the drinkers If you drink alcohol, then non-alcoholic drinks provide a great opportunity to enjoy the pastime without the negative consequences. If you can get past the slightly-different taste (and it’s far better than it was a few years ago), the propect of drinking without getting drunk is a win-win. 28 SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • DECEMBER 2022 “ More than just a fleeting trend, nonalcoholic beverages are here to stay and are fast becoming big business. For many of us, having a drink with your mates is a high point of the week—not so much the morning after. Being able to enjoy the social experience without the hangover, not to mention that you’ll be drinking, on average, half the carbs compared to a normal beer—that’s worth making the switch in my books. of course, non-alcoholic. The friend I shared it with is a drinker, though as a young father he is trying to cut down for the sake of his family. For him, non-alcoholic beer is a brilliant swap-out to enjoy the pastime without the negative consequences of real alcohol. Though it may not be for everyone, I think the trend we’re currently experiencing is for the better, on the whole. Whether you’re a nondrinker, a pub regular or somewhere in-between, there’s more room than ever before to make wiser, more conscionable decisions about what to drink and what to refrain from. the non-drinkers If you don’t typically partake in suds, shooters or bubbly, it is a little more difficult to justify taking up the non-alcoholised versions. If you don’t like or aren’t used to the taste, there is very little in the non-alcoholic catalogue that will fill the void better than any other non-water drink you might usually enjoy. That is, unless your situation is anything like mine. The beer I mentioned sipping that cold autumn day in Jindabyne at the beginning of this article was, SKYNESHER ThGETTY IMAGES Smaller companies like Sobah, Heaps Normal, Bridge Road and more are making it big in this brave new world. Heaps Normal in particular reportedly raised $8.5 million in capital recently11 to fund their expanding enterprise, all the while earning the award for the world’s best no and low alcohol pale ale in the World Beer Awards 2022 (we reached out to Heaps Normal but they declined to comment). More than just a fleeting trend, non-alcoholic beverages are here to stay and are fast becoming big business. As someone who did not grow up around alcohol, the thought of drinking it conscience-free was strange to me. Growing up, my father freely told my siblings and I stories of his misspent youth where alcohol was more often than not the villain of the story. That, and a conviction formed through reading the Bible resulted with me happily staying away from all alcoholic beverages well into my adult life. So, how should we think about this brave new world of alcohol-removed beverages? I’ll split my final thoughts into two categories: 90s-wkd-lambrini-hooch> 4. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Jesse Herford is a pastor and associate editor for the Australian/New Zealand edition of Signs of the Times. He lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife, Carina and their miniature schnauzer, Banjo. 1. 2. 3.