MINDFUL drinking has taken the Western Cape by storm with the introduction of the Mindful Drinking Festival in Cape Town last month. Mindful drinking aims to make the consumption of non-alcoholic drinks more fun and socially acceptable.
For all I know this could be just another weird trend coming from the hipsters in Cape Town but I definitely love the idea.
The whole point of mindful drinking is to enjoy the taste of the beverage, without getting completely hammered and embarrassing yourself.
Another reason for Durbanites to consider mindful drinking this December is that you can go about your usual business, like driving with a ‘beer’ in your hand, exercising after having a ‘cold one’ and actually remembering your family lunches.
Non-alcoholic beers like Castle Free, Heineken 0.0 and Savannah non-alcoholic all launched two years ago in South Africa and Castle Free beer is now officially the largest non-alcoholic beer brand in the country.
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Stokers Arms manager, Justin Elbers, who has lived in Cape Town – did not hold back when asked about non-alcoholic beer.
“Adults like alcohol, I think it’s just a fad. If someone had to offer me a non-alcoholic beer, I wouldn’t be happy. It’s more expensive and does nothing.”
Although Justin has his own hilarious reasons for not liking non-alcoholic drinks, customers at the pub he works at are buying into the mindful drinking wave.
“A lot of people are ordering it, more of the older crowd. I recently got into trouble with a customer because the Heineken 0.0 actually has 0.5 percent alcohol in it.
I also spoke to one of the organisers and founders of Mindful Drinking South Africa, Sean O’Connor, who wants South Africans to have a healthier relationship with alcohol.
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Sean O’Connor explained: Our goal is to reduce alcohol-related harm and other crimes; we want people to improve their relationship with alcohol and consume it responsibly. Taking the festival to other parts of the country is the goal but we’ll need local support in those cities and sponsors.
“We are not anti-alcohol, we just want people to be mindful of how they consume alcohol. Millenials are actively looking for alternatives to drinking without feeling disconnected in their social scenes.”
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