Waterloo Region establishments offering more non-alcoholic options

It seems more people are opting for non-alcoholic drink options, and it has establishments in Waterloo Region making menu changes to keep up with the trend.

Jennifer Tamse, director of beer and beverage at the Charcoal Group of Restaurants, has seen the shift first-hand.

“People like to refer to me as the ‘beer czar,’” said Tamse.

She says customers are asking for different options than a decade ago.

“When I was first managing this role 10 years ago, there weren’t a lot of options out there in terms of us choosing non-alcoholic beers to actually place on our menu,” Tamse said.

But as producers began making better non-alcoholic beer options, people started asking for them.

Not to mention, the health messaging behind it.

“With the World Health Organization coming out with news about drinking less, but drinking better, and a lot of advancements technologically for brewers - there’s just a whole slew of options and our guests are ordering way more non-alcoholic options than ever before,” said Tamse.

At Beertown Public House in Waterloo, which operates under the Charcoal Group umbrella, it’s not just non-alcoholic beer options they’ve expanded.

“We’ve now extended that to our zero proof cocktail program,” said Tamse. “We’re putting them in the same glassware. We’re using fresh syrups and fresh fruits to really create something beautiful.”

Several non-alcoholic drink options line the counter at Beertown in Waterloo on August 21, 2024. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV News)

Over in Cambridge, Four Fathers Brewing Co. is getting in on the trend too.

On Tuesday, the brewery released its first non-alcoholic beer.

“It’s a Formula 4 called The Driver. It is a 0.45 per cent beer. Tastes kind of like a lager,” said Lindsay Shields, assistant general manager with the brewery.

The reasons for launching it now align with the same reasons Beertown has grown its non-alcoholic options.

Four cans of non-alcoholic beer, ‘The Driver,’ stand in a line at Four Fathers Brewing Co. in Cambridge on August 21, 2024. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV News)

“There’s been a trend lately with a lot of people looking for the low alcohol per cent beers of just being more health conscious,” said Shields.

With most establishments, the prices aren’t much different than options that contain alcohol. Staff said there’s good reason for it though.

“I actually wouldn’t say that much lower. That’s not to disincentivize people, but it is to reassure or let guests know that the non-alcoholic beer is being made with the same ingredients,” Tamse said.

So whether it’s a cocktail or a mocktail, a beer or a near-beer, both businesses say it comes down to giving customers choice – something they want to keep tapping into.