It is 13:00 on a Wednesday lunchtime and in the Palace of Westminster, a very lively drinks party is in full swing.<\/p>\n
In the gracious surroundings of the wood-panelled Jubilee Room, corks are popped, beer is guzzled and lemons fizz in free-flowing G&Ts.<\/p>\n
But despite the prodigious volume of liquid being consumed, there are not any slurred words or collisions with furniture. That is because, contrary to appearances, no alcohol is actually being drunk.<\/p>\n
The event is co-organised by Club Soda, a \u201cmindful drinking movement\u201d, and is being held to showcase low and alcohol-free drinks.<\/p>\n
The group, which has about 15,000 members, was co-founded by Jussi Tolvi and Laura Willoughby. Jussi still enjoys the odd alcoholic tipple but Laura is teetotal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave up drinking six years ago and was stuck with a tonic or a really bad non-alcohol beer,\u201d Laura says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is demand for good products but industry is taking time to catch up. Having said that, big companies such as Heineken are spending money on creating a beer that tastes like their full-strength product and, to me, this shows that it isn\u2019t a fad, it\u2019s a market shift.\u201d<\/p>\n
The demand appears to be borne out in the figures. The Office for National Statistics found in 2016 that 20.9 percent of Brits drank no alcohol, up two percentage points from 2005.<\/p>\n
At the same time, CGA, a food and drink data firm, found that for the on-trade \u2014that restaurants, bars and festivals etc\u2014sales of no and lower alcohol beers, ciders, wines, spirits and mocktails were \u00a3232m in 2017. That is up about three percent on the year before.<\/p>\n
Among the ploughing their way through booze-free tipples at the drinks event is Fiona Bruce MP, chair of the all-party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Harm.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some lovely options: prosecco, G&T, ale and lager,\u201d she says. \u201cLater, I\u2019m going to be able to go into the chamber of the House of Commons this afternoon and not be in the least bit woozy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Botanical buzz <\/strong><\/p>\n Intrigued, I try a \u201cteetotal G&T\u201d from the Temperance Spirit Company. It has sold 500,000 bottles in the last year and is one of a new breed of adult-focused soft drinks.<\/p>\n Served over ice and with a slice of cucumber, it looks the part. But after the first sip, I\u2019m not convinced; it lacks that deliciously dry bite of the real thing.<\/p>\n Company Director Gillian Venning encourages me to persevere: \u201cIt takes a while for the flavour to come through, but you\u2019ll soon start to taste the botanicals.\u201d<\/p>\n The juniper does indeed creep up on me and although that warm ginny buzz is missing, it is far more interesting than the lemonades and colas normally on offer for non-drinkers.<\/p>\n So why are people drinking less? Jane Peyton, founder of the School of Booze, says there are several reasons: \u201cI recently went to a mindful drinking festival and some people said they weren\u2019t drinking because they were pregnant, for others it was religion, but for many it was for health reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n Jane\u2019s last point chimes with the revelation that during this year\u2019s Winter Olympics, German athletes drank gallons of imported non-alcoholic beer.<\/p>\n According to skier Linus Strasser, \u201cIt tastes good and it\u2019s good for the body. Alcohol-free wheat beer is extremely healthy. It\u2019s isotonic. That\u2019s why it\u2019s good for us, sports guys.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Good karma\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n This is music to the ears of Steve Dass, co-founder of Nirvana Brewery.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re the UK\u2019s only alcohol-free brewery,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a holistic movement, we\u2019re all vegetarian, we hardly drink, it\u2019s about good vibes, good karma and we also have yoga sessions in the brewery.\u201d<\/p>\n But do they have good beer? Steve pours me a pint of Karma, a pale ale with an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 0.5 percent.<\/p>\n It\u2019s billed as \u201clight, refreshing, with classic citrus and floral hop aromas leading to a dry bitter finish\u201d.<\/p>\n As a fan of big, flavourful beers, I like the taste, but it doesn\u2019t have the all-important body.<\/p>\n Next up is Chakra, \u201ca hopped pale ale with fresh notes of passion fruit, pine & a light bitter finish\u201d.<\/p>\n This is more like it. At 1 percent ABV it drinks more like something akin to 3.5 percent and I reckon I\u2019d be hard pressed to tell the difference in a blind tasting.<\/p>\n \u201cNot being able to tell the difference\u201d is something The Big Drop Brewing Co\u2019s Chocolate Milk Stout has arguably managed to achieve; it won a silver medal in the 2017 World Beer Awards in competition against full-strength rivals.<\/p>\n Delicate and refined <\/strong><\/p>\n Although beer is one of the most visible parts of the low and no-alcohol market, the sector in general can be hugely innovative.<\/p>\n Zoe Burgess is head of research and development at the Drink Factory, a bar group and consultancy. At a laboratory in East London, she creates both regular and alcohol-free products.<\/p>\n \u201cThe key to making good non-alcoholic drinks is to pay as much attention to them as alcoholic drinks, keeping them delicate, refined, using beautiful glasses,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason they should be treated any differently.\u201d<\/p>\n Zoe takes a bag of yellowish liquid from the fridge.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is pear shrub syrup. We take whole pears which we slice and cover in caster sugar for a day, add verjus, which is a very delicate vinegar, blend and strain.<\/p>\n \u201cThis creates a fine syrup which captures the balance of the pear. We top it up with soda to get that lovely sparkle.\u201d<\/p>\n Zoe and her team work with some of the world\u2019s most exclusive bars but non-alcoholic alternatives are also becoming more popular in mainstream outlets. Bar chain Be At One offers nine alcohol-free cocktails.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the last 12 to 18 months, we\u2019ve seen a growth in demand for drinks which are more like cocktails,\u201d says area manager, Tim Sparrow.<\/p>\n \u201cCustomers are coming out with friends or work colleagues, so we\u2019re dealing with social experiences as much as the drinks themselves. People don\u2019t want to feel as though they\u2019re being left out just because they\u2019re not drinking.\u201d\u2014BBC<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is 13:00 on a Wednesday lunchtime and in the Palace of Westminster, a very lively drinks party is in full swing. In the gracious surroundings of the wood-panelled Jubilee Room, corks are popped, beer is guzzled and lemons fizz in free-flowing G&Ts. 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