After-work pints are being relegated to the back burner to make room for non-drinking workers, and even young people no longer find drunken nights ill-advised: 21 per cent of under-25s say they are teetotallers.
It is no surprise, then, that the traditional pub is going through something of an identity crisis as it tries to attract teetotal customers, while also being hit hard by work-from-home culture.
Earlier this month, the owner of a booze-free pub in Dorset boasted of soaring profits despite claims it would have flopped 12 months ago, while in London, those wanting to stave off hangovers now have The Lucky Saint.
Created by the beer brand of the same name, it serves a variety of low-alcohol options, which can’t legally be defined as non-alcoholic, but you probably have more alcoholic condiments in your fridge at home.
Currently, in England, non-alcoholic drinks are defined as those with no more than 0.5 percent alcohol, while in countries such as the United States, Denmark, Germany, Australia, Sweden, Portugal and Belgium the limit is just 0.05 percent.
To put that into context, 0.5 per cent is the same alcohol content as vinegar or an overripe banana and less than ketchup and it won’t get you drunk or increase your blood alcohol level, even after 10 pints.
That’s good news if you’re part of the new wave of teetotalers, but less so if a good pint at your local pub is the highlight of your week.
To put it to the test, we sent beer enthusiast Rich Pelley (who never drinks less than three pints on a night out) to see if a pub session without actual alcohol would result in more of a headache than a hangover the next morning.
Rich Pelley enjoyed an evening at The Lucky Saint pub in Marylebone to find out what it’s really like to be a drunk without a “proper” beer
I’m not a big drinker, but in close circles I’m known as ‘Three Pint Pelley’, due to my insistence on having three pints every time we go out.
Anything less, I consider, is a waste as it does not achieve the desired three-pint alcohol high.
My friends have seen through my ruse of offering to participate in the first round, so that I can insist on buying a third. I have never tried to limit myself to low-alcohol or non-alcoholic beers before.
I’m not a sophisticated drinker. A pint of Kronenberg, Stella, Amstel, please, I’m not interested. Fancy pils or craft beers, no thanks.
My friends say my drinking habits have stagnated in the 90s. The same goes for my fashion and music habits. If I could, I’d be drinking a pint of Hofmeister with a pair of baggy bell-bottoms in the Intrepid Fox on Wardour Street (which closed in 2006) and listening to Oasis.
Instead, I find myself on a sunny August afternoon in The Lucky Saint, which was opened by the low-alcohol beer brand of the same name on the site of a historic Victorian pub that had been left derelict since Covid.
As a Gen Xer who still enjoys a lot of drinking, I was intrigued to see if I could miraculously manage to stay sober and resist temptation, especially since the pub sells a mix of options: low-alcohol, non-alcoholic, and regular drinks.
Anthony, from Ealing, was on his second pint of Bavarian Helles and said he wouldn’t try the low-alcohol beers on offer because he “doesn’t like them”.
The Lucky Saint pub in West London, where they serve their own brand of low-alcohol beer as well as a selection of regular alcoholic drinks.
Caroline (front left), from Yorkshire, ‘marked’ her glass of rosé with a non-alcoholic beer, while her friend Laura (back left) stuck with wine.
As well as pints of its own beer, other low-alcohol options include Big Drop 0.5 per cent cider at £4.50 a can and non-alcoholic Guinness at £5.50.
They also sell alcoholic drinks, but not drinking alcohol doesn’t necessarily guarantee a cheaper night out.
A pint of Lucky Saint 0.5% draught beer costs £6.50, the same price as a pint of Camden Hells 4.6% or a pint of Gravity Theory cider. A pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord pale ale 4.3% costs less, at £6.20.
“When I arrived I had a non-alcoholic beer. Now I’m drinking a rosé, but it was a bookmark,” says Caroline, 36, from Yorkshire, who works in the technology sector and now lives in Spain.
“I mix non-alcoholic drinks with alcoholic drinks and I go through periods where I only drink non-alcoholic drinks. I drink Lucky Saint. I know the brand, that’s why I came here.”
“Caroline told me to meet her here, but I know the brand,” says Laura, 36, from Yorkshire, who works in London and is drinking an £8 glass of 12.5 per cent Mediterranean rosé wine.
Lucky Saint sells a wide range of low and no-alcohol wines. A glass of 0% alcohol Noughty Sparking Chardonnay costs £5 and a glass of 0.4% alcohol Muri Sherbert Daydream costs £8. They also sell low and no-alcohol spirits.
“At work they say this is a good place for non-alcoholic drinks,” Laura adds. “If it was Monday or Tuesday, I’d definitely be drinking non-alcoholic drinks. What are you looking for?”
I’m thinking that we are a nation of alcoholics who can’t enjoy themselves without drinking. Or at least that’s what I thought until now.
The Lucky Saint is what I would describe as stylish, located within a quiet residential street in central London.
There were a lot of people outside, but it was pretty empty inside because it was a sunny afternoon. Plus, they allow you to bring cups outside instead of forcing you to pour your drink into a plastic one.
Rich said he could be persuaded to swap one of his pints on a night out for a lower-alcohol version.
It didn’t seem like it was going to get raucous, but that’s because it was all pretty civilized, even though everyone seemed to be drinking alcohol anyway.
And where does this buzz come from these days? Who goes to the pub after work anymore, especially one in central London where nobody actually lives?
“People come here for the atmosphere and the drinks,” says Caroline. “It’s nice to socialize, but not necessarily go home drunk.”
“It’s inclusive because if you don’t drink alcohol, you can come and have a pint of draught beer,” adds Chris, a 40-year-old Londoner who works in the tech sector and is drinking a pint of 5.3 per cent Bavarian Helles for £6.50. “My next pint will be a low-alcohol Lucky Saint. It’s a nice way to go at your own pace.”
I’m on my second pint of Lucky Saint and my uneducated taste buds have already forgotten that I don’t drink a normal lager.
Anthony from Ealing is on his second pint of Bavarian Helles. Will he have a third? “Yeah.” Good man. Except… wait. Aren’t boring old Gen Zers supposed to not drink?
“I just enjoy having a drink,” he says. “Non-alcoholic beers don’t really appeal to me.”
Kevin Lyster, Lucky Saint’s PR director, appears from the upstairs office and even invites us up to take a look. How’s business?
“It’s been great,” he smiles. “We have a lot of running and cycling clubs. We’re very close to the BBC, so we get a few celebrities.”
Oh, celebrities! Like who?
‘Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day came to do a Lucky Saint and tagged us on Instagram. There were fans coming up and saying, “Is there a secret concert going on?” It’s amazing the power of the internet.’
This reminds me of Taylor Swift’s favourite kebab shop in Kentish Town, North London, which appears in the End Game video.
It’s also at this time of night (I’m already on my third Lucky Saint) that I feel like having a kebab. But with a clear head, I’m not sure I can stomach it. Nor do I feel the need to steal a traffic cone.
I had a great night. My stomach feels full of beer, but I don’t feel drunk. That’s one of the things about drinking. You often don’t realize how drunk you were until you wake up in the morning and think, “Oh my God.”
Waking up without a hint of a hangover after a night at the pub is a novelty. I’m not sure I’ll make it a habit, because I like to drink.
But I can see myself swapping one or even two of my magic three pints for a low-alcohol beer, and perhaps becoming a slightly less annoying friend.
(tags to translate)dailymail