7 ms·

Alcohol-free booze is becoming big business

29 points by edward 2y ago

fredley 2y ago
Anecdotally, my local (UK) brewery’s most profitable beer is their alcohol free one. Partly this is because it’s priced the same as their alcoholic beers, but they pay no duty!
- gadders 2y ago
  This is what pisses me off about non-alcoholic products. They don't take all the duty out of the price of the new product.
  - fredley 2y ago
    I think if they did, they’d sell less of it. Consumers would associate the cheaper price with a poorer quality product (most are probably not directly aware of the amount of duty they’re paying or even that they are). The whole goal of non alcoholic beer is to make it feel as much as a real beer as possible. A big price disparity would create more of a difference.
    - gadders 2y ago
      I'm sure that's what they claim. The bonus profits are just a coincidence. Nosecco, though, is pretty reasonably priced (£3/bottle last time I looked) so kudos to them.
    - maurits 2y ago
      I'd wager that marketing figured out that people are willing to pay a premium for the added feature of not having alcohol. Maybe the same segment that also pays more for premium (healthy, biological etc ) food.
      - whatevertrevor 2y ago
        I'm not sure about that. As a teetotaler, I always cringe at how expensive a virgin mojito <or insert mocktail of choice> is, especially when they serve it in a tiny size appropriate for alcoholic beverages. I'd order a lot more mocktails if they were more reasonably priced.
        ty6853 2y ago
        The alternative is an ethanol drink; there is basically zero economic incentive for a restaurant to lower it more than $1 or so below the price of a cocktail. Sure there's no sin tax but that is essentially pass through to the consumer, and the price competes against already sin taxed items. Beverages at restaurants are always high margin and how they make much of their profits, they offer mocktails so they can capture the highest tier price preference for non alcohol consuming customers.
        whatevertrevor 2y ago
        The incentive is to sell more of them. If they were cheaper, I'd order them occasionally. As currently priced, I'll just have water.
  - mynegation 2y ago
    Not an expert, but as far as I know, the best way to make non-alcoholic drink is to make real thing and then carefully take alcohol out of it, so at least in terms of COGS the producer will spend more money. But mostly I think it is supply demand balance.
    - louthy 2y ago
      That has nothing to do with the tax?
high_na_euv 2y ago
In Poland in last decade there was huge boom of 0% beers
- trwired 2y ago
  Another booming segment is energy drinks. I wonder if these two have a common root, that is a yet-to-be-(re)discovered market for soft drinks marketed towards adults. In the region's early history that niche was occupied by kvass. It is still very popular in ex-Soviet countries, but not so much in the CEE area.
  - Ekaros 2y ago
    Non-alcoholic ciders seem to have about half the sugar content of Cola. So even for non-light drinkers they can be somewhat better albeit more expensive option.
    - OJFord 2y ago
      That's it for me. A lot of the time I drink something alcoholic my requirements actually are just cold (not hot), and not sweet (and other than water). Traditionally that approximately means alcohol! Tomato juice I suppose, iced tea doesn't have to be that sweet, cold brew coffee... But basically it's alcohol. I do now enjoy 0-0.5% 'beer' sometimes, I think it works best when it's not the kind you drink with alcohol, so it's not disappointingly not quite right. E.g. I like the AF versions of Guinness & Bavaria - I don't really drink stouts or lager.
- sebtron 2y ago
  In the last 15 years or so 0% beer has improved from "sparkling piss" to something passable, I bet this explains at least part of it. Nowadays 0% Heineken is almost as good as regular Heineken - which means it is not that good, but you can keep a bottle in your hands and occasionally take a sip while you try to socialize.
- mpawelski 2y ago
  Can confirm. Plus nowadays you can find 0% beers that are actually quite good and very similar in taste to a regular beer. In the past there were really only shifty ones.
Vampiero 2y ago
Same as intercourse-free sex. A big business. But a sad one.
- underyx 2y ago
  Decreased poison intake is not sad, actually.
  - cduzz 2y ago
    The sayings are "the dose makes the poison." or "The solution is dilution." I've found over time that neither aphorism is true. The poison is poison, regardless. Caffeine, Sugar, Plastic, Alcohol, Social media --- all bad like arsenic, but tastier (or more useful). I want to drink some sugar free beverage that's not just water, and find that my only option is typically caffeinated (or alcoholic, which is nearly the same as sugar). So indeed, decreasing poison intake is a good thing. Since life is inevitability fatal, I'll probably not go to the extreme of eliminating any of those.
    - sebstefan 2y ago
      There is a recommended dose of sugar a day, there is no safe dose of alcohol. Same as cigarettes
      - lambdaba 2y ago
        There is a recommended upper limit, your comment makes it sound like sugar is a requirement. I think some people might still believe you "need" sugar, I certainly grew up with that notion.
        cduzz 2y ago
        People need carbohydrates. Sugar is one of the possible ways of getting carbohydrates, certainly one of the most delicious. You won't get sick if you get your carbohydrates from some non sucrose / fructose source.
alganet 2y ago
A billion dollar alcohol-free booze industry is a great way to advertise your trillion dollar alcohol business that had several advertisement restrictions placed worldwide in the latest decades. Just put a 0% in the name and continue advertising the same brand, keep the same multi-billion dollar deals, etc. It's disgusting.
teractiveodular 2y ago
https://archive.is/2025.01.06-190547/https://www.economist.com/business/2025/01/06/alcohol-free-booze-is-becoming-big-business https://archive.is/2025.01.06-190547/https://www.economist.c...
jollyllama 2y ago
Is this a function of key demographics (i.e. millenials) aging? Is it possible that a decline in general health has resulted in people physically not processing alcohol as well compared to prior cohorts?
- lm28469 2y ago
  From what I understand zoomers are more concerned about their health, at least more than previous generations. That's one of the good things that came out of "influencers": sport, nutrition, no smoking, &c. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/genz/2024/01/2024-01-23d.html https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/genz/2024/01...
  - Daneel_ 2y ago
    That, and alcohol is just so expensive.
    - vladvasiliu 2y ago
      Well, the subject of the thread being "alcohol-free booze", I don't think that's a reason. Around these parts, these kinds of drinks are quite expensive, comparable to the higher-end alcoholic equivalents.
  - globular-toast 2y ago
    Not smoking is a millennial thing. So expect smoking to come back as the children of millennials rebel against their parents.
    - Ekaros 2y ago
      I think increase in vaping might be more likely. Smoking controls start to be big in many countries. And there is lot less for vaping. So it has lot less sacrifices for similar effect.
- rob74 2y ago
  I suspect it's not a decline in general health, it's more the fact that people not used to consuming large amounts of alcohol will have more trouble processing it...
teractiveodular 2y ago
> Brands are doing what they can to lift the appeal of alcohol-free alternatives. In Indonesia and India, public alcohol advertising is basically banned, so for decades you've seen huge outdoor ads for Bintang Zero (which is terrible) and Kingfisher Water (same logo as the beer) for the sole purpose of circumventing these laws.
- rpastuszak 2y ago
  I remember the same happening in Poland ca. 15-20 years ago (I’m not sure if that’s still the case). Another way of sneaking in alcohol into ads relied on linguistic jokes, e.g.: You’ll get an ad telling people that Bols (a vodka brand) sponsored a boat with the same name. In Polish łódka Bols (the Bols boat, /wootkah/) sounds almost the same as wódka Bols (Bols vodka /vootkah/). Given the stronger association between the word Bols and vodka it requires a conscious effort not to hear the implied word vs what is actually spoken. Sinister, but gotta admire the chutzpah. I few weeks back I saw some ads for cocktails with alcohol free gin (in Italy IIRC)
- jackstraw14 2y ago
  Pretty sure you see Heineken Zero ads all over some Formula 1 tracks for the same reason.
rob74 2y ago
Alcohol free beer is nice, what I don't get is alcohol free spirits. Above a certain alcohol content, the burning sensation caused by the alcohol is part of the experience of drinking it, and that can't be replicated without alcohol. So alcohol-free gin is maybe good for cocktails, but does anybody really drink it in its pure form?
- foooorsyth 2y ago
  Just being able to hold a drink in your hand as social cover is part of what you’re buying. At a Christmas party, you just want to have what appears to be the peppermint Christmas-themed drink in your hand like everyone else, even if you’re pregnant or don’t drink for whatever reason. People will stop asking if they can get you a drink. Not everyone buying an NA drink cares about perfectly emulating the sensation of alcohol entering the body.
  - chung8123 2y ago
    Tonic and lime or club soda and lime can do that as well.
    - kasey_junk 2y ago
      If you allow yourself a touch of alcohol bitters in tonic or club soda is another good choice.
    - globular-toast 2y ago
      Yes. Discovering lime soda is what allowed me to stop drinking alcohol. Prior to that I would feel the peer pressure to have an alcoholic drink. For some reason water is unacceptable. Coca cola or similar is OK, but very unhealthy. Lime soda seems to be the minimum that is allowed and doesn't seem too unhealthy. The other trick is making the drink last for as long as you can. As soon as the drink is finished you are required to obtain another one. But nobody needs to drink multiple litres of fluid in the space of a few hours, plus it's expensive. So I take tiny sips and make half a litre last an hour or longer.
- 2y ago
SebFender 2y ago
Alcohol is the unknown killer, not talked enough in health and part of so many complications, I'm happy to see this now a bigger business. I'm not really seeing these products over here but hope it gets more traction. To anyone touched by this, great news can only come from it.
- BoxFour 2y ago
  It’s a topic that comes up quite often in recent years, so I don’t know what you mean by “not talked enough in health”. The Surgeon General recently issued a warning about it, plenty of popular science articles about how even small amounts are unhealthy, and younger generations are drinking quite a bit less.
  - SebFender 2y ago
    In certain circles maybe - but in generally relationships with major problems, cancers and so on are really under the radar.
- chii 2y ago
  you're assuming the increase in non-alcoholic drink sales is due to a decrease in alcoholic ones.
  - SebFender 2y ago
    No but I do hope it does - That's my call for the future - alcohol is a destroyer and needs to be held as such - just like smoking and drugs.
nunesvn 2y ago
[flagged]
- sebstefan 2y ago
  [flagged]
bloomingkales 2y ago
[dead]
cantSpellSober 2y ago
N/A beer lists the calories on the can, as a bonus I don't wanna guess how many calories are in the quadruple IPAs I've had
dinkblam 2y ago
Instead of selling you extremely expensive juice that has no effect apart from increasing your belly and decreasing your wallet they should ideally try to develop something that has the positive attributes of alcohol without the negative side-effects. There is Sentia ( https://sentiaspirits.com https://sentiaspirits.com ) but so far it has basically little to no effect.
- a12k 2y ago
  It has an awesome effect of being able to more effortlessly spend time with friends, of whom 50% of them drink alcohol, in environments that are generally meant for alcohol drinking like cocktail bars and pubs. You’ll also be happy to know that NA cocktails and NA beers tend to have substantially less calories, so better for the “belly” than alcohol-based drinks. Further, if you’re going to look at it through the lens you’ve chosen, I recommend just drinking water, which has been shown to have strong positive side effects without the downsides on calories or cost.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
mk89 2y ago
This is visible also in Germany since 5-10 years. There has been now some development of really tasty alternatives, from the classic "radler" now with a mix with everything (e.g., Becks Ice) to 0.0% alcohol like Bitburger Isotonic, which is really tasty and refreshing. Wine, on the other hand, is impossible to make alcohol free.
sbuttgereit 2y ago
I like beer. One might say it makes me a jolly good fellow... but... I use to really dislike non-alcoholic beer. Not because I had any problem with the idea of it, but because they all tasted like crap. These days, I'm finding that there are some I actually like. By taste, they are clearly not regular beers: they have to be taken as their own thing. But they're not bad at all and they are close enough to satisfy the want of a nice beer. I like them when I don't want any of the effects of the alcohol... maybe I'm working on something that requires, you know, thought, or I will drink them during my monthly poker game. I'm glad there are more and better choices. What I am missing is something in between the full-on-not-worried-about-alcohol beers and non-alcoholic beers. I want a good range of choices in "small beers", where they're good and they'll get me relaxed but I can have a few without getting too buzzed or drunk. I've seen some advertised here and there (none anywhere close to where I live). As for non-alcoholic spirits, I agree with those that don't get it. The spirits I like depend far too much on the interaction of alcohol and how it evaporates for the overall experience to see the point.
jakubmazanec 2y ago
I recommend non-alcoholic beers from Nilio [1]. Probably only available in Czechia and Slovakia though. [1] https://www.pivonilio.cz/ https://www.pivonilio.cz/
lambdaba 2y ago
Just curious - why is this flagged?
- archagon 2y ago
  Maybe some drinkers are triggered by the idea that not everyone wants to drink alcohol? It’s a bizarre attitude but one that I’ve certainly encountered before.
zabil 2y ago
I enjoy the taste of hops and personally, I find zero version better than their alcoholic counterparts, not sure everyone else feels like that. I wonder why it took the market so long to boom in this segment. Nice to see other recommendations.
- nojvek 2y ago
  Zero IPA is really good
bellgrove 2y ago
Anecdotally I've found that almost all alcohol-free cocktails on the menu are priced the same as regular version cocktails; like $15-$20! In Canada, at least, I believe there are licensing and taxes that contribute to the price of alcoholic beverages, so I don't understand why an alcohol-free cocktail should cost anywhere close to the regular drink.
InfiniteRand 2y ago
I'm curious how many people tasted beer for the first time, and purely based on the taste wanted to drink more. My impression, and this might just be limited exposure, is most bitter drinks are niche products unless they deliver alcohol or caffeine. Does anyone have a good counter-example?

29 points by edward 2y ago

Anecdotally, my local (UK) brewery’s most profitable beer is their alcohol free one. Partly this is because it’s priced the same as their alcoholic beers, but they pay no duty!

gadders 2y ago
This is what pisses me off about non-alcoholic products. They don't take all the duty out of the price of the new product.
- fredley 2y ago
  I think if they did, they’d sell less of it. Consumers would associate the cheaper price with a poorer quality product (most are probably not directly aware of the amount of duty they’re paying or even that they are). The whole goal of non alcoholic beer is to make it feel as much as a real beer as possible. A big price disparity would create more of a difference.
  - gadders 2y ago
    I'm sure that's what they claim. The bonus profits are just a coincidence. Nosecco, though, is pretty reasonably priced (£3/bottle last time I looked) so kudos to them.
  - maurits 2y ago
    I'd wager that marketing figured out that people are willing to pay a premium for the added feature of not having alcohol. Maybe the same segment that also pays more for premium (healthy, biological etc ) food.
    - whatevertrevor 2y ago
      I'm not sure about that. As a teetotaler, I always cringe at how expensive a virgin mojito <or insert mocktail of choice> is, especially when they serve it in a tiny size appropriate for alcoholic beverages. I'd order a lot more mocktails if they were more reasonably priced.
      - ty6853 2y ago
        The alternative is an ethanol drink; there is basically zero economic incentive for a restaurant to lower it more than $1 or so below the price of a cocktail. Sure there's no sin tax but that is essentially pass through to the consumer, and the price competes against already sin taxed items. Beverages at restaurants are always high margin and how they make much of their profits, they offer mocktails so they can capture the highest tier price preference for non alcohol consuming customers.
        whatevertrevor 2y ago
        The incentive is to sell more of them. If they were cheaper, I'd order them occasionally. As currently priced, I'll just have water.
- mynegation 2y ago
  Not an expert, but as far as I know, the best way to make non-alcoholic drink is to make real thing and then carefully take alcohol out of it, so at least in terms of COGS the producer will spend more money. But mostly I think it is supply demand balance.
  - louthy 2y ago
    That has nothing to do with the tax?

high_na_euv 2y ago

In Poland in last decade there was huge boom of 0% beers

trwired 2y ago
Another booming segment is energy drinks. I wonder if these two have a common root, that is a yet-to-be-(re)discovered market for soft drinks marketed towards adults. In the region's early history that niche was occupied by kvass. It is still very popular in ex-Soviet countries, but not so much in the CEE area.
- Ekaros 2y ago
  Non-alcoholic ciders seem to have about half the sugar content of Cola. So even for non-light drinkers they can be somewhat better albeit more expensive option.
  - OJFord 2y ago
    That's it for me. A lot of the time I drink something alcoholic my requirements actually are just cold (not hot), and not sweet (and other than water). Traditionally that approximately means alcohol! Tomato juice I suppose, iced tea doesn't have to be that sweet, cold brew coffee... But basically it's alcohol. I do now enjoy 0-0.5% 'beer' sometimes, I think it works best when it's not the kind you drink with alcohol, so it's not disappointingly not quite right. E.g. I like the AF versions of Guinness & Bavaria - I don't really drink stouts or lager.
sebtron 2y ago
In the last 15 years or so 0% beer has improved from "sparkling piss" to something passable, I bet this explains at least part of it. Nowadays 0% Heineken is almost as good as regular Heineken - which means it is not that good, but you can keep a bottle in your hands and occasionally take a sip while you try to socialize.
mpawelski 2y ago
Can confirm. Plus nowadays you can find 0% beers that are actually quite good and very similar in taste to a regular beer. In the past there were really only shifty ones.

Vampiero 2y ago

Same as intercourse-free sex. A big business. But a sad one.

underyx 2y ago
Decreased poison intake is not sad, actually.
- cduzz 2y ago
  The sayings are "the dose makes the poison." or "The solution is dilution." I've found over time that neither aphorism is true. The poison is poison, regardless. Caffeine, Sugar, Plastic, Alcohol, Social media --- all bad like arsenic, but tastier (or more useful). I want to drink some sugar free beverage that's not just water, and find that my only option is typically caffeinated (or alcoholic, which is nearly the same as sugar). So indeed, decreasing poison intake is a good thing. Since life is inevitability fatal, I'll probably not go to the extreme of eliminating any of those.
  - sebstefan 2y ago
    There is a recommended dose of sugar a day, there is no safe dose of alcohol. Same as cigarettes
    - lambdaba 2y ago
      There is a recommended upper limit, your comment makes it sound like sugar is a requirement. I think some people might still believe you "need" sugar, I certainly grew up with that notion.
      - cduzz 2y ago
        People need carbohydrates. Sugar is one of the possible ways of getting carbohydrates, certainly one of the most delicious. You won't get sick if you get your carbohydrates from some non sucrose / fructose source.

alganet 2y ago

A billion dollar alcohol-free booze industry is a great way to advertise your trillion dollar alcohol business that had several advertisement restrictions placed worldwide in the latest decades. Just put a 0% in the name and continue advertising the same brand, keep the same multi-billion dollar deals, etc. It's disgusting.

teractiveodular 2y ago

https://archive.is/2025.01.06-190547/https://www.economist.com/business/2025/01/06/alcohol-free-booze-is-becoming-big-business https://archive.is/2025.01.06-190547/https://www.economist.c...

jollyllama 2y ago

Is this a function of key demographics (i.e. millenials) aging? Is it possible that a decline in general health has resulted in people physically not processing alcohol as well compared to prior cohorts?

lm28469 2y ago
From what I understand zoomers are more concerned about their health, at least more than previous generations. That's one of the good things that came out of "influencers": sport, nutrition, no smoking, &c. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/genz/2024/01/2024-01-23d.html https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/genz/2024/01...
- Daneel_ 2y ago
  That, and alcohol is just so expensive.
  - vladvasiliu 2y ago
    Well, the subject of the thread being "alcohol-free booze", I don't think that's a reason. Around these parts, these kinds of drinks are quite expensive, comparable to the higher-end alcoholic equivalents.
- globular-toast 2y ago
  Not smoking is a millennial thing. So expect smoking to come back as the children of millennials rebel against their parents.
  - Ekaros 2y ago
    I think increase in vaping might be more likely. Smoking controls start to be big in many countries. And there is lot less for vaping. So it has lot less sacrifices for similar effect.
rob74 2y ago
I suspect it's not a decline in general health, it's more the fact that people not used to consuming large amounts of alcohol will have more trouble processing it...

teractiveodular 2y ago

> Brands are doing what they can to lift the appeal of alcohol-free alternatives. In Indonesia and India, public alcohol advertising is basically banned, so for decades you've seen huge outdoor ads for Bintang Zero (which is terrible) and Kingfisher Water (same logo as the beer) for the sole purpose of circumventing these laws.

rpastuszak 2y ago
I remember the same happening in Poland ca. 15-20 years ago (I’m not sure if that’s still the case). Another way of sneaking in alcohol into ads relied on linguistic jokes, e.g.: You’ll get an ad telling people that Bols (a vodka brand) sponsored a boat with the same name. In Polish łódka Bols (the Bols boat, /wootkah/) sounds almost the same as wódka Bols (Bols vodka /vootkah/). Given the stronger association between the word Bols and vodka it requires a conscious effort not to hear the implied word vs what is actually spoken. Sinister, but gotta admire the chutzpah. I few weeks back I saw some ads for cocktails with alcohol free gin (in Italy IIRC)
jackstraw14 2y ago
Pretty sure you see Heineken Zero ads all over some Formula 1 tracks for the same reason.

rob74 2y ago

Alcohol free beer is nice, what I don't get is alcohol free spirits. Above a certain alcohol content, the burning sensation caused by the alcohol is part of the experience of drinking it, and that can't be replicated without alcohol. So alcohol-free gin is maybe good for cocktails, but does anybody really drink it in its pure form?

foooorsyth 2y ago
Just being able to hold a drink in your hand as social cover is part of what you’re buying. At a Christmas party, you just want to have what appears to be the peppermint Christmas-themed drink in your hand like everyone else, even if you’re pregnant or don’t drink for whatever reason. People will stop asking if they can get you a drink. Not everyone buying an NA drink cares about perfectly emulating the sensation of alcohol entering the body.
- chung8123 2y ago
  Tonic and lime or club soda and lime can do that as well.
  - kasey_junk 2y ago
    If you allow yourself a touch of alcohol bitters in tonic or club soda is another good choice.
  - globular-toast 2y ago
    Yes. Discovering lime soda is what allowed me to stop drinking alcohol. Prior to that I would feel the peer pressure to have an alcoholic drink. For some reason water is unacceptable. Coca cola or similar is OK, but very unhealthy. Lime soda seems to be the minimum that is allowed and doesn't seem too unhealthy. The other trick is making the drink last for as long as you can. As soon as the drink is finished you are required to obtain another one. But nobody needs to drink multiple litres of fluid in the space of a few hours, plus it's expensive. So I take tiny sips and make half a litre last an hour or longer.
2y ago

SebFender 2y ago

Alcohol is the unknown killer, not talked enough in health and part of so many complications, I'm happy to see this now a bigger business. I'm not really seeing these products over here but hope it gets more traction. To anyone touched by this, great news can only come from it.

BoxFour 2y ago
It’s a topic that comes up quite often in recent years, so I don’t know what you mean by “not talked enough in health”. The Surgeon General recently issued a warning about it, plenty of popular science articles about how even small amounts are unhealthy, and younger generations are drinking quite a bit less.
- SebFender 2y ago
  In certain circles maybe - but in generally relationships with major problems, cancers and so on are really under the radar.
chii 2y ago
you're assuming the increase in non-alcoholic drink sales is due to a decrease in alcoholic ones.
- SebFender 2y ago
  No but I do hope it does - That's my call for the future - alcohol is a destroyer and needs to be held as such - just like smoking and drugs.

nunesvn 2y ago

[flagged]

sebstefan 2y ago
[flagged]

bloomingkales 2y ago

[dead]

cantSpellSober 2y ago

N/A beer lists the calories on the can, as a bonus I don't wanna guess how many calories are in the quadruple IPAs I've had

dinkblam 2y ago

Instead of selling you extremely expensive juice that has no effect apart from increasing your belly and decreasing your wallet they should ideally try to develop something that has the positive attributes of alcohol without the negative side-effects. There is Sentia ( https://sentiaspirits.com https://sentiaspirits.com ) but so far it has basically little to no effect.

a12k 2y ago
It has an awesome effect of being able to more effortlessly spend time with friends, of whom 50% of them drink alcohol, in environments that are generally meant for alcohol drinking like cocktail bars and pubs. You’ll also be happy to know that NA cocktails and NA beers tend to have substantially less calories, so better for the “belly” than alcohol-based drinks. Further, if you’re going to look at it through the lens you’ve chosen, I recommend just drinking water, which has been shown to have strong positive side effects without the downsides on calories or cost.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

mk89 2y ago

This is visible also in Germany since 5-10 years. There has been now some development of really tasty alternatives, from the classic "radler" now with a mix with everything (e.g., Becks Ice) to 0.0% alcohol like Bitburger Isotonic, which is really tasty and refreshing. Wine, on the other hand, is impossible to make alcohol free.

sbuttgereit 2y ago

I like beer. One might say it makes me a jolly good fellow... but... I use to really dislike non-alcoholic beer. Not because I had any problem with the idea of it, but because they all tasted like crap. These days, I'm finding that there are some I actually like. By taste, they are clearly not regular beers: they have to be taken as their own thing. But they're not bad at all and they are close enough to satisfy the want of a nice beer. I like them when I don't want any of the effects of the alcohol... maybe I'm working on something that requires, you know, thought, or I will drink them during my monthly poker game. I'm glad there are more and better choices. What I am missing is something in between the full-on-not-worried-about-alcohol beers and non-alcoholic beers. I want a good range of choices in "small beers", where they're good and they'll get me relaxed but I can have a few without getting too buzzed or drunk. I've seen some advertised here and there (none anywhere close to where I live). As for non-alcoholic spirits, I agree with those that don't get it. The spirits I like depend far too much on the interaction of alcohol and how it evaporates for the overall experience to see the point.

jakubmazanec 2y ago

I recommend non-alcoholic beers from Nilio [1]. Probably only available in Czechia and Slovakia though. [1] https://www.pivonilio.cz/ https://www.pivonilio.cz/

lambdaba 2y ago

Just curious - why is this flagged?

archagon 2y ago
Maybe some drinkers are triggered by the idea that not everyone wants to drink alcohol? It’s a bizarre attitude but one that I’ve certainly encountered before.

zabil 2y ago

I enjoy the taste of hops and personally, I find zero version better than their alcoholic counterparts, not sure everyone else feels like that. I wonder why it took the market so long to boom in this segment. Nice to see other recommendations.

nojvek 2y ago
Zero IPA is really good

bellgrove 2y ago

Anecdotally I've found that almost all alcohol-free cocktails on the menu are priced the same as regular version cocktails; like $15-$20! In Canada, at least, I believe there are licensing and taxes that contribute to the price of alcoholic beverages, so I don't understand why an alcohol-free cocktail should cost anywhere close to the regular drink.

InfiniteRand 2y ago

I'm curious how many people tasted beer for the first time, and purely based on the taste wanted to drink more. My impression, and this might just be limited exposure, is most bitter drinks are niche products unless they deliver alcohol or caffeine. Does anyone have a good counter-example?