NA & LA Brands – Organic, Biodiverse, Clean Manufacturing, and Small Crafters

CleanCo Ventures, LTD, of London, has grown at unprecedented rates since its startup in 2018, even during 2020, at the height of the pandemic. Their story is uplifting and honest, as Co-founder Spencer Matthews exposes his previous struggles with alcohol, having the strength and fortitude to turn around his life and is now enjoying freedom and more success than any young entrepreneur could ever conceive.

Justin Hicklin, the other co-founder of CleanCo, was once the director of the Gin Guild, which promotes excellence in the distillation of gin, by educating the wine and spirit industry through blogs, events, news, YouTube videos, and other communications and activities. His knowledge of the traditional distillation process and strong contacts in the spirit world is a cornerstone for the CleanCo Brands.

Recording 1419% YoY increase since its start up only a few years ago, Clean Co Brand Co-Founder, Spencer Matthews, is enjoying his NA life in the spirits business. Spencer is not shy about his struggles and shares on his website how his life was consumed with alcohol in his 20s, even searching for jobs where big parties and regale entertaining was considered a skill. Even with all of the beguilement, Matthews explains he was living in a down-trodden drinking cycle. That is until his first-born child changed everything. And kids tend to do just that, usually in a good way!

Matthews, who has been sober since 2018, explains in an article published by UK’s businessinthenews.com, “Nobody wakes up saying “I wish I drank more last night.” His honesty is refreshing and his actions reflect his commitment. “I decided to go clean,” Matthews explains, “and it unlocked a dimension of my life that I was surprised by — becoming more focused, driven, creative and able. It also felt like I had far more time in the day to achieve my goals.”  In doing so, he realized that drinking alcohol wasn’t a catalyst for fun.  He writes, “I’ve never looked back, I haven’t needed to.” 

Starting CleanCo is a grand way for Matthews to give back, “not to preach about alcohol consumption”, as he explains, “but to provide alternatives”, without compromising taste, and the repercussions that follow excessive abuse.  CleanCo’s promise to their customers states “Our job is delivering the highest quality non-alcoholic alternatives (and) your job is to enjoy them and raise a toast to tomorrow!”  As well as targeting the expected flavors you find in alcoholic equivalents, their award-winning brand constantly endeavors to also replicate the tingling sensation found in full-strength counterparts. They have given their NA Spirits such names as Clean V (vodka), Clean G (gin), Clean R (rum), Clean W (bourbon whiskey) and their more controversial Clean T (a NA take on tequila).  “We want more drinkers to be aware that there are choices,” Matthews finishes, when choosing the next social beverage.

For a great NA Tequila, Clean Co developed a tart and dry version that is a close cousin to the alcoholic versions, aptly named Clean T. This NA take on blanco tequila opens with soft, fresh blue agave and oak aromas with hints of olive, complemented with a medley of sweet melon and subtle fruit flavors, which all combine to create a peppery dry finish.

Alone or mixed with organic orange and cherry juice as a NA Tequilla Sunrise or fresh squeezed lemons and NA Blue Curacao for a delicious Pacific Ocean Tart Mocktail, you cannot readily distinguish between Clean T and Cuervo Gold. However, with only 12 calories per 50ml serving, the totally non-alcoholic version offers a glorious hangover-free morning, and healthy lifestyle!

MORE CHIC ALTERNATIVES

Johannes Leitz is a German fine wine producer who is committed to sustainable harvests, working his land by hand whenever possible.  A substantial portion of his 140 hectares estate is nestled on the Rüdesheimer Berg’s south-facing slopes and is dedicated to producing delicate Rieslings that rival the most popular alcoholic brands. With a light, bubbly base and award-winning finish, Leitz’s best sellers include a Sparkling Riesling. with flavors of tart green apples and white peaches and marks the dryness of most outstanding wines of this region. To prove his dedication of sustainability, he collaborates with the Ministry of Environment in restoring the traditional terraces of Berg Rottland and Berg Kaisersteinfels vineyards.

His Zero labels, like Leitz – Eins Zwei Zero Riesling, which is still white wine with orange citrus, rhubarb, and tarragon.  It is clean and crisp with a dry finish and is a wonderful compliment to a variety of seafoods, duck L’ Orange, and Thai Curry dishes with Mango salsa.  The light citrus flavor also pairs well with pork, buttery dishes and white gravies or sauces.

Matthew Jukes, at Temple Cellars in Singapore, considered to be a world-famous wine taster and writer, has worked in the wine trade for more than 30 years.  His dream stemmed from the desire to find seriously rewarding, alcohol-free (AF, NA) drinks.  His company sells craft beers, lo-fi wines, grower champagnes, bubblies from the bees, sakes, and other non-alcoholic alternatives.

Jukes also offers robust flavors in small containers.  Jukes Cordialities is one of his celebrated NA options and the process he employs is unique in that it steeps about 20 to 25 ingredients — fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, and flowers — to create sophisticated, organic apple cider vinegar-based blends. Then he siphons its concentrated infusion to market in small, undiluted bottles. One 30ml bottle makes approximately two 125ml glasses of delicious wine. Nine concentrated bottles mixed with water equates to the same volume as 3 bottles of wine. So, experiment with a water-base like spring water, ginger ale or club soda, mix in the Cordialities, and enjoy the flavor. Its storage is much easier than larger bottles.

Athletic Brewing has exceeded several records in the brewing industry. Firstly, it is an award-winning brand garnishing more than twenty-five Gold Medal Beer Awards, and secondly, according to Nielsen ratings, Athletic is considered the #1 Selling Craft NA Beer brand in the world. AND lastly, they have the world’s largest NA Brewery, at 150,000 sq. ft., based in Milford, CT (USA). Their motto claims they are “Pioneering a Craft Brew Revolution.”

Using an innovative, proprietary method of brewing NA beer, they carry a set of “Nonnies” with malts and hops that do not compromise taste — from non-alcoholic goldens and IPAs to darks and sours. A favorite of this brand is the Run Wild IPA, which is full of sweet malts, intense citrus flavored hops, and a subtle hint of pine, to add a range of flavors. As a Gold-Medal winner, you know this craft beer is going to quench your thirst, without compromising taste.

Thomson & Scott is serious about producing NA and LA wines with organic grapes, boasting brisk and zingy flavors that closely resemble its alcoholic competitors, without the headache. Raised on a plant-based, no sugar diet by her health-conscious mother, Amanda Thomson set out to provide the world’s first premium non-alcoholic wine portfolio. NOUGHTY Non-Alcoholic Rouge is one product of her dream, made with 100% Syrah grapes from dryland farmed vineyards in South Africa, crushed black pepper, dried rose petals and candied cherries integrated with French oak tannins. It has a deep ruby-red color and a similar acidity of typical alcoholic reds. However, it is dealcoholized to 0.5% ABV, and contains only 2.5g/100ml of residual sugar.

On the white side, the NOUGHTY non-alcoholic Sparkling 100% Chardonnay is grown in the sandy and calcareous vineyards of southern Spain. It shows an elegant pale color and crisp apple scent. This wine has been dealcoholized, with only 2.9g of sugar content and 14 calories per glass. It is certified organic, vegan and gluten free. NOUGHTY is available in the world’s coolest bars, restaurants, hotels and spas in the US, Canada and across Europe.

In the early 20th century, the refreshingly bitter Negroni cocktail is said to have been concocted in Florence, Italy by an Italian Count named Camillo Negroni. While patronizing the Bar Casoni, the Count summoned the bartender to strengthen his popular Americano cocktail (James Bond’s favorite) by replacing the soda water with straight gin. The bartender garnished the drink with an orange peel instead of the normal lemon peel, and the Negroni was birthed. Negroni parallels the Martini in the shrine of cocktail classics.

To our surprise, there are some huge fans of the Negroni cocktail at St. Agrestis. With the drink’s consequential history to its assorted recipes, St. Agrestis believes the Negroni is one of the most delicious libations on earth, so they offer a variety of ready-to-drink formats, including their award-winning Non-Alcoholic Phony Negroni®, which is produced and bottled by at their Brooklyn, NY distillery. The Phony Negroni® is made with 30 non-GMO, organic ingredients and shows notes of piney citrus and florals, but with the same bitterness of the classic cocktail. Carbonation is also added to help mimic the bite of true alcohol. The NA Negroni or Phoney Negroni is a delightful option to have “shaken, not stirred”.

The Seedlip Brand is only eight-years-old and was voted #1 Best-Selling Non-alcoholic Spirit by Drinks International for three years in a row. Here is the backstory: Ben Branson, SeedLip’ founder, stumbled upon a book written by Dr. John French in 1651, named The Art of Distillation. It documented the use of distilled herbal remedies utilizing copper stills to combine nature and alchemy for medicine, with the goal of resolving the diseases that plagued those times. Ben soon purchased a small copper still and started experimenting with distilled herbs grown in his home garden. For about two years, he worked diligently to perfect his own process of maceration, distillation, filtration, and blending, where each individual botanical ingredient is distilled separately, before blending. This process forms a liquid that results in no sugar, therefore no alcohol, but lots of flavor.

Ben launched Seedlip Spice 94 in London’s Selfridges in November of 2015, and it was an astounding success. One thousand of his handmade spirits sold out within three weeks, and the second thousand sold in three days. The third batch sold-out online within 30 minutes. His unique ingredients start with a warm, aromatic blend of Allspice and Cardamom, with fresh citrus top notes to balance the long bitter finish.” One bottle of Ben’s Seedlip Spice 94 makes 12-14 cocktails. All of Ben’s NA spirits are made with all-natural ingredients and are shipped in sustainable packaging. Other flavors include Grove 42 and Garden 108, that are uniquely satisfying NAs, without the dreaded hangover.

Prima Pavé was born from a pregnant Italian lady who was looking for delicious alternatives. Dejou Marano, and her husband Marco, are Certified Specialists of Wine and hospitality entrepreneurs, who traveled the world to meet with leading wineries and learn from these experts in their craft. The couple ultimately partnered with a winemaker in Northern Italy’s viticultural area to develop the exceptional Prima Pavé brand of wines that are handcrafted with no sugar or added chemicals. Prima Pavé showcases hand-selected Italian grapes expressed with the same character and depth of flavor as alcoholic fine wines and are crafted from vineyard to bottle. All wines are dealcoholized through a proprietary, all-natural, additive-free process.

The best seller is their ROSE BRUT, a 0.0% wine, with fresh fruit and florals, and a crisp finish, blending Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc & Gewürztraminer grapes. It won three distinctive SILVER Awards, including the IWSC International Wine & Spirits Competition (94 points), the San Francisco International Wine Competition, and Sommeliers Choice Awards, which tells you one thing… it is bubbly good! All of their wines are developed to be well balanced and food friendly.

Inside of a state-of-the-art craft brewery, Brewdog re-engineered the brewing process to deliver all of the flavors of alcoholic craft beers without the alcohol. In Scotland, they are exploring the possibilities to redefine wild and sour beers with alternative fermentation. In Columbus, Ohio (USA), the Doghouse features a taproom, a first-of-its-kind craft beer hotel, and state-of-the-art brewery, to provide inspirational craft beers.

While they have these craft breweries and tap rooms all around the world, including Berlin, Germany, in Las Vegas, NV (USA), they built an on-site rooftop bar, including two floors of a craft beer paradise. and a rotating line-up of top American guest breweries to boot! Founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, Brewdog is brewing up steam in the field of NA craft beers like no other rival!