As Gen Z embraces drinking less, more people are reaching for non-alcoholic beer. Much like the ever-improving plant-based products market, nonalcoholic beer is more accessible and better tasting than before. What was once a bottom shelf at Safeway, stocked with dusty boxes of zero-proof Heineken and Budweiser, is now a growing industry.
“It’s a growing demographic. Liquor stores are adding designated shelves for nonalcoholic products. They’re seeing between 30 and 38 per cent market growth in that segment,” says Brandon Boutin from Town Square Brewing. “With Dry January and Dry February, it seemed like the whole market took off.”
Nonalcoholic or “near beers” have exploded in the craft beer market, too. The sober and sober-curious don’t have to settle for a watery nonalcoholic Beck’s – craft breweries are stocking nonalcoholic IPAs, sours and pale ales.
“In the past, the options for NA beer were pretty much limited to gross, grocery-store-only, 0.0 per cent ABV lager style beers,” says Taylor Falk, a brewer at Sea Change Brewing.
SYC was an early adopter of the nonalcoholic beer market, releasing the first Phantom Buzz in the summer of 2021. But the market expanded in 2022, as Sea Change and Town Square started rolling out their own near beers. There are even entirely nonalcoholic breweries popping up, like London, Ontario’s Harmon’s Craft Brewing and One for the Road in Calgary.
“The paradigm has totally shifted,” SYC’s Richard Fyk says. “The product has evolved and become so similar to craft beer. It’s something people want to buy.”
Pete Nguyen, a co-owner at Sea Change, says that craft beer drinkers skew to the 30-40 age demographic. As those craft beer drinkers enter parenthood, they’re seeking out zero-proof beers to enjoy while their friends imbibe.
“I got pregnant but I still wanted to enjoy some nice cold drinks with friends and family through the summer so nonalcoholic beer made me feel like I was drinking with everyone else,” says new mom Bethany Lafortune. For her, other nonalcoholic options aren’t nearly as good as near beers.
“Nonalcoholic wines and spirits taste more like a bad juice sometimes or just a carbonated flavoured drink. Nonalcoholic beer actually feels like I’ve had one.”
Top 40 Under 40 alumnus Rylan Kafara reviews nonalcoholic beers, from big brands to the local craft offerings, on his Instagram. He says, “The big thing about drinking regular beer was the social aspect. I enjoy a drink on a patio on a hot day as much with a nonalcoholic beer as I ever did with a regular beer.”
The brewers I spoke to see this shift in the market as more than a rise in health-conscious drinkers – it’s about really savouring the beer. Craft beer drinkers are interested in the taste of their alcoholic and nonalcoholic brews, and near beers give them the opportunity to enjoy more over the course of a meal or a party. It also helps that nonalcoholic beers are low-calorie, making them easier to enjoy with a meal.
Does the shift worry craft brewers? In short, no. They’re excited for the new possibilities, like expanding their market reach to grocery stores and drawing in new customers. As more beer drinkers explore sobriety or cut back, they’re discovering that near beer isn’t what they thought it was.
“I stopped drinking alcohol but still love the taste of beer,” says Sarah Taylor. “There are some beers that taste so close to the real deal that I often need to double check that they are in fact nonalcoholic.”
What once seemed like a waste of money – why drink beer without getting drunk? – is now a way to explore new flavours and enjoy a more conscious night out.
“I thought it was a bit silly to drink nonalcoholic beers. Sort of like drinking decaf coffee, like you might as well just have water! Well now, I may try decaf coffee because nonalcoholic beers have been so much fun,” says Kafara.
