Celebrating Fall In The N/A Drinking Era

Is N/A’s moment finally arriving? This year’s Fall celebrations involving adult beverages just feel…different.

It’s October, and we all know what that means. No, we’re not just referring to Sober October, when all are encouraged to pause drinking alcohol for a month in the name of health and wellness. We’re also talking about Fall, when it’s time to visit the pumpkin patch, put fake skeletons and spiders all over your yard, shoot apples out of a barrel gun, and also, the time to enjoy an autumn-themed adult beverage. If you’ve noticed more N/A options infiltrating your local beer store’s Oktoberfest shelves, or maybe a new non-alcoholic cider on a tasting menu, you’re not alone. The growth of N/A has been visible for a number of years, but its appearance in the mainstream has been more fleeting. That seems to have changed this season, one pumpkin beer at a time.

When a trend is going viral, it becomes evident in lots of little ways. Maybe it’s the Athletic beers that showed up in the cooler at the neighborhood block party this summer. The beer bar that started rotating N/A beers on draft for the first time. Or maybe the first alcohol-free bottle shop opening in your city. Progress happens in small ways, until the small becomes meaningful. Heck, Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley may have inadvertently kicked off Sober October by declaring last week that Generation Z is “just not that into beer,” announcing a greater focus on a full range of non-alcoholic products. He’s certainly not alone. The impact of N/A on the market is apparent everywhere, and in addition to finding that balance or abstaining from alcohol for at least a few weeks, that is something to celebrate this month.