alcohol-free drinks are on the rise

It’s no longer a faux pas to show up to dinner with a non-alcoholic bottle of something.

It’s no longer a faux pas to show up to dinner with a non-alcoholic bottle of something.

It's the beginning of Dry July but the alcohol-free booze business has been booming all year.

As recently as five years ago, people scoffed at ads from Heineken and Peroni about zero alcohol beers, but those products are flying off the shelves now and a whole host of new companies are joining in.

Lyre's Non-Alcoholic Spirit Co, launched three years ago by two Queensland entrepreneurs and now stocked at Woolworths, is now in 70 countries and selling a bottle every 30 seconds. Popular markets include the Middle East - especially in the completely dry Saudi Arabia - as well as among Aussies on Dry July.

17,000 people officially join Dry July to raise money for cancer, but a lot more do it to "test themselves" or to "detox". 

As non-alcoholic drinks become "more mainstream", other Aussie breweries like Heaps Normal and Big Drop Brewing Co. have found success in the industry, joined by wineries such as Plus & Minus and Non and distilleries like Seadrift and Lyre.

According to 2021 IWSR Drinks Market analysis, behind the groundswell of this youth-driven sober curiosity, the non-alcoholic beverages industry is booming, with expectations that it will grow around 16% by 2024.

This curiosity perhaps springs from our overabsorption of drinking culture in childhood, our overconsumption of alcohol in young adulthood and the increasingly health-conscious world we live in. Every type of lifestyle is available to view through online communities. 

Although, one in every four Aussies ‘drinks too much’ (consuming more than ten drinks a week or five a day at least once a month), it's mostly likely to be those aged between 45-64.

Since it’s no longer a faux pas to show up to dinner with a non-alcoholic bottle of something, we’ve asked and answered three of the most common questions about the newest beverage trend. 

How are non-alcoholic beverages made? 

The whole concept of non-alcoholic beverages defies logic at first. What is beer and wine without the booze? Is it just juice?

But, when you look at how these drinks are made, it all starts to come together. 

The key thing to understand is that, for the most part, non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits are made the same way as the regular versions — at least at first. Take non-alcoholic beer for example. It’s normally brewed just like beer, and then when it’s ready, it’s de-alcoholised, usually through steam distillation, leaving the same great taste, but only trace amounts of alcohol. 

The same goes for non-alcoholic spirits which are typically made via a normal distillation process with extra steam distillation at the end. 

There are other methods too, such as cold filtration, which is common for wine, where the natural flavours are maintained while the alcohol is removed. But, for the most part, all of them take the products we know and love, remove the alcohol and leave us with the same great taste and experience. 

Which are the best ones to try? 

When it comes to the most awarded non-alcoholic drinks, Lyre’s and Non’s standout as heavy favourites with lots of success at the Drink Easy non-alcoholic drink awards in the past.

And on the beer front, there is a whole slew of options you can try, but our go-to (and the most common one you’ll find at the pub) is Heaps Normal. 

If you’re after something a bit more familiar, the zero alcohol beers from Great Northern and James Squire are excellent, whereas Edenvale and Spanish company Freixenet are strong choices in the wine department. 

Why drink non-alcoholic anyway? 

Drinking non-alcoholic may not seem like something that applies to you if you think you’ve got your drinking under control, but the reality for many of us (one in four, to be precise) is that we are drinking an unhealthy amount of alcohol — which can lead to a whole host of health issues in future life. 

And, in a society that is primed towards drinking as a social activity, it can be difficult to slow down or stop without something to take the place of the glass or bottle in your hand.

Of course, it’s healthier (and cheaper) to just hang out with a tasty water, but who wants that? It just doesn’t feel as joyous as popping a bottle of something or sharing a six-pack, regardless of whether it’s actually intoxicating or not.