Cutting Down or Cutting Out
Cutting Down or Cutting Out
By Pattie Pegler
Images: Supplied
With Dry July just around the corner, it could be the ideal time to try out a little ‘sober curious’ living. If that sends shivers down your spine as you recall slightly sour white wine that so often used to be the low alcohol option – think again. No alcohol and low alcohol options are changing – and they’re getting much, much better.
Zero beers are our fastest growing menu item,” says Kerry Mason of Five Stags in Rangiora. “As a culture we’re taught that we need alcohol to have a good time but zero alc is turning that idea on its head. Zero beers are really, really good - which is the seller for most people and make it not just a “fad”.
It’s an idea echoed by Amanda Boock, who set up no-alcohol drinks seller, The Chiller, two years ago. “One of the comments we often get is ‘I can’t believe the variety of products,’” she says.
The business has doubled in two years and, after Auckland, their second biggest sales region is Canterbury and Christchurch with a lot of their customers living rurally. No alcohol drinks mean you can offer designated drivers something other than apple juice – it’s good hosting.
The business has doubled since she set it up and their second biggest sales region is Canterbury and Christchurch with a lot of their customers living rurally. No alcohol drinks mean you can offer designated drivers something other than apple juice – it’s good hosting.
The Benefits
Aside from the purely practical, there are many health benefits to swerving the alcohol. From more energy and greater mental clarity to better sleep and even better skin. Amanda herself ditched the drink when she felt it was starting to have a negative effect. With a baby and a toddler and back injury following the birth, she was using alcohol to relax. It was a cycle that robbed her sleep and left her unmotivated during the day – missing out on time with her family and not looking after her health. So she stopped completely and felt ‘remarkable’ she says.
But as anyone who has tried to change a habit knows, it can be tricky. For many of us ditching the evening glass of wine is effectively ditching a ritual. A time to relax or catch up with friends or cook dinner or mark the end of the day. That glass of wine or beer can be all those things -and swapping that for a sugary soft drink just doesn’t cut it. Now non-alcoholic drinks allow you to have a ‘grown up’ drink and still enjoy your social ritual without the negative effects.
So What’s Available
Most shoppers will have noticed an increase in low-alcohol and no-alcohol options – whether in stores or online. There are no alcohol gins, beers, wines and RTD cocktails.
Some are simply made with no alcohol, whilst others have the alcohol removed. There are various ways to do this from ‘spinning comb technology’ which extracts alcohol from wine to particular types of yeast that don’t produce alcohol in beer brewing. “There is some very cool innovation in the no-alcohol space,” says Amanda.
Andrew agrees. “I don't have any personal favourites but it always comes down to personal choice and now there are great options in beer, wine, spirits and pre-mixed drinks.”
So if you’ve always dismissed zero alcohol options as pale imitations of the real thing – then it’s time to revisit what’s on offer. You never know – you might just find a new favourite drink and a healthier lifestyle.
