Meet a range of beers with a powerful message

Sobah, a non-alcoholic craft brewery on the Gold Coast, hopes it can teach Australians there are different ways of drinking.

Sobah is the extension of creator Clinton Schultz’s personal journey and he says he's aiming to prove it is possible for a non-alcoholic beer to offer a real alternative for beer drinkers when they’re out with mates.

As someone who who has never found a low- or no-alcohol beer that really satisfies, I am sceptical but willing to be convinced.

Schulz says that by infusing the beer with Australian bush tucker, it also offers a flavourful education in Australian indigenous foods and culture.

The native foods and flavours range from the zing of lemon aspen and finger limes to boab, and spicy pepperberry.

Schultz and his wife Lozen brought the product to market in 2017, just ahead of the rise of the global "better-for-you" drinking trend.

From its Gold Coast base, Sobah has grown to the point it is sold in bars, restaurants, cafes and around 900 retailers across Australia.

In an equity crowdfunding campaign last October, Sobah raised $1 million in nine days for 9% of the company. A total of 586 investors now have a share of the company with a valuation of over $11 million.

Schultz says Sobah is building Australia’s first non-alcoholic craft brewery on Gold Coast in Kombumerri country, a part of the Yugambeh language regions.

“We were the first non-alcoholic craft beer company in Australia; I think we were the first non-alcoholic adult beverage produced in Australia,” Schultz said.

“There was no acceptance for non-alcoholic beverages when we started, it was a lot of work.

“There were a couple of ‘non-alc’ spirit business that started up around the same time or just after we did, and collectively we had to do a lot of re-education with the Australian public about accepting non-alc and that non-alc was just as good, if not better, than their alcoholic cousins.

“We’re really stoked that we’ve literally played a significant part in shifting the Australian drink culture in four years.”

Schultz said Sobah emerged from his own experience, which included quitting drinking.

“I stopped drinking seven years ago,” he said.

“After I’d had a big night drinking I was lying on the bed hungover and my boy rattled his little finger in my face and he just went, ‘Dad, can you stop drinking silly drink.’ That was the last time I touched alcohol.”

It led, however, to frustration with alternative options available on the market.

“I quickly realised when I stopped drinking that when you’re an adult and you’re choosing not to drink, there’s not many choices out there," Schultz said.

“I got frustrated that there were no decent options for people who were choosing not to drink for whatever reason at the time, so I started making non-alcohol beer for myself.”

A Gamilaraay man who grew up on the Gold Coast, Schultz said the company tries to highlight where the native ingredients used in the beer were originally from, the language groups that they were associated with and tried to lead people to want to learn more about those areas and the First Nations people of those areas.

For details see https://sobah.com.au/

Spinning around: Major investment in alcohol-free wine research

 I am yet to come across an alcohol-free wine that actually tastes like real wine. 

Too many taste as if they have simply been diluted with water. Harsh but fair. Won't get fooled again. 

Leading New Zealand wine company Giesen Group is, however, taking the non-alcohol wine category seriously, investing over a million dollars in their own specialised spinning cone technology to further refine the Giesen 0% wine range. 

It is hoped the investment will signal continued improvements in the quality of the current 0% Sauvignon Blanc, as well as new Pinot Gris and Rosé blends set for release in Australia in September.

The splurge is in response to the growing demand for the category, with research showing that Australians have a higher intent to purchase low- and no-alcohol products compared to the UK, USA and Canada. 

Younger consumers are also more likely to purchase a non-alcoholic wine with three out of 10 consumers aged between 18 to 34 basing their purchase on health and wellbeing, according to recent research. 

The main barrier for consumers considering lower alcohol wines is the perception they are "not really wine". True that. 

Giesen Group chief winemaker Duncan Shouler says: “To ensure we create the best 0% wines in market, we go through the entire winemaking process just as we would for a full-strength wine - from growing grapes for a year in the vineyard, to picking and processing the wine in the winery. 

"So to say that it is ‘not really wine’ is untrue in every sense.

“To make 0% we include the additional process of putting our full-strength wine through spinning cone distillation to gently remove the alcohol component. Making 0% alcohol is actually more expensive to produce compared to its full-strength counterpart and it is our absolute goal to produce 0% wines that actually taste like wine and not like grape juice, and with as low calories as possible.

“Having our own spinning cone allows us to increase production levels and really help drive quality. Firstly, we can be experimental and continually improve our 0% alcohol wine offerings, to meet consumer taste profiles. 

"I would say that now we are seeing better and better alcohol-removed wines every time we produce them.” 

When Giesen launched their 0% Sauvignon Blanc** last year, its sell-out releases in Australia and New Zealand proved consumer interest in this category was worth pursuing, the company decided. 

The Group also launched Ara Zero Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in September 2020, which is sold via independent retailers and on premise. 

For details see www.giesen.co.nz