Australiansare
increasinglyskipping
thebooze,withour
alcoholconsumption
atitslowestpoint
inhalfa century.
Butthisgrowing
trendofabstinence
hasonlyinspired
morecreativity
fromsommeliers,
bartendersanddrink
producers,writes
LEE TRAN LAM.
L
aunchinga beerisn’tthemostobviousthing
todoafterembracingsobriety.Especially
whenyouworkasa psychologistindrug-
and-alcoholrehabilitation.Butgivingup
thedrinkwasthecatalystforClintonSchultz
tostarthisrangeofSobahbrewswithwife
LozenSchultz.A punchyuseofnativeingredientssuchas
fingerlime,pepperberryandlemonaspenis onereason
theirpilsners,IPAsandcervezashaveendedupinEskies
andfridges,butdrinkersarealsoattractedtotheGold
Coastbrandforanotherreason:Sobahis entirelybooze-free.
“Clintonquitdrinkingin2014,whichhefoundrelatively
easy,butthesocialsideofthingswasa challenge,”saysLozen.
“Therewasa stigmaaroundhimnotdrinking,hismatesdidn’t
copewithit verywellandhefoundthattherewerenodecent
non-alcoholicdrinks.”Thisis whytheylaunchedSobahtwo
yearsago,as analternativefornon-drinkers.Clintonwasinspired
bythequalityofzero-alcoholcraftbeersinEurope,whilethe
zestybrightnessoffingerlimeandlemonaspen,andthespicy
crackleofpepperberrynotonlygivesthedrinksa unique
flavourprofile,butalsoconnectshimtohisIndigenousroots.
“We’reaheadofthemarkethereinAustralia,having
launcheda yearbeforeCUB’sCarltonZeroand,morerecently,
HeinekenZero,”saysLozen.It’sa sign,though,thatthesober-
drinkingmomentumis growing– andnotjustwithteetotallers,
either.Sure,designateddriversandpregnantwomenwillskip
thecurrentroundofbeers,butthetrendof“sober-curious”
peoplethatareona fitnesschallenge,becomingmoresocially
discerningorraisingmoneyforDryJuly(orOcsoberorFebFast)
is ontherise.“We’veheardthatmillennialsaredrinkingless
becausetheycareabouttheirappearanceonsocialmedia,are
morehealth-consciousandwanttostayincontroloftheir
behaviour,”sheadds.AndmorepeoplearejoiningClintonin
givingupboozealtogether.DatafromtheAustralianBureauof
Statisticsbacksthisup:ouralcoholconsumptionis thelowest
it’sbeenin 50 years,andourenthusiasmforavoidinghangovers
hasbeengrowingsince2008.Plusrecentresearchpublishedin
medicaljournalTheLancet, indicatingthatevensmallvolumes
ofalcoholaredamagingenoughtooutweighanypotential
healthbenefits,hasbeensoberingenoughtomakepeople
reconsiderthatnextglassofwine.
Withthisgrowingtrend(andthefactthat 20 percentofthe
populationdoesn’tdrinkat all,fora varietyofreligious,cultural,
philosophicalorhealthreasons),there’sbeena corresponding
spikeincreativebooze-freeoptionsthatgobeyondsodawater
andlemonade.LikeSobah’scraftbeer,Nonis a zero-alcohol
winealternativethat’sbeingpouredat toprestaurantsincluding
Adelaide’sAfricolaandSydney’sAlberto’sLounge.The
Melbournelabelis runbyAaronTrotmanandWilliamWade,
withWadedrawingonhisexperiencesasa chef(andhistime
workingonthenon-alcoholicpairingat Copenhagen’sNoma)
todeveloptheflavoursandreplicatethecomplexityofalcohol.
It tookWade 40 hoursinthekitchentofine-tunetheirSalted
RaspberryandChamomiledrink.DittotheCaramelisedPear
andKombu.TheToastedCinnamonandYuzubrew,though,
was an instant hit. “We have our Lemon Marmalade and➤GOURMET TRAVELLER 79