To celebrate the 4th July weekend we are taking a look at all things alcohol-free in the U.S. 

The sober-curious movement that emerged prior to the start of the pandemic has only accelerated. With a growing interest in sobriety and sober curiosity, the increased popularity in a health and wellness driven lifestyle has seen a surge in alcohol-free bars to accommodate.

The Getaway Bar in Brooklyn and Sans Bar in Austin, Texas are looking to normalise the idea that people will happily pay $10 - $15 for an intricate alcohol-free cocktail. Sans Bar saw customers gather at outdoor tables, enjoying live music and drinks such as the Watermelon Mockarita, the Rosemary Ginger Mules and non-alcoholic IPAs. Listen Bar, a non-alcoholic pop-up venue, recently appeared in Manhattan looking to ‘rewrite nightlife beyond alcohol’. 

Joshua James decided to open The Ocean Beach Cafe, an alcohol-free bar in San Francisco after ending each day with a cocktail during the pandemic so began experimenting with non-alcoholic beverages. He wanted to share his creations with those that faced the same challenge as him. 

David Mor, Beverage Manager at Cindy’s, the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel is looking to create a positive experience for those visiting the hotel without alcohol by replacing the word ‘mocktail’ on the menu. ‘When we created the word ‘spirit-free’, the thought was sophistication and a thoughtful approach.’ Our bartenders are challenged to create cocktails inspired by their childhoods with spices and botanicals. 

There is also a continued demand for non-alcoholic cocktails with people experimenting with them at home and global consumption of low and no-alcohol beer, wine and spirits growing two to three times faster than overall alcohol consumption. New and innovative products becoming available each week are fuelling these sales. 

In the first six months of the pandemic, sales of non-alcoholic beer increased by nearly 38% and has been a really important discovery phase for the alcohol-free category. For ‘Bitter For Worse’, a ready-to-drink alcohol-free cocktail company based in Portland, Oregon, has quadrupled production to fulfil a waiting list of 600 people. Founder Shelley Elkovich says, ’There’s a quaran-tini fatigue’.

John Wiseman, Founder of Curious Elixirs, a line of alcohol-free cocktails based in New York’s Hudson Valley have also noticed those looking to take an alcohol-free path, with their sales increasing by 600% since the pandemic started. 

Wiseman said ‘It has been up, up, up in the non-alcoholic space. There’s no slowing down. Health and wellness is also a huge draw’.

Athletic, a non-alcoholic beer brand based in Stratford, Connecticut, notes that the brewery often releases limited editions and sells out within 15 minutes online, showcasing the significant demand for alcohol-free beers. 

The brewery reached its 15,000 capacity in Connecticut and moved to a brewery in San Diego in March allowing them to augment production capacity by an additional 150,000 barrels to accommodate the company’s 500% growth per month. 

According to statistics in the U.S, 30% of people between the ages of 21-30 haven’t had a beer in the past month.

This appears to be supported by Heineken’s alcohol-free beer and their approach to marketing. Heineken 0.0 is being promoted on the U.S subway further supporting the notion that sober curiosity is being normalised - what a step in the right direction! The poster reads ‘Meet someone for a drink at the gym’ and ‘Make barre class feel like a bar’.

Ruby Warrington, 42 year old Brooklyn-based British journalist has been a strong advocate for Sober Curiosity writing a number of ‘Sober Curious’ books and Co-founding Club Soda NYC, a sober social community. Launching in 2016, these meets are free to attend, set in trendy hotels, WeWords and restaurants to discuss core topics such as ‘Sobriety and Entrepreneurship’ or ‘Psychedelics and Sobriety’. 

It is people like Warrington leading the way and movement, bringing groups together that will continue to normalise not drinking and the joy of doing so.

A happy curious 4th July to you all!