The Controversy of Not Drinking
Well, here we are on the final day of Dry January, the month of abstinence from alcohol regularly observed by many within and outside the craft beer community. Much is written each year on Dry January, both by those who swear by it, and those who are tired of hearing about it. This year, however, seems to have brought out a particularly spicy angle on Dry January, particularly when taken in the context of COVID-19 where breweries, bars and restaurants are struggling to operate under lockdown restrictions, at a time of year when sales tend to slow even in the best of circumstances.
What I’ve observed started in December, with some innocent pitches via Instagram Stories reminding people that winter is always a sluggish time for breweries and restaurants, that this year will be exponentially difficult with most of these businesses only able to offer curbside or delivery services within COVID restrictions, and many consumers are even more constrained than normal. The posts encourage people that are participating in Dry January to find other ways to keep supporting the businesses they love that will be struggling this time of year by doing things like buying merch, gift cards, stocking up on beer for February, and so on.
In some corners of the community, it then started to drift more into the realm of proclamations like “I’m not doing Dry January this year, breweries need the business”, which was a stone’s throw away from inflammatory accusations that if you’re participating in Dry January, breweries are going to go under and you’re helping that happen. A slightly more diluted version of this argument that has been made is that it’s fine if you’re doing Dry January, but keep it to yourself because it’s in bad taste to be talking about not drinking at a time when businesses in the alcohol industry are struggling. Then of course there are always the annual jabs about how those who take part in Dry January never shut the fuck up about it.
Controversial right? Imagine being so selfish as to take a month off alcohol at a time like this.
Rorschach Brewing’s non-alcoholic brand, Free Spirit. Photo by Cee.
Is Dry January a silly social media trend?
It can be. No question. Anything with a widespread hashtag attached to it can become a silly trend very easily. I’m not a doctor so I won’t make any claims of knowledge to the medical benefits of specifically abstaining from alcohol for a month, but what I will say is this: Any break from alcohol is a good thing for your body. Whether it’s Dry January/February/July, Sober October, no drinking during the work week, a week off per month, or however you practice giving your body a break, it’s a good thing. We should obviously be practicing true moderation with alcohol consumption all year round, but if in addition to that you also take a month off from indulging to really let your body reset, it’s a good thing, and it should be encouraged.
This conversation about Dry January is only one piece of the larger complex puzzle that is the craft beer community’s attitude towards drinking habits. If you spend any time scrolling through Beer Twitter, you’ve seen the jokes about drunkenness or the cavalier attitude with which we talk about over-consumption. In the context of this past year, it’s taken a mental toll on everyone. How often have we talked about seeking out beer to get through the roller coaster of fear, anxiety and rage we’ve been navigating? Since we feel part of a community in the beer world, we constantly enable each other.
At a time when mental health is fragile, the behaviours we observe and encourage are even more consequential.
So then there’s the question of small businesses; the breweries, restaurants and bottle shops that we love so much in this community, and the people who built them that we so desperately want to survive the pandemic and the restrictions they have to operate under. Winter is a time when business is already slow, and they’re struggling now more than ever. They aren’t getting enough government support to survive the necessary lockdowns. They do need our business in order to survive.
Hickson IPA Sans Alcool by Brasserie Les 2 Frères. Photo by Nathan Does Beer.
That CANNOT mean though, that healthy drinking habits and encouraging conversation about responsible consumption has to take a back seat. I love beer, but mental and physical health has to come first. Taking a month off of alcohol is obviously not the one key to responsible and healthy consumption, but for some, it is a mechanism to reset, examine their relationship with alcohol, and give their body a break from it. I don’t even take part in Dry January myself, nor am I advocating that you should, but if a dry month is something that you practice and it helps you have a healthy relationship with alcohol, you should do it, and not let anyone tell you that’s a selfish decision. By the same token, no one should be discouraged from talking about taking a break from alcohol either. If we’re going to attempt to be a beer community that encourages each other, that has to include encouraging healthy relationships with alcohol. Whether in jest or from a misguided sense of priorities, telling someone that they should keep their beer breaks to themselves is dangerous.
If talking about taking a break gives a person strength or encourages even one other person to examine their own relationship with alcohol, that’s a win.
So where do we find the balance with this? How do we support struggling local businesses in the alcohol industry when we’re taking a break from consuming? If it’s within your means, I’d absolutely encourage you to buy gift cards, merch, or stock up for when your break is over. Some breweries even have great non-alcoholic options! If your favourite beer bar offers food, get takeout from them. Do what you can to help your favourite businesses, but don’t let that come at the cost of your physical and mental health.
Dominion City’s non-alcoholic seltzer brand, City Seltzer. Photo by Nathan Does Beer.
Now of course it’s all well and good for me as a beer blogger to talk about my thoughts on the conversation around consumption in the beer industry, but how do the people who make the beer and own these small businesses feel about it? I reached out to a few of these wonderful people and posed the question to them: What are your thoughts on people in the craft beer community taking part in Dry January/February (or any other dry month), and talking openly about their experience with it, this year specifically?
I had a chat about it with Josh McJannett, Co-Founder of Dominion City Brewing Company here in Ottawa. He told me the discussion about healthy drinking habits is welcome. If consumers feel that they need a dry month or another method to take a break from alcohol and reevaluate their habits, that discussion should be welcome too. He went on to explain that as a brewery owner, when your livelihood is essentially about being a good host, it can be all too easy for healthy habits to take a back seat. At this point, he referenced the story of David McMillan, chef-owner of Montreal’s Joe Beef, who for years was known for “eating and drinking like a viking” until he finally had to confront his addiction and turn to a life of sobriety.
Josh went on, “The urge to have a drink with everyone all the time is there, and sustainability with the habits of that lifestyle become an issue. I wouldn’t be able to have the same kind of habits now as I did when I started this business.”
In 2020, Dominion City created a brand of non-alcoholic seltzers called City Seltzer. Josh describes it as the kind of drink that makes you feel like you don’t even need a beer. It’s light, it’s bubbly, it’s flavourful, sometimes that’s all you want. When you can manage to not feel like you need a beer all the time, it makes you enjoy it that much more when you do have it.
One of the things Josh loves about craft beer is the level of passion that his customers have for their products. He says that the fact that this conversation about drinking habits is happening represents a real maturity of the industry. In 25 years he still wants to be making great beer, and he wants his customers to still be around to enjoy it. He concluded by acknowledging that no two businesses are the same, and he doesn’t profess to know what’s best for everyone. At the end of the day, he says, “I just want people to be well”.
Photo by Nathan Does Beer.
From Matthew Reiner, Co-Founder and Head Brewer, Rorschach Brewing Company, Toronto, ON:
We started the Free Spirit Alcohol Free brand about a year ago with somewhat of a self-motivated intent. Being in the brewing industry, it can be difficult at times to find the fine line between promoting responsible consumption and actively promoting the joys of drinking beer, even for ourselves. Being around beer every day, often for very long and physical hours, it can be difficult at times to separate our love of beer and brewing from the enjoyment of the social elements of consuming beer. We set out with the goal to brew a beer that we could love every bit as much as the rest of our lineup, but that we could enjoy without having to worry about the same mental and physical health and safety concerns that come with alcohol consumption. It was intended as much for those who abstain from alcohol entirely as for those who are seeking to moderate their alcohol consumption while still actively enjoying beer. It is also a goal with the brand to promote an active healthy lifestyle that can help counteract some of the potential negative risks involved with the consumption of alcohol.
It may be a bit surprising coming from a brewer, but I do believe that taking periods away from consuming alcohol, like Dry January, can be a very healthy decision for anyone, especially those that feel that they may be experiencing some negative mental or physical health effects. Promoting this does hurt our bottom line as a business in the short term and during a pandemic when there is so much uncertainty for everyone, but the end goal is a healthier society and greater welfare for everyone involved. It would be disingenuous to ask customers to support local businesses if those businesses aren’t actively promoting the overall health and wellbeing of the communities in which they operate.
Free Spirit was the most difficult beer recipe we’ve ever developed. It does seem counterintuitive to think that it would be more difficult to brew a beer without alcohol than one with it, but that was our experience. It is also a beer that we sell at a very low price point compared to our other brands, while still taking the same amount of time and energy to brew and package it. We are committed to this brand because we feel that healthy habits around alcohol are very important for society at large, but also that it will help the beer and brewing industry, in the long run, to be more sustainable.
From Patricia Rios, Co-Owner, OverHop Brewing, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC:
My answer will be a quote from Oscar Wilde: “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”
I don’t believe a dry month is necessary if you know how to balance your habits. If you feel you need to stop doing something, it’s mostly because you’ve done it too much. I’m not the one to tell grown-ups what they should or shouldn’t do, but if I own a business and I ask people not to buy my product for one month, it’s like cutting my own throat, isn’t it? I’ve never seen any other industry telling people to stop consuming their products. Have you?
Anyway, I've always believed the motto of the Craft Beer Industry was: "Drink Less, Drink Better." We’re already telling people to switch from a 6 pack of shitty beer to a can of a high-quality one. We’re already telling people to make better choices. My clients don’t leave our boutique with a flat of beer. Most of them leave with a 4-pack or two, which will last a good time.
Personally, I took a month off last year in January because I had a big reflux. For one month I focused on understanding where the problem was and how to solve it, and realized it was pure stress, but my husband drinks a can pretty much every day and never thought about stopping. He can also easily spend a week without any beer if he’s on a running training schedule, for example.
If you have a mental health issue, then it’s another thing. If you’re addicted to alcohol, you should look for professional help.
As I google the origin of this Dry January Challenge, I saw this: (https://alcoholchange.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/dry-january)
"To be absolutely clear; this challenge is not a detox or for those with dependency issues. Instead, it’s aimed at the huge numbers of people who are steadily drinking a bit too much, too often, (exceeding recommended guidelines of alcohol consumption) without realising the effect it may be having on their health."
Now I ask: what’s the point of drinking too much, taking a break, and going back to drinking too much? Wouldn’t it be better if we all focused on the “Earn your Beer” or “Run for Beer” challenge? Wouldn’t it be better if we talked more about how drinking better will lead you to drink less? Or how can we help people with drinking issues understand when it’s too much for them? I think those are the kind of questions we have to ask ourselves.
From Michael Jean, Founder and General Manager, Microbrasserie Le BockAle, Drummondville, QC:
It’s tough for every brewery right now, and even more for the small pubs that don’t have products on the shelves in the grocery and corner stores. Yeah, it’s dangerous to say not to promote good habits and healthy lifestyles, it’s better to push hard to say “Drink less, drink better”.
I do believe that everyone in this industry is trying to keep themselves above water as the Titanic is going down. Sometimes the stress makes people think less about the entire picture, even for us. I don’t want to blame them for that, they are trying to do their best to save their business and their jobs, but if we are talking mostly about people who don’t make beer and want to do dry months, they are mostly regular people trying to stay healthy. We as entrepreneurs are doing our best for 12 months of the year to keep our businesses above water, making sure we’re still alive and putting on a happy face for everyone here, staying strong in front of others, but we can’t forget to think of ourselves and not fall into alcohol.
For sure we can drink a couple of beers every weekend as we did in a regular situation, but sometimes even for myself, it's not always easy to stop after one or two because stress is already high. For myself, I’m doing two dry months, January and February, and my goal after that is to stay dry during the week and only drink on the weekends just as a purge for myself. I think there are a lot of entrepreneurs that are doing it like that a couple of times a year, one or two, maybe three times to clean their mind a little bit and make sure they still react well.
Everyone living through the pandemic feels a little more alone and more stressed, and sinking the problem into alcohol is not a solution for anything. I do believe that many people fell into alcohol last year, even myself at the beginning, and somewhere around the middle I had too much, but I believe people will experience a kickback from this and need to clean themselves. For sure when everything is done we will have a big party for two or three months, and that will be the kickback after the pandemic and then healthy habits will come back again. That might be Christmas once things are done, and then in the New Year, we’ll all be back to the gym again. So, if the pandemic confinement stops sometime around the summer, then summer will be crazy for alcohol sales, but I expect October or November will be a little bit slower and things might come back to a regular pace around Christmas. Then in the New Year folks will be back to the gym and then when summer comes, everyone will be back to their regular habits.
A huge thank you to Josh, Matt, Paty and Michael for sharing your thoughts on this subject! I greatly appreciate your perspectives and your wisdom.
Take care of yourselves and each other friends! Support your local breweries and restaurants, wear a mask, stay home, and stay safe!
Cheers!
Article by Nathan Lefebvre. Photography by Nathan and Cee.
Related:
Check out this great piece by Beth Demmon for Good Beer Hunting: Fuck the Sobriety Police
Nathan
Nathan is a craft beer enthusiast from Ottawa, ON. He is the Co-Founder of @TeamLactose, he’s passionate about travelling for beer and he loves talking about beer from Ontario, Quebec and beyond.