Low-Alcohol Or No-Alcohol Drinks: A Mere Trend, Or Here To Stay - Love Beer Bars

[Liz Seyi]

If it feels to you that more and more people have been talking about no-alcohol or low-alcohol beers lately – a phenomenon often referred to as “NOLO” – that’s probably not a coincidence.
Non-alcoholic or low-alcoholic drinks are hardly new, but over the last few years, they have edged their way into the drinking culture in the UK and beyond, and with good reason.
That transition began to take place before the pandemic, but has arguably been accelerated by it, as many of us have become more conscious about the health impacts of even the lifestyle habits that we might have previously barely thought about.
The statistics tell their own story
According to recent research, the share of adults seeking to limit or reduce their alcohol intake climbed from 33% in 2018-2019, to 36% by 2021. Survey results last year indicated that 16% of drinkers planned to cut back on alcohol once the pandemic was over, and a third of pub visits are now said to be completely alcohol-free.
That’s quite the transition in just a few years, and raises the prospect of a longer-term future in which alcohol might not be the lynchpin of pubs’ business models to anything like the extent that it once was.
This conclusion is underlined by the signs of sweeping demographic change, with as many as 65% of Generation Z drinkers – aged between 18 and 24 – recently signalling that they desired to lower their alcohol intake. The equivalent percentage for UK adults as a whole was 55%.
What factors are fuelling the NOLO trend – or is it a ‘trend’?
The term “trend”, of course, is often applied to phenomena that aren’t necessarily perceived as likely to hang around for very long. But there are reasons – even putting aside the aforementioned differing preferences of the younger generations – to expect that “NOLO” won’t just be remembered as a fixture of the drinking culture of the 2020s.
Those include the same reasons certain demographics have long avoided drinking alcohol – such as health or religious belief – but also the greater emphasis our society is placing on inclusion.
There is no longer the same tendency there might have been even just five or 10 years ago, to raise eyebrows at people in a social group who might choose to order a soft drink rather than alcohol when visiting a bar or pub. Non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic drinks, in many ways offer people the best of both worlds: the chance to enjoy many of the drinks that might most interest them, but without the actual alcohol content.
With the barrels of low-alcohol beer and no-alcohol beer that we offer here at Love Beer, we can help you stock your home or office bar or pub with the NOLO options that people of a wide range of preferences and needs are likely to appreciate. We present possibilities like unfiltered Lucky Saint lager, for instance, to help make more attendees of your bar or pub feel included and welcome.
Delivery is included in the price of our home and office kegs, so you really don’t need to look anywhere else!