Lotte Peplow, the Brewers Association’s American craft beer ambassador, looks at opportunities for non-alcoholic beer following Dry January.
Photograph: Brewers Association
And that’s a wrap on another Dry January! Were you a complete abstainer, a ‘damp’ January occasional imbiber, or someone who carried on with their normal alcohol intake? As we shake off the cold, gloomy days of the year’s first month it’s worth reflecting on how much impact Dry January actually made.
Quite a lot it would seem!
In the US, 21% of legal drinking age adults reported participating in Dry January in 2024 (up 6% from 2023), a figure that skews towards younger and more health-conscious consumers than the overall population. While CGA research suggested intent to participate in Dry January to be slightly down in 2025 (see chart below, current figures unavailable as yet), the impact of Dry January can certainly be felt across all beverage alcohol.
And it’s not just the USA. In the UK, 74% of adults are actively cutting back on alcohol (KAM Insight), and not only in January but throughout the year as well. NHS data from 2021 also shows a significant shift in younger generations, revealing that 38% of 16- to 24-year-olds and 21% of 25- to 34-year-olds in England either did not drink alcohol at all or had not done so in the previous year.
In the US off-trade, January consistently records the lowest share of annual alcohol sales. Between 2021 and 2024, January accounted for just 6.3 to 6.7% of total sales in those years — 37 to 40% less than the highest sales month and 20 to 24% less than the average sales month. Financial strain after the festive season likely plays a role in this trend, with many opting to cut back on spending and, consequently, alcohol consumption.
Non-alcoholic beer still accounts for just 2% of can sales by volume, but it has more than doubled in the past four years, up 119% since 2020. In the last year alone, it has grown 28%. The trend has been for the first three months of the year to produce a bump in non-alcohol products that becomes the baseline for the year ahead.
Succeeding in the alcohol-free market
Much of this growth has been driven by the phenomenal success of Athletic Brewing Co, from Stratford, Connecticut. Established in 2017 by Bill Shufelt, with brewer John Walker, Athletic has grown to become a top 10 small and independent American craft brewery in a market of more than 9,000 breweries. Fortunately for UK beer lovers, Athletic is available throughout the UK and may be purchased online.
Another top 10 American craft brewery, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, has developed non-alcoholic Trail Pass IPA, a dry-hopped, full-flavoured, hoppy IPA, made using traditional brewing methods (not alcohol removal) to craft a balanced product that tastes like beer. This is also available from selected outlets in the UK.
The American Time Use Survey, conducted annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reveals a concerning trend: our inherently social species is socialising less and less over time. Between 2003 and 2023 in America, there has been a 20% decline in time spent socialising for adults aged 25 to 54. Even more striking, fewer than 30% of respondents in this age group reported engaging in any socialising on an average day. This shift poses challenges for the on-trade, which may need to adapt by creating safer spaces and expanding non-alcoholic offerings to encourage adults to venture out of their homes.
You’re invited!
Don’t miss the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America in Indianapolis from 28th April to 1st May, the largest industry-only gathering in the States. Attendees will hear from a wide range of speakers during seminars across 12 different educational tracks. More than 550 exhibitors will be displaying the latest product innovations, suppliers, and services. Look out for the seminar on hop water, one of the new categories of non-alcoholic drinks. The conference culminates with the awards ceremony for the World Beer Cup.
Looking for regular American craft beer in the UK? Find it at selected national wholesalers for the trade and online retailers such as Cave Direct/Beer Merchants, Brew Export, Beers of America, and selected bottle shops, off licences, online subscription services, supermarkets, and pubs and bars. The Brewers Association publishes a wealth of resources to understand and enjoy craft beer, downloadable free of charge from brewersassociation.org.
About the author
Lotte Peplow is the American craft beer ambassador for Europe for the Brewers Association, and is based in London. She is a certified cicerone, BDI accredited beer sommelier, beer writer, author, beer communicator, international beer judge, CAMRA London taste panellist, homebrewer, and beer lover.
