Have you ever tried low alcohol wine or beer? I recently discovered that there is a whole world of them out there to discover – beers, wines and spirits. Why bother I hear you ask? Well, there are some good reasons for drinking these lovely liquids rather than just drinking soft drinks or water. Don’t get me wrong, I drink lots of water but I also enjoy a lovely cold glass of white wine or a cold beer. I really don’t like soft drink and never drink juice so the idea of a non-alcoholic drink that is low in calories but full in taste really does appeal to me.

I also know that cutting down alcohol intake is a good idea for health reasons, especially as we get older. At this stage I am not aiming to stop drinking alcohol entirely, but if I can drink a low alcohol or non alcohol drink that tastes good then I will choose it more often.

Let’s face it, since COVID-19 came along and people have been stuck at home for weeks and months at a time, health professionals have become a lot more vocal about the dangers of high alcohol intake. So, this year, whilst we have been in lockdown we have been trying out a range of low or no alcohol drinks – for fun, and also to provide alternative drink ideas!

Here are our 5 reasons to choose non-alcoholic drinks…..

1. Obviously if you choose non-alcoholic or low alcoholic drinks, you will lower your alcohol intake (if you are a regular drinker of  alcohol). This is a good start right?
2. You can enjoy a drink on a work night without the consequences the next day!
3. You don’t have to reach for a sugary drink in place of your normal choice of beer, wine etc. So you get the taste you like!
4. You can enjoy the taste of your favourite drinks even if you must avoid alcohol for any reason e.g. if you are pregnant or have some health issues.
5. You can moderate your alcohol intake and be drinking something tasty that is also very low in calories. This is helpful if you are trying to lose weight.

Here is my take on what we have tried so far…..

Non alcoholic wines

I am sad to say that all of the still wines I have tasted are fairly ordinary. I have tasted white, red and rose and I can’t get past the grape juice flavour. There is just not enough ‘wine’ flavour’ left there to tempt me to drink the wine. Of course you shouldn’t take my word for this, try it yourself. I guess I am just a bit picky!

But its not all bad. I am much happier with the non-alcoholic sparkling wines though. If the wine is dry, it can be refreshing and satisfying and perfect for a celebration or even just for Saturday night dinner at home during lockdown! I think I prefer the non-alcoholic version now as real sparking can go to the head very quickly and yield unpleasant results the next day.

Non-alcoholic beer

I will admit that we have only tried one brand of non-alcoholic beer? Why? Because once we had tried it we were hooked and felt no need to look further. We tried a beer called “Nort Refreshing Ale’ a few months ago and my first words after a sip were ‘ oh wow it tastes like beer’.  We are not big beer drinkers but have certainly enjoyed drinking this beer over the past few months as we try to brighten up our locked down days and nights. We have ‘pub nights’ where we have burgers and beer or fish and chips and beer and the Nort has been great for this purpose. We have just tried the ‘Nort Pacific Ale’ too and I am hooked! It is a bit tropical in flavour and may not suit some real beer drinkers but I think it is very refreshing.

Spirits

I am not a spirit drinker as a rule but don’t mind the occasional G&T in the summer months. But I don’t like the after effects of drinking the spirit. I am pleased to say that there are a number of non-alcoholic gins out there. I recently tried the ‘Gordons’ zero alcohol. With low sugar tonic, ice and a drop of Lime or Green Mandarin Essential Oil you have a refreshing and uplifting drink that is not full of alcohol or calories.

I know that you can buy lots of spirit substitutes to replace drinks such as rum, Campari, Aperol, Pimm’s etc. I’d love to know what you think about those.

A few words on cost….

The cost of the beer and gin is definitely comparable to the alcoholic versions – usually cheaper than full strength products. The still wine is also comparable in cost but the sparking can be quite expensive e.g. up to around $30/bottle. However, there a few lovely sparking varieties around $15 so give them a try!.

Where are they from and where can I buy them?

We have tried wines from Australia, Spain, France and the UK. The beer is Australia and the gin is from the UK. This is a global thing!

I have discovered that regular suppliers of alcoholic drinks stock a good range of non-alcoholic wines, beers and spirits so its not to difficult to find them. Since searching for them online, many options for purchasing non-alcoholic drinks have also appeared on my social media. If you start searching they will come to you!

What Next?

Ok, so this wasn’t meant to be a thorough review of the non-alcoholic drinks available on the market but once you go searching you may find some that you like too. We would love to hear your views on this and hear about your tasting experiences too!

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Until next time,

 

 

 

 

Gillian (and Andrew)