No Buzz Booze: The History and Science of Going Low- or No-Alcohol

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Dry January may be over, but, for many people, drinking less alcohol or none at all is an increasingly common choice year-round. And, unlike in the past, when dealcoholized options were few and far between—and had a well-deserved reputation for tasting bad—there’s now a booming market for non-alcoholic beers, wines, canned cocktails, and even spirits for the so-called "sober curious." But how do they get the booze out of our favorite tipples—and why is hard to keep the flavor? Gastropod is here to investigate! Join us for the history of breakfast beer, worker’s wine, and Welch’s Prohibition-era roots, as well as the science behind the “spinning cone” technology that revolutionized the world of non-alcoholic beverages. Plus: our hosts and a few brave volunteers put their taste buds on the line to find out which of these new drinks is worth swapping for the hard stuff, and which they wish they'd left on the shelf.

The lineup of non-alcoholic beverages—plus a regular Sauvignon Blanc and a regular gin (East London Kew Gin, FYI) for comparison—at Nicky's tasting. (Photo credit: Geoff Manaugh)

Episode Notes

Wes Pearson

Wes Pearson is a senior research scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute.

Dana Garves

Dana Garves is the owner and senior beer chemist at Oregon Brew Lab, which performs quality control analysis for beverage companies.

Welch's Grape Juice, standby of kid's lunches today, started out as a wine alternative—created by a prohibitionist dentist, it was labeled as "unfermented wine" and intended to replace Communion wine. No comment on their advertising strategies.

Molly Bowdring

Molly Bowdring is a clinical psychologist at the Stanford Prevention Research Center whose research focuses, in part, on the consumption of nonalcoholic beverages.

Lisa King

Entrepreneur Lisa King is the founder of Free AF, a New Zealand-based company that produces non-alcoholic canned cocktails.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for the Public Understanding of Science, Technology, and Economics

This episode of Gastropod was supported by a generous grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for the Public Understanding of Science, Technology, and Economics. Check out the other books, movies, shows, podcasts, and more that they support here.

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund

This episode of Gastropod was supported in part by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund for our coverage of biomedical research.

Transcript

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