Truth be told, no corner of the shop has seen more evolution since we opened than non-alcoholic drinks. What began as a few sodas and kombuchas has turned into a veritable wonderland of possibilities that now spans everything from prebiotic fizzes and sparkling teas to ginger tonics, cactus water and Italian aperitivo – and we are here for it. So are a whole lot of other people too, apparently, if the numbers are any indication, with the market expected to grow at an annual rate of 5% over the next few years. Whether you’ve given up grog forever, consider yourself “Sober Curious” or simply need a day off and something delicious in hand, here's a little more info on what’s what.
NON-ALC WINE!
Not unlike booze-free beers,
non-
alcoholic wines (or the good ones, anyway) go through the whole production cycle before the hard stuff gets removed. Some folks achieve this through reverse osmosis to filter out the alcohol with pressure, whereas others get there by gently heating the wine in a vacuum. There’s probably nobody out there doing it better than
Kolonne Null, the Berlin-based brand that’s scoured the globe for best practices and put more than 1,000 wines through its own dealcoholisation process. They only partner with serious growers, and the final product really speaks for itself. Having said that, don’t overlook the delicately spiced
Señorio de la Tautila Tinto or anything from SA's
Plus & Minus imprint, which has the bonus of grape seed extract for extra antoxidants.
NON-ALC BEER!
Turns out
non-
alcoholic beer isn’t too different from the real deal, brewed mostly the same way with the same four key ingredients: water, grains, hops and yeast. Removing the alcohol is where it gets tricky. Mostly, this gets done by diluting and boiling off the ethanol after the fact or extracting the alcohol via pressure, both of which tarnish body and flavour. More brewers are now turning to high-tech methods like vacuum distillation to lower the alcohol’s boiling-off point and experimenting with specialised yeast strains so that nothing is sacrificed in the process.
Sobah, the Indigenous-owned and operated outfit out of Queensland, has long been a pioneer in this space and the bar has only gotten higher, with the arrival of
Heaps Normal and Perth-based
Lightning Minds.
SHRUBS!
Put simply, a shrub is a sour-sweet syrup made from infusing fresh fruit with vinegar, sugar and other aromatics. The term ‘shrub’ is thought to be derived from ‘sharaba’, the Arabic word for a drink or wine, and there’s evidence that vinegar-based drinks have been around as long as wine, or some 8,000 years. The cordial-like shrub took off in 17th century England, where citrus and vinegar were used to preserve fruit, and it carried over to America where the drink was enjoyed with water, soda or alcohol for decades before the days of refrigeration and commercial cola production. Here on home turf, naturopath Genna Pyewacket is laying down the gauntlet for small-batch shrubs up in the Northern Rivers, and her hyper-seasonal shrubs, tonics and bitters are standouts in every respect, crammed with distinct flavour and character. Better yet, they’re all made from local (often ‘ugly’) produce, without any extract or colour added and 1% of profits go to First Nations organisations like Seed Mob and Sisters Inside. So good.
ADAPTOGENS AND NOOTROPICS!
If there’s a new frontier in the
non-
alc universe, it’s the world of nootropics and adaptogens, words you’ve probably seen on more and more labels lately. What are these? Basically, mood-boosting ingredients designed to mellow anxiety, spark creativity and switch you on. You may have heard nootropics, such as L-theanine (an amino acid found in mushrooms and tea), being referred to as “smart drugs” for their ability to enhance focus and relaxation. Adaptogens, meanwhile, typically fall under the umbrella of plants, mushrooms and herbs that help manage stress and maintain balance, some of which you may know or even take (ginseng, gingko, cordyceps, Rhodiola rosea). The jury’s still out on these “functional drinks”, although some research has yielded positive outcomes even if, like anything else, their effects vary from person to person. Trying a tin or two of
TULA or
Dayse’s Functional Spritzes certainly won’t hurt – and even if it's a placebo, there are far worse things than a top drink with perceived cognitive benefits.
