alcohol

The UK took a narrow victory in this year’s World Beer Awards alcohol-free medals league table, bagging 23 of the 110 awards, two more than second-placed Germany. Canada took third, with 14 gongs, southern neighbour hot on its heels with ten. Brazil managed four, while Estonia, China, Japan and Russia also brought home honours. ■

Style/brewery	Name	Country	Award
Dark
Athletic Brewing Co	All Out	US	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Dark
Super Bock	Free Preta	Portugal	Country Winner
La Voie Maltee	La Raisonnable Rousse	Canada	Silver
Big Drop	Woodcutter Brown Ale	UK	Silver
Leffe	Brown 0.0%	Belgium	Silver
Super Bock	Negra Sín	Portugal	Silver
Wäls	Vienna Free	Brazil	Bronze
Flavoured
Karlsberg	Grapefruit Alkoholfrei	Germany	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Flavoured
Athletic Brewing Co	Downwinder Gose	US	Country Winner
Karlsberg	Grapefruit Alkoholfrei	Germany	Country Winner
Sleeman Point	Five Non-Alcoholic Citrus Lager	Canada	Country Winner
Lösch-Zwerg	Weizen Zitrone Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Karlsberg	Fresh Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Karlsberg	Radler Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Yanjing Beer	No Alcohol Weissbier	China	Silver
Fentimans	Lemon Shandy	UK	Silver
Mönchshof	Natur Radler 0,0%	Germany	Bronze
Bernard	Free Sour Cherry	Czech Republic	Bronze
San Miguel	0,0 Radler	Spain	Bronze
Leffe	Ruby 0.0%	Belgium	Bronze
Schützengarten	Ginger Beer Alkoholfrei	Switzerland	Bronze
IPA
Samuel Adams	Just The Haze	US	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol IPA
Small Beer	IPA	UK	Country Winner
Twisted Cat	Alcohol Free IPA	Luxembourg	Country Winner
FrogBeer	Incroyable Ipa	France	Country Winner
Campinas	Ipa Zero	Brazil	Country Winner
Õllenaut	Kaineken	Estonia	Silver
Drop Bear Beer Co.	Tropical IPA	UK	Silver
Brand	IPA 0.0	Netherlands	Silver
Thornbridge	Zero Five	UK	Silver
Samuel Adams	Just The Haze	US	Silver
Goose Island Brewhouse São Paulo	Little Ipa	Brazil	Silver
Rügener Insel-Brauerei	Snorkelers Sea Salt Ipa	Germany	Silver
Siboire	Discipline	Canada	Bronze
UNLTD.	IPA	UK	Bronze
Partake Brewing	IPA	Canada	Bronze
Microbrasserie Le Trou du diable	Nano Perroquet IPA	Canada	Bronze
Infinite	IPA	UK	Bronze
Lager
Jump Ship	Yardarm	UK	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Lager
Mahou	0,0 Tostada	Spain	Country Winner
Athletic Brewing Co	Athletic Brewing Company	US	Country Winner
Greif Bräu	Leicht	Germany	Country Winner
Pito	1St Czech Non Alcoholic Beer	Czech Republic	Country Winner
Jump Ship	Yardarm	UK	Country Winner
Stella Artois	0.0%	Belgium	Country Winner
B&B	Celestial Sin Hoppy Lager	Spain	Gold
Svyturys	Go Pilsner	Lithuania	Silver
Waldhaus	Diplom Pils Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Drop Bear Beer Co.	New World Lager	UK	Silver
Clausthaler	Original	Germany	Silver
San Miguel	Magna Roja 0,0%	Spain	Silver
Ambar	0,0 Tostada	Spain	Silver
Partake Brewing	Blonde	Canada	Silver
Schützengarten	Alkoholfrei	Switzerland	Silver
Maes	0.0%	Belgium	Bronze
Spaten	Alkoholfrei	Germany	Bronze
Swinckels’	0.0%	Netherlands	Bronze
Engel	Kellerbier Hell Alkoholfrei	Germany	Bronze
Days Brewing	Lager	UK	Bronze
Hofmeister	Ultra Low	Germany	Bronze
Fortitude Drinks	Everyday Lager	UK	Bronze
Karlsberg	Pils Alkoholfrei	Germany	Bronze
Wäls	Session Free	Brazil	Bronze
Pale
Iwate Kura Beer	Heel In The Prohibition Era	Japan	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Pale
La Voie Maltee	La Raisonnable IPA	Canada	Country Winner
Iwate Kura Beer	Heel In The Prohibition Era	Japan	Country Winner
Jupiler	0.0%	Belgium	Country Winner
Heaps Normal	Quiet Xpa	Australia	Country Winner
Rügener Insel-Brauerei	Surfers Summer Ale	Germany	Country Winner
Maisel & Friends	Alkoholfrei	Germany	Gold
Affligem	Blond 0.0%	Belgium	Silver
Svyturys	Go Pale Ale	Lithuania	Silver
Palm	0.0%	Belgium	Silver
Wold Top	Intuition	UK	Silver
Surreal Brewing Company	Natural Bridges Kolsch Style	US	Silver
San Miguel	0,0%	Spain	Silver
Hawkesbury Brewing Co	Prohibition	Australia	Silver
FrogBeer	Incroyable Blonde	France	Silver
Big Drop	Pine Trail Pale Ale	UK	Silver
Störtebeker Brauspezialitäten	Atlantik-Ale Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Partake Brewing	Pale	Canada	Silver
Tinnies	Ultra Low Alcohol	Australia	Silver
Mornington Peninsula Brewery	Mornington Free	Australia	Bronze
Drop Bear Beer Co.	Yuzu Pale Ale	UK	Bronze
Uwe	Summer Ale	Germany	Bronze
Bowness Bay Brewing	Swan Free	UK	Bronze
Libra	Pale Ale	Canada	Bronze
Sour & wild
Microbrasserie Le Bockale	Aurora	Canada	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Sour & Wild
Microbrasserie Le Bockale	Aurora	Canada	Country Winner
Big Drop	Double Strike Sour	UK	Bronze
Speciality
Big Drop	Paradiso Citra IPA	UK	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Speciality
Big Drop	Paradiso Citra IPA	UK	Country Winner
The Flying Dutchman Nomad Brewing Company	Freak Kriek Zero Point Three Feel Free Merry Cherry Beer	Belgium	Silver
Stout and porter
Big Drop	Galactic Milk Stout	UK	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol
Big Drop	Galactic Milk Stout	UK	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Stout & Porter
Athletic Brewing Co	All Out	US	Country Winner
Deschutes	Non-Alcoholic Irish Style Dark	US	Country Winner
Big Drop	Galactic Milk Stout	UK	Country Winner
Surreal Brewing Company	17 Mile Porter	US	Silver
Drop Bear Beer Co.	Bonfire Stout	UK	Silver
Wheet beer
Franziskaner	Alcoholfree Wheat Beer	Germany	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Wheat
Franziskaner	Alcoholfree Wheat Beer	Germany	Country Winner
Microbrasserie Le Bockale	Meteorite	Canada	Country Winner
Svyturys	Go Baltas	Lithuania	Silver
Athletic Brewing Co	Wit’s Peak	US	Silver
Maisel’S Weisse	Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Sober Carpenter		Canada	Silver
Bavaria	0.0% Wit	Netherlands	Silver
Baltika	0.0% Wheat Unfiltered	Russian Federation	Silver
FrogBeer	Incroyable Blanche	France	Silver
La Voie Maltee	La Raisonnable Wheat Beer	Canada	Bronze
Grolsch	Weizen 0.0%	Netherlands	Bronze

Seven in ten Brits want government policy to be protected from alcohol industry interference and a majority want a ban on alcohol advertising, says a survey for the Alcohol Health Alliance (which launches its manifesto in Parliament today.

“With a general election due to take place next year, our message to all political parties is that with the right political will there is a significant opportunity here to turn the tide on alcohol harm and drastically improve the lives of generations to come,” said Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the alliance.

The findings accompany the launch of a report and manifesto today in Parliament. The alliance points to National Audit Office figures showing alcohol deaths directly attributable to alcohol rose by 89% between 2001 and 2021, while alcohol harms cost the NHS £3.5bn a year.

The Yougov survey also found that 60% of people think alcohol displays and promotions in shops should only be visible to people who intend to browse or buy alcohol. They also showed strong support for making it mandatory to put basic information on alcohol product labels.

76% of respondents said the alcohol content of alcohol products should be required on labels, not just the alcohol percentage as is the case now, forcing consumers to work out how much alcohol a drink contains. Over half supported mandatory pregnancy warnings and nutritional information.

Alcohol products are exempt from laws requiring all other types of food and drink to include nutritional information on labels, despite alcohol being linked to seven types of cancer and over 200 other illnesses. The only requirement is for alcohol product labels to include volume, alcohol percentage and common allergens.

The UK government promised a consultation on alcohol labelling in 2020, but it did not deliver on its promise. ■

Twittersphere:

Report and manifesto here.: "70% of people surveyed support protecting Government policy from the influence of the alcohol industry and its representatives." (p3). Ad ban support below (p17). There were 12,000 on Yougov's panel.https://t.co/MWq2WAIxS5 pic.twitter.com/IB66MAQhKC

— Alcohol Review (@alcohol_review) July 11, 2023

Recommendations for alcohol and other drugs from Professor David Best of Derby University based on evidence he outlined at yesterday’s NHS Addictions Provider Alliance conference:

1. Get specialist help if you need it, including to deal with any trauma or long-term psychological health problems
2. You can rely on peer support. It can be but it doesn’t have to be mutual aid groups like AA or NA [Narcotics Anonymous]
3. Move away from using friends and find social groups that do not include alcohol
4. Do things—sport, education, hobbies—they build your social networks and your self-esteem 
5. You can help yourself a lot by helping others 
6. Be optimistic—you will get there—most people do

by Ian Hamilton, University of York

Increased drinking during the pandemic has created a group of people who don’t see themselves as alcoholics but have difficulty abstaining from alcohol for any length of time. This group, starting to be called grey-area drinkers, are at risk of alcohol-related health problems.

The relatively new term “grey-area drinking” describes people who consume more than a moderate amount of alcohol but don’t meet the criteria for dependence. Although they might not drink every day or have a drink first thing in the morning (the widely held view of an alcoholic) they are likely to be preoccupied with alcohol and have difficulty giving up. Many of these people don’t view themselves as in need of help.

Any widespread increase in levels of alcohol consumption matters. While most people are familiar with the risk of dependence there are a range of severe physical health problems associated with increased alcohol consumption that they are not so aware of. These include heart disease and a range of cancers, including bowel and breast.

Litres of alcohol bought in shops from April 2018 to 1 March 2021

Although overall consumption of alcohol has been slowly declining in recent years there is emerging evidence that some people have increased their consumption. The heaviest-buying segment of the population increased their purchasing by 5.3 million litres of alcohol (+14.3%) from 2019 to 2021. At the same time physical harm from alcohol has been increasing, with a significant rise in hospital admissions and alcohol-related deaths.

Public Health England collated the results of 18 surveys of self-reported alcohol consumption during the pandemic. Between 11% and 37% reported drinking less but between 14% and 26% of people reported drinking more than usual. This is especially concerning given that we know most people underestimate how much they drink by up to 40% in these surveys.

Pubs were closed during the pandemic, so drinking at home increased. This may have encouraged drinking in large quantities as people tend to pour larger measures of alcohol when drinking at home compared to the measures they are given in bars.

Evidence found that those who experienced stress during the pandemic increased the amount of alcohol they drank and how often. One international study exploring alcohol consumption during periods of self-isolation found that it was British drinkers who were most likely to increase the amount of alcohol they consumed – which they say was due to elevated levels of COVID-related stress.

These surveys found a noticeable increase in consumption for some once the pandemic began. Those who were drinking below the governments recommended weekly limits, continued to stay within these limits. However those who were already drinking above the 14 units a week increased their consumption.

Current UK guidance suggests no more than 14 units of alcohol should be consumed in a week (see illustration).

Levels of hazardous drinking are considered to be more than 50 units a week for men and 35 units for women. Evidence suggests that there was a 59% increase in those reporting drinking at these levels compared to before the pandemic.

Some argue that the alcohol industry embraces the perception that the majority of people drink responsibly. This has been one of the industry’s main arguments for resisting greater regulation. The industry points to the need for personal responsibility rather than corporate responsibility, although they fail to define what responsible drinking is. This shifts the onus onto the individual to make a change to their drinking habits rather than requiring the industry to make changes to its marketing or promotion techniques.

At a time when there is a clear need to tackle increased alcohol consumption, funding for specialist treatment and support has been withering. Some sections of the alcohol industry were encouraged to increase marketing spend as it would be more effective than ever. Some analysis shows that alcohol companies have also used lockdown for targeted social media activity. And the alcohol industry’s multi-million pound spend on marketing is huge, compared with the budget for public health messages, a truly David and Goliath struggle.

There has been little mention of alcohol or our unhealthy relationship with it during the pandemic by the government. For instance, off-licences were deemed to be essential services and stayed open during lockdown. The alcohol industry has proved to be adept at influencing government policy in its favour.

As treatment budgets are cut industry marketing increases and there is nothing to suggest that there will be any reduction in demand for hospital treatment due to alcohol or, sadly, coroners recording yet more alcohol-related deaths. ■

Ian Hamilton, Associate Professor of Addiction, University of York This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

A heavily-criticised deal to promote beer brands at the next two Olympics covers all brands in AB InBev’s portfolio, Alcohol Review has learned.

The deal shows a “disgraceful disregard for the health and wellbeing of the millions of children” said the UK Association of Directors of Public Health on Monday, with Scottish health NGO SHAAP saying it is “very disappointing”,

The agreement between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and AB InBev will cover “all the brands within AB InBev’s portfolio”, a spokesperson told Alcohol Review today, adding that there will be “a global focus on non-alcoholic beer products”. 

The deal includes “increased prominence and availability of these products for fans and athletes across the world to celebrate and encourage responsible drinking”, the IOC said. It said the  partnership will be “led globally” by AB InBev’s new no-alcohol brand Corona Cero. Olympic sponsors’ brands are not seen on the field of play as they would be in football.

“The proposed marketing activities are focussed on an adult audience only with a strong responsible drinking message as a key component. We are confident that this partnership will meet all appropriate industry standards in relation to its positioning and messaging,” said a British Olympic Association spokesperson.

Critics say the purpose of promoting a zero alcohol brand like this one is to simultaneously promote a near-identical alcoholic brand, hoping to sides-step advertising restrictions like those in France, which hosts the games this year. 

The IOC’s statement on Friday said AB InBev’s 3.5% Michelob Ultra brand will take the lead at the Los Angeles games in 2028. One of its selling points is being relatively low in calories. The Olympics have featured some alcohol sponsorship before but this is the first time an alcohol company has been a worldwide partner. ■