By Chris Losh, Co-Founder of the World Alcohol-Free Awards
One of the beauties of the World Alcohol-Free Awards is the way in which it holds a mirror up to the world of non-alc. We had 450 entries last year, from 21 different countries, so it’s probably the most representative snapshot you can get of this fast-growing part of the drinks world.
As with all mirrors, sometimes it throws up a few surprises: categories that did really well that we weren’t expecting to, styles or countries that underperformed, and drinks that we’d never seen before and could never have predicted in one million years.
In fact, that juxtaposition of established long-term trends and creative innovation is what makes this time of year—when entries start to come in for the 2025 competition—so exciting. It’s like seeing the RSVPs come in for a big celebration.
So as the clock starts to tick down to judging, what are we expecting to see in a few months’ time?
1. A Greater Breadth of Beer Styles
In our first competition in 2023, non-alc beer was almost exclusively pale ale and lager. We saw a few more variations last year—sours, stouts etc.—and we’d expect that to continue. Even on the “standard” styles, we saw some haziness, which seemed to add depth and texture. As the most established non-alc category, we think consumers are ready for more variety here, and we’d encourage brewers who are pushing the boundaries a bit to show off their craft credentials!
2. The Rise and Rise of Juices and Adult Sodas
One of the things we didn’t predict when we set up WAFA was how the growth of alcohol-free adult beverages would impact neighboring categories like energy drinks, sodas, and soft drinks. They’re very much part of the serious non-alc space now, with functionality, grown-up flavors, and real craft and thought going into their creation. We can’t wait to see what comes in in this space. It could be the surprise package of 2025.
3. Hoping for Hop Water
This trend seems to have gone crazy in North America over the last couple of years, but it’s been slow to push into other parts of the world. Balancing a strong flavor like hops in a light drink is not easy, so we’d love to see who’s doing it well. And impressing our judges could be just what’s needed to push the best efforts into new markets and to new consumers. We’re sure the demand is there—people just need to be reassured to buy with confidence, and there’s nothing better than a medal on an individual drink, or a strong performance from the category as a whole, to do that.
4. The Impact of Changes in Wine Dealcoholization Tech
By common consensus, non-alc wine is really hard to do well. The dealcoholization process is incredibly complex—essentially taking a drink apart and then putting it back together again, only without alcohol. But the process of doing so has been improving steadily over time, and there are very positive noises coming out about the latest dealcoholization machines. These have been operating for the last 12-18 months, so we should be starting to see those drinks hitting the market. Improving the process by even 5% will have a big impact on what’s in the glass. Since all our drinks are tasted blind, our judges won’t know what they’re trying, and it will be fascinating to see whether drinks made with the latest dealcoholization technology rise to the top.
5. Expecting the Unexpected
Alcohol-free is spreading around the world. We had entries from 21 different countries last year, and already we have a couple of new ones for 2025. Apart from the general excitement of being part of a growing category, there’s also the thrill of seeing how various cultures interpret the space—sometimes reviving ancient traditional drinks, other times bringing unusual twists to established drink styles. Barriers are always being pushed in the non-alc world, and whichever countries enter over the next couple of months, we’re expecting to see ever-more blurring of boundaries when it comes to how drinks are packaged and served. Last year, we had drinks that needed infusing in hot water. Could this be the year when we get granules or mixable sachets? We’ll know once the results come out at the start of April!
