Bank Holiday beverages: No, low and lower-alcohol alternatives to try

With the Bank Holiday weekend upon us, many will be stocking up their shelves with drinks to see them through the long weekend. But with an increasing proportion of people reducing their alcohol intake, or cutting it out altogether, there is ever more demand for low/no alternatives.

We've put together a round-up of alcohol-free and low or lower alcohol alternatives to try this Bank Holiday:

Three Spirit Drinks is a UK-made spirit designed by botanists and bartenders. The drinks are all vegan, gluten-free and sustainably packaged, and have enticing names such as Livener and Social Elixir.

Lyres has an award-winning range of non-alcoholic spirits, appealing to a variety of tastes. There's a Dry London Spirit, White Cane Spirit and American Malt to appeal to more traditional spirits drinkers, alongside more inventive alternatives such as Amaretti, an Italian Spritz and even an alcohol-free Absinthe. 

For beer fans, Lucky Saint and Small Beer Brewing Co. are among the independent breweries offering low-alcohol alternatives. Lucky Saint's 0.5% ABV lager is a top seller on Amazon and is also available to buy in Majestic stores, while London-based Small Beer makes a range of beers under 2.8% ABV, including a session pale ale and a dark lager, which are available through Ocado.

Drynks Unlimited's Smashed drinks - which secured funding from Dragons' Den - are beer and cider-based but are all completely alcohol-free. You can choose from lager, pale ale and various ciders. The Smashed range is available in Booths stores and online.

Seltzers and hard seltzers have really started to make an impression on the British market this year, not just as a low-ABV option but a low-calorie one, too. Island Bay has a range of three flavoured hard seltzers at 5% ABV; 58 Gin has recently released two gin-based hard seltzers; Sparkl's peach and lemon-flavoured hard seltzers, each 4% ABV, are available in Morrisons stores; and Bodega Bay's elderflower and apple-flavoured hard selzters, also 4% ABV, are available through Sainsbury's.

For bubbly fans, La Fiesta has introduced two fruity summer flavours to its range of fizzes, which come in at around 5% ABV. The brand's Strawberry Fizz and Raspberry and Elderflower Fizz are vegan-friendly and are available to buy at Morrisons stores.

Ever tried kombucha? It's a tea-based, generally non-alcoholic drink which is gaining popularity in the no/low market. Australian kombucha brand Nexba launched in the UK in Sainsbury's stores this year, with flavours including Strawberry & Peach and Elderflower & Lemon, while L.A Brewery - based in the English county of Suffolk - has just added a Sparkling English Rose kombucha to its range.

27 August 2020 - Bethany Whymark