Good Times on the Wagon
Conquer Dry January (and Beyond) With Locally-Crafted Alcohol Alternatives
Words And imAges by eRin Maher / Additional imAges by supplieRs
Wheelie’s Motorcycle Cafe is busy for a rainy Wednesday afternoon. An ancient TV set in the corner plays scratchy old movies. Everything about the place feels older than its years. It has Western saloon charm, a patina, and the sandwiches come stacked with debaucherous fillings.
It’s the kind of place where your better angels can desert you. It is Rock Bay, after all: one of the rare, unsanitized corners of the city. The last time I was here, we hit the cocktails hard. By late afternoon I found myself downtown in an old-school tattoo shop, getting spontaneous ink. I remember the fun, the rebellious energy, the freedom…and it jumpstarts my appetites all over again. I want a drink.
But this is not a day for an excess of cocktails and impromptu tattoos. It’s January. Bottomless cocktails and unplanned tattoos are more of a December vibe.
Like many others, I use this stage of the year to reset and refocus, and an alcohol-induced haze keeps those goals as just that: goals. This year I’m serious about making a change, so I’m choosing to abstain.
I order a sandwich, scan the soda selection, and decide on an iOTA Pilsner. It’s a sessionable, crisp, non-alcoholic beer from local producer Phillips Brewing and Malting Co. This “near-beer” ticks a lot of boxes: it’s delicious, it indulges my cravings, and I can drink it before driving or working.
While Phillips Brewery is no longer the niche upstart it once was, it’s still very much “craft,” and still definitively Victoria. Their iOTA range includes their Hazy IPA (the pick of the bunch, IMHO) and a Pale Ale. Available in cans at liquor stores and the occasional supermarket, they’ve lately been creeping into tap lines, so keep an eye out at your local. I’ve enjoyed a pint of the iOTA Pale Ale at the Penny Farthing in Oak Bay. After a long shift it’s still great to decompress at the bar—and even better to wake up no worse for wear.
iOTA is not Phillips’ first foray into the non-alc space. Their Sparkmouth project initially focused on tonics and flavoured sparkling waters, and has since branched into a lineup of mocktails: Moscow Mules, Margaritas, and Mimosas, all of which add to the vibrancy and variety of the non-alcoholic shelf.
Speaking of which, that shelf sure doesn’t look like it used to. Five years ago, pregnant and desperately cycling through all the lackluster non-alcoholic beer options on the market, O’Doul’s Amber and Budweiser Prohibition Brew came out on top as my favourites. But keep in mind there were only six to choose from.
Nowadays the market is teeming with options, including non-alcoholic sour beers from Quebec that actually taste like sours, the beautiful botanical sparkling waters from 33 Acres Brewing Co. in Vancouver, and the creative and ever-changing concentrated soda mixers and syrups from Rootside Bitters & Mixers in Esquimalt.
What’s changed? Like the swing in tobacco’s once broad acceptability, the reckoning surrounding over-consumption of alcohol has arrived. The frat-boy days of chugging 2-litre bottles of Growers Cider, malt liquor, and unconscionable volumes of beer-flavoured water seem, thankfully, to have missed the upcoming generation of drinkers.
The reasons we choose not to imbibe are varied, and increasingly accepted. People are rarely shamed for their sober choices as they once might have been. Bartenders and beverage managers are also taking note, accommodating non-drinkers with the same experience and aesthetic as their drinking counterparts. Beautiful cocktails and craft-beer options are growing staples of non-alcoholic sections on Victoria’s menus.
Mike Norbury, a gem of a local bartender, has worked closely with brands like Sooke’s Sheringham Distillery, creating cocktail recipes for Lumette!—their line of zero-alcohol spirits. He has a considered set of rules when mixing zero-proof beverages: “Liquids have different viscosities. Syrups have a higher viscosity than water. So does alcohol. The main thing missing from NA cocktails a lot of the time is body and mouthfeel.”
Currently tending bar at Bartholomew’s Public House, Norbury’s non-alcoholic cocktails don’t compromise on quality or complexity. His advice for making zero-proof cocktails: “It’s all about balance. Sodas, juice, even more complex drinks like kombucha sometimes lack that multidimensional feel.”
If we seek balance in our lives through abstinence, temporary or full-time, we must be mindful to incorporate that ethos into our drinks too. “I always make sure my NA drinks try to recreate the mouthfeel we’ve come to associate with alcoholic beverages, through carbonation, syrups, juices, jams, foamers, or egg whites.”
Norbury continues, “Non-alcoholic spirits are not a direct substitute in classic cocktail recipes. They can be intensely flavoured, so less is more. I only use 1–1.5 ounces max in drinks. Many people may not understand this, and sometimes write off NA spirits because they think they taste bad.”
Non-alcoholic cocktails are definitely not as forgiving in terms of achieving balance. There are also less resources to turn to, so it becomes more work. It’s easy to be put off when things aren’t easy and accessible. But it’s so rewarding when you get a recipe dialled.
In other words, entering into this game is just as much of an investment as it would be with alcohol, but more difficult in almost every regard. For those who are up for the challenge, which cause is more worthwhile than your own health and well-being? And the less ambitious among us can still pull up a stool at Mike’s bar, drink a can of iOTA, order Lumette! cocktails, and enjoy every aspect of the drinking ritual without the hangovers and myriad health concerns.
This January or February, or whenever the heck we choose, we can curb our ethanol consumption and experience something new—rewrite the rules. Whether it’s for health, wealth, or balance, or simply because we’re teetotalers, we can feel embraced by a market and a culture that now supplies us with options and supports our lifestyle—without judgment.
Whatever’s in your glass this season, raise it high, say “cheers!”, and enjoy a happy and healthy new year––whatever that means to you.
