non alcoholic spirits

We cheers to non-alcoholic drinks while sipping on Spiritless cocktails.

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Rachel Roberts has never shied away from bucking trends and swimming against the tides, and her stellar journey so far is evidence enough of her excellence.

Now a global leader in premium spirits powerhouse Beam Suntory, she’s charged through a male-dominated industry, unyielding in her desire to create unique experiences.

Rachel joins us on You, Me & CPG to share the industry’s progress in equality (and where it’s yet to improve), the essential need for CPG brands to consider sustainability, the nuanced future of non-alc drinks, and so much more.

This episode covers

• Consumers’ consideration for sustainability in high-end spirits
• Creating bespoke non-alcoholic experiences that excel beyond the norm
• Rachel’s experience resisting those who dismiss female leaders’ strengths, valuing power over parity
• How she single handedly fought against a woeful UK maternity policy 
• The staggering pivot that Rachel and her team made when Covid interrupted a brand new business strategy

Learn more and follow the journey at: https://www.hainesmcgregor.co.uk/

Sian Davies has always been happy off-piste, whether it’s in her non-linear, international career, or her mountain marathoning. Both make her an unrivalled trailblazer.

She’s enjoyed a career that’s helped establish Seedlip as a boundary-pushing non-alcoholic innovator, and continues her stellar path as Diageo’s Global Head of Digital Consumer Insights.

This week on You, Me & CPG, we break down the risky-yet-rewarding path she’s taken, preserving a startup’s culture throughout Seedlip’s purchase, the thinking behind Guinness’ genius post-Covid campaign, and much more…

This episode covers

• Sian’s non-linear career, equipping her with unique experiences
• Whose opinions to value and whose to disregard when guiding your career
• Driving flexibility in the workplace though meaningful policy
• The cultural fit of a startup like Seedlip within Diageo
• Agency vs client side differences in approach
• How Sian ran a remarkable marathon while pregnant

Learn more and follow the journey at: https://www.hainesmcgregor.co.uk/

Ollie Palmer’s decorated career isn’t limited to startup success and roles with industry leaders, but athletic prowess.

From 10 years at Diageo to an influential journey so far with Caleño Drinks, Ollie’s adventure knows no bounds, whether in the CPG space or otherwise…

We catch up with Ollie as he shares the experiences from within the biggest drinks brand in the world, how to disrupt a space that’s ripe for the taking, and what makes the perfect background for a startup CEO.

This episode covers

• The business lessons from Ollie’s remarkable rowing achievements, and humility around them
• Disruption in the non-alcoholic spirits space
• Sales vs marketing as a CEO’s background
• Separating success from money and titles
• Ollie’s inspirational approach to the ‘5 year plan’

Learn more and follow the journey at: https://www.hainesmcgregor.co.uk/

We're here to help you make it through Dry January

We've made it through another year and here we are with our livers beaten senseless through the holiday celebrations.  If you're giving the body a break and trying to go dry we have some good news.  There are some pretty decent options available now to allow you to still have drink with your friends.

People always have questions about the Beer Guys drinking NA beers.  Hey, we like beer, but we know that too much of it is not a good thing.  We also like the taste of beer so having an occasional day, week, month where we ease up on the alcohol can be a good thing.  Speaking of just doing a day or so... we heard of Damp January this year.  That's kind of the principle we've been going by.  It can still be beneficial to take a break even if you don't go totally dry.

With that in mind... here are a few of our favs.

NA Beers

• Athletic Brewing - Most of what we've tried from Athletic is solid.  They are our favorite all around NA brewer
• Partake - Another one that is mostly solid.
• Bravus - Their Peanut Butter Dark is our single fav NA beer, and the one that would be most difficult for us to tell from an alcoholic version of the same style
• Ceria - Only a couple offerings right now but they are tasty.  If you're in CA or CO, they offer NA brews infused with THC and CBD.  (Ceria was founded by Dr. Keith Villa, the creator of Blue Moon.)
• One to pass on.... Hairless Dog.  We tried several of their offerings and did not find any we thought were palatable.

NA Spirits

NA spirits have some catching up to do with NA beer.  The quality is just not there and they are VERY far off from tasting anything like what they are trying to replace.

Most brands do say they are meant to be mixers rather than drinking them straight.  We highly suggest you follow this guideline.  The "bite" and mouthfeel is the hard part here.  Some brands add pepper and capsaicin to try and mimic the heat, but it's still a long shot

We recently tried Drink Monday gin and whiskey.  They are some of the better ones we've tried, but still not sippers.  Nate made an NA Old Fashioned with them and it was a decent cocktail, but not really passable as an Old Fashioned.

BIG WINNER - Lyre's Italian Spritz is pretty t

Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.

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Find out more at www.tipplezero.com/session03
Sharing stories is at the core of Tipple Zero. Listening to and learning about people that look, sound (especially in this case!) and ‘do’ differently to you is what makes the non-alcoholic scene really inspiring and exciting.

There aren’t many things that allow people to be on completely different ends of a spectrum but still aiming for the same goal. 

Thankfully non-alcoholic drinks provide that opportunity and it is why I jumped at the chance to build episode #003 around Mary Bernard! You can find her at @mysoberbff

Mary is (as you’ll gather from the accent) based in America and currently in Upstate New York and is someone who has through 2021 decided to leave alcohol behind.