There are more and more sobriety challenge proposals. We already know about the now famous Dry January followed by almost 10% of the French population in 2021 or the Sober October launched with the objective of raising funds to fight against breast cancer, there has also been a more confidential initiative for several years: the September Sober.
The aim of the September Sober is not to raise money for charity, but to encourage people to take stock of their alcohol consumption and to take a break after the excesses of the summer. The personal challenge is to stay totally sober for the whole month of September or even for 66 days as proposed by the Tribe Sober association.
This month of sobriety can be the opportunity for many to test the many alcohol-free alternatives released this year. More and more of these new drinks are appearing on supermarket shelves and on the Internet.
For example, the famous beer brand Stella Artois is launching its first alcohol-free beer this month. This 0.0 beer, inspired by the classic Stella Artois lager, has a 'malty sweetness' and a 'hoppy bitterness', characteristics that are dear to the brand. Peter Van Overstraeten, vice president of Anheuser-Busch's Premium and Super Premium USA division, said in a statement, "With this new innovation, we want to give people the freedom to enjoy more of life's special moments with those who matter most.
Belgian brands such as Stella are turning to alcohol-free beverages because more and more consumers are attracted to these alcohol-free alternatives. In Germany, for example, alcohol consumption is falling. In 2008, only 141 litres of alcoholic beverages were consumed per capita, whereas in 2019 this figure was 129 litres. Indeed, Germans drinking non-alcoholic beers have become very numerous: according to a consumption study carried out for the DBB (Deutsche Brauer-Bund ) in January 2021, almost 46% of the German population now drinks non-alcoholic beers. Moreover, DBB announced that non-alcoholic beer is the fastest growing category in the last 12 years.
So this September is another opportunity to take a break from alcohol consumption and discover new alcohol-free products developed by the beer, wine and spirits industries.