Whatever your tipple, Angela Hansen91裸聊视频檚 liquor store on Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 Commercial Drive has stock to satisfy, from Prosecco to tequila 91裸聊视频� so long as you don91裸聊视频檛 want any actual liquor.
Hansen91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频渁lcohol free liquor store91裸聊视频� Mocktails opened last March, and just a few days into the new year, she was anticipating a 91裸聊视频渂oom91裸聊视频� for her business.
91裸聊视频淒ry January, I think is gonna be a big thing for the alcohol-free world,91裸聊视频� she said, referring to the global movement to cut back on alcohol this month. 91裸聊视频淪ome people are begrudgingly doing it, and others are very, very enthusiastic to do it, and they91裸聊视频檙e excited that they have this. You don91裸聊视频檛 have to do Dry January with a Coca-Cola or something like that.91裸聊视频�
It91裸聊视频檚 not the only business catering to the market 91裸聊视频� just a block away is The Drive Canteen, a snack-bar that offers 91裸聊视频渟ophisticated non-alcoholic beverages91裸聊视频� in its store. In Port Coquitlam, B.C., there91裸聊视频檚 Bevees, a 91裸聊视频渂ooze-free bottle shop91裸聊视频� that opened in November 2023.
The rise of stores like Mocktails and others comes as health concerns around alcohol rise 91裸聊视频� and as British Columbia91裸聊视频檚 once-booming craft beer industry goes through tough times. A series of high-profile brewers have closed down or are in financial strife; many cite economic conditions as well as a shift in drinking preferences.
It91裸聊视频檚 unclear whether greater awareness of health risks associated with alcohol are reducing demand, but the rise of booze-free options offer alternatives to those seeking to cut back after an alcohol-fuelled holiday season.
91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e coming out of December, which is like the heaviest drinking month of the year for most people,91裸聊视频� said Dr. Tim Naimi, director of the University of Victoria91裸聊视频檚 Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.
The research body launched an online tool this month that allows individuals to calculate their alcohol risks based on their consumption, and Naimi said it91裸聊视频檚 important for consumers to make 91裸聊视频渋nformed decisions.91裸聊视频�
The risks of excessive alcohol consumption are well-documented, but have come into sharper focus in Canada since January 2023, when the government-supported Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction said the risk of cancer rises at much lower levels of alcohol consumption than previously thought.
Any more than two standard drinks a week put people at higher risk, it said in its report.
Last week, the U.S. Surgeon General released a new advisory about alcohol and the risks of cancer it carries, calling for health warning labels on alcohol products.
Naimi was involved in the research that went into updating the CCSA alcohol guidance, and said it is 91裸聊视频渃ommon sense91裸聊视频� for the U.S. Surgeon General to call for better labelling.
91裸聊视频淥ther packaged food and beverage products in Canada require quite a bit of information. But if I buy a bottle of Scotch, it just says 40 per cent (alcohol by volume) and that91裸聊视频檚 pretty much it.91裸聊视频�
Naimi said a lot of information consumers get about alcohol comes from the industry, and the calculator tool employs 91裸聊视频済ood up-to-date science91裸聊视频� to inform people of their health risks.
91裸聊视频淏ut more importantly, it91裸聊视频檚 just for people who are considering cutting back,91裸聊视频� he said.
The upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic saw alcohol consumption peak, Naimi said.
91裸聊视频淎lcohol consumption was at an all-time high during COVID and it91裸聊视频檚 come down a little bit to more like pre-COVID levels,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 think it91裸聊视频檚 changed that much.91裸聊视频�
For some in the booze business, though, the aftermath of the pandemic has coincided with tough times.
Award-winning Andina Brewing closed its East Vancouver brewery, just a dozen or so blocks away from Mocktails, in April 2023, after six years in business. Other closures followed, including Burnaby91裸聊视频檚 Studio Brewing that permanently closed in December 2023, then Riot Brewing in Chemainus on Vancouver Island a month later.
In a farewell message, Studio Brewing cited 91裸聊视频渃onsumer preference shifting away from craft beer91裸聊视频� as well as other economic challenges.
After a decade as one of Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 smallest brewers, Callister Brewing shut down around the same time as Studio and Riot brewing. But it had a fallback.
While the company cited rising costs at its brewery site, it also said there was a need to focus on the 91裸聊视频渞apid growth91裸聊视频� of its non-alcoholic Callister Craft Soda.
It pitches the sodas in a language familiar to the craft-beer scene 91裸聊视频� they are 91裸聊视频渃rafted locally91裸聊视频�, and made in 91裸聊视频渟mall batches.91裸聊视频�
Meanwhile, B.C.91裸聊视频檚 craft beer reckoning continues.
In November 2024, Central City Brewing in Surrey 91裸聊视频� maker of Red Racer beer, as well as de-alcoholized brews under the Street Legal brand 91裸聊视频� sought creditor protection. Court documents outline post-pandemic financial troubles that required it to restructure.
Company president Daryll Frost detailed 91裸聊视频渆conomic challenges91裸聊视频� including minimum wage increases, labour shortages, higher taxes and higher food and supply costs.
Another factor, Frost91裸聊视频檚 court filing said, was 91裸聊视频渞educed demand for alcohol products generally.91裸聊视频�
Naimi said he was unaware whether demand has actually diminished, though he said recent indications that younger people are drinking less than previous generations are 91裸聊视频渒ind of interesting.91裸聊视频�
Customers at Mocktails said they had a number of reasons for going booze-free.
Hilary Hansen 91裸聊视频� no relation to the owner 91裸聊视频� stopped by for alcohol-free tequila to make margaritas. She said she can91裸聊视频檛 drink alcohol because she91裸聊视频檚 pregnant.
91裸聊视频淥bviously the baby91裸聊视频檚 the biggest concern, but I would say in general I would like to drink less outside of being pregnant,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not the alcohol, it91裸聊视频檚 the taste, so I just want something really nice in a cocktail that I can enjoy and not have any negative health impact for either me or, right now, the baby.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淗aving options like this is really nice,91裸聊视频� she said.
Enrique Rodriguez, the husband of Mocktails91裸聊视频� owner, said he91裸聊视频檚 also reduced his alcohol intake after initially not wanting to follow Hansen down a sober path.
He said that at parties with his family in Mexico, he used to see alcohol as 91裸聊视频渢he climax of freedom, but it91裸聊视频檚 not.91裸聊视频�
Now, he said he alternates between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks on nights out.
91裸聊视频淔or me it91裸聊视频檚 like an awakening,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚 can make better decisions to say, 91裸聊视频極K, I had enough, I gotta go, you know, tomorrow I have things to do91裸聊视频� and boom, I had the best of both.91裸聊视频�
