5 Booze Free Bevvies

Just as plant-based is becoming more and more a “thing” among foodies, so to alcoholfree drinks are appealing to an ever-increasing number of consumers. But how do they taste? To find out, we gave the Sipfree range of wines, spirits and beers a go. Read on to see if we’re converted!

A sister company of local craft beer brewery Gweilo Beer, Hong Kong’s Sipfree is a new distributor of low- and non-alcoholic drinks that are produced both here in HK and around the world. It supplies everything from absinthe to vermouth, including boozeless Australian spirits, and pale ales and stouts from UK’s Big Drop Brewing. (The UK, by the way, had record sales of nonalcoholic beverages last year.)

You’ll find Sipfree drinks in more than 50 establishments across HK and Macau, from supermarkets to restaurants, bars, hotels and clubs. And the drinks are available to order online too.

With all this in mind, we decided to give them a shot. While we’ve not done a Dry January in some time, for the sake of good journalism we did a few dry days in May! Here’s what we thought.

#1 Elivo Zero Zero Sparkling Rosé

(0 percent alcohol)

What Sipfree says: “Round and complete, this delicious nonalcoholic sparkling rosé is fresh on the palate with mildly fruity flavours and a dry finish. Elivo Zero Zero is made using the most natural method possible, from the manual selection of grapes to the careful dealcoholisation.”

How to enjoy: “Chilled, on its own.”

What EL thought: “The rosé was lightly sparkling and slightly fruity; it was nice and dry, too. Suitable for summer lunches.”

#2 Noughty Organic Vegan Sparkling Wine

(0 percent alcohol)