After a year like 2020, a few days of day-drinking to unwind the calendar year sounded pretty bloody good to me. They don't call it the silly season for nothing.
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Too long on the hard stuff, however, can easily go awry. Core confusion compounds until your liquid relaxation resolves into recklessness, or worse, rage.
Pace is the trick. Drink better. We have the technology.
Low to no alcohol beers that actually taste good - like beer, rather than some mildly bitter soda water - are increasingly being crafted by certain clever brewers around Australia; some using native Australian ingredients, and many made with good intentions.
"We wanted to normalise mindful drinking by brewing a beer that actually tastes like beer, so you don't even know you're missing the alcohol," explains Andy Miller, CEO of Heaps Normal, a non-alcoholic beer brand based out of Sydney.
While most breweries that brew low to no ABV beers treat them as side projects, Heaps Normal are dedicated to the art of crafting beers with the minimal amount of alcohol as possible, but with maximum taste and flavour.
"We tested the initial batches on a few local barflies at the pub who told us they tasted just like beer - one of them even said 'This is the best beer I've ever tasted'," Miller recalled.
The Heaps Normal 'Quiet XPA', registers at a low-as-you-can-go 0.5% ABV, and while it's not the best beer I've ever tasted - and I've tasted a few - it is remarkably flavoursome and would make a great stand-in for a few hours of day drinking during the holidays. Golden straw in colour, a touch cloudy, with a white foamy head, fresh citrus and hoppy bitterness, it's clean, crisp and refreshing.
Remarkably, a very decent beer without the booze.
Meanwhile, Gold Coast-based craft beer company, Sobah, has taken the non-alcoholic brewing innovation to a whole new level with their burgeoning range of super delicious low to no ABV beers, which are brewed with Indigenous ingredients such as finger limes and pepperberries, Davidson plums and wattle seed.
"The whole mantra for Sobah is to break down the stigma of socialising sober," explained Sobah founder Clinton Schultz.
"We want to show that it's possible to enjoy spending time with mates, drinking without getting drunk, by choosing good tasting alternatives. We make great-tasting, thirst-quenching beers, just without the alcohol."
While Sobah's range includes the super fresh Boab and Wild Ginger Lager, and the zesty Finger Lime Cerveza, my preference is for the Lemon Aspen Pilsner; clean, crisp, citrusy fresh, distinctly hoppy, and positively deceptive for a rusted on beer lover, like me.
Day drinking during the silly season never tasted or felt so good.
