Sober. Sober curious. California sober. Midwest sober. As more people have taken a closer look at their relationship with alcohol — particularly in the past few years — more terms have cropped up to describe their approach going forward (that last one is “beer only, no liquor”).
Whether you’re all in on the “no booze” thing, scaling back or just thinking about making some adjustments in the new year, there’s an annual event that’s perfect for not only seeing what alternatives are out there, but also proving that less alcohol doesn’t mean less fun.
Milwaukee Record’s N/A Day returns for its fourth installment this Saturday, Jan. 4, running from noon to 4 p.m. at The Cooperage. Dubbed a “Dry January Beverage Festival,” the event has grown to include more than 20 vendors (full list below) who will be happy to let you sample 50+ different N/A products. We’re talking non-alcoholic beer, seltzer, wine and spirits, plus mocktails, kombucha, craft soda, energy drinks, CBD products and more.
Sponsored by Athletic Brewing Company, Clausthaler, Visitor and Gruber Law Offices, this year’s N/A Day will once again let you in the door for unlimited sampling with a pair of ticket options: in advance for $20 or at the door for $30. For the first time ever, there will also be an N/A Day After Party right next door at Boone & Crockett from 5 to 8 p.m.
With the caveat that everyone’s relationship with alcohol is different, I just polished off my first full calendar year after drastically changing my habits and have been pleasantly surprised by the number of options out there. Just this past week, I stumbled on Coors Edge, which does a pretty great job of scratching that lager itch — a seemingly difficult category of beer to approximate in the N/A space.
Discoveries like that are waiting at The Cooperage this Saturday, so check out the vendor list and think about picking up a ticket or two to do your own exploring at The Cooperage.
N/A Day vendors
- Best Day
- Blue Moon
- Canni Hemp
- Corona
- Fair State Brewing Cooperative
- G.O.A.T. Fuel
- Great Lakes Distillery
- Guinness
- Happi
- Kind Oasis
- Kul Mocks
- Lagunitas
- Lakefront Brewery
- Liquid Death
- Lucky Energy
- Michelob Ultra Zero (public debut)
- Once Upon a Coconut
- Peroni
- Sprecher
- Stella Artois
- System Seltzers
- Third Space Brewing
- Visitor
- ZOA Energy