Nonalcoholic liquor, wine and beer are becoming more popular and more readily available as people choose to give up booze, either permanently or temporarily.
Memento Zero Proof Lounge at 8701 E. 116th St. in downtown Fishers caters to that sober crowd, and has seen success in the two months since opening in late October.
Although new to the bar business, co-owners Max Gavin and Shwa Hall have worked together for about eight years, running a recording studio first in Fishers and then in Fountain Square in Indianapolis. Gavin said they found themselves needing a place to talk business or just hang out, but at the time they weren’t old enough for bars.
“It was this weird in-between where we were like, ‘Man, there’s nothing for this age range,’” he said. “That’s kind of where the original idea came from — we wanted it to be a coffee shop, but we wanted to stay open later for those kids that are in that 18 to 20 range, to kind of give them a place to hang out at night.”
Gavin said that after losing a family member to alcoholism, he decided to go sober a few years ago. That’s when he discovered the world of nonalcoholic spirits.
“I started experimenting with some of the nonalcoholic beers,” he said. “I was a big craft beer guy when I was drinking.”
He said the Tap Room on 96th Street had a nonalcoholic IPA on draft that he tried, “and it opened my eyes to this massive world that I started doing research and realize that we can find everything to nonalcoholic absinthe — like it is a crazy, crazy world of drinks that you can find.”
Nonalcoholic beer and wine are fermented like regular beer and wine, he said, but then they’re processed a final time to draw out the alcohol. That process preserves the taste that people want from beer and wine. Liquor is a little more complicated. Since spirits are mostly alcohol, there’s nothing left if you try to take it away.
“What they do with the liquors is, they’ll have a food scientist try a bourbon, for example, and then they’ll start with a base of water and add botanicals to it until they can match that flavor,” Gavin said. “The problem with that is, it does come across a little bit watered down. But once you start mixing it into a cocktail, it really tastes like alcohol.”
The beers and wines are not technically zero-proof. It’s not possible to remove 100 percent of the alcohol. But, Gavin said, what remains is a tiny amount — 0.5 percent.
“To ease people’s nerves on that, what we like to tell them is that 0.5 percent… is less than what you would find in cooked sourdough bread or in a natural raw banana,” he said. “Those both have higher than a 0.5 percent alcohol content. If you’re comfortable with eating those, you should be fine drinking anything we carry here.”
Memento is not only a bar, it’s also a coffee shop, which means it’s open in the morning and at night. Hall said the original concept of a coffee shop that stayed open late was somewhat flawed because people don’t generally drink coffee at night, which is why the zero-proof bar idea was appealing.
“I was kind of thinking about doing stuff like Shirley Temples, refreshers, lemonades, all that type of stuff,” he said. “And then, as we researched, discovered, (nonalcoholic) wines, beers and liquors and stuff like that, we kind of had an epiphany moment where we realized this could be a lot bigger than just a space for 18 to 20 year olds who are too young for bars and too old for kids spaces, and have nowhere to go in the evenings.”
Hall said the idea expanded into a pressure-free space for people who are pregnant, for example, or people who — for whatever reason — don’t want to be around alcohol.
Hall said he’s not sober, but is “sober-curious.” He doesn’t drink often and can relate to people who either don’t drink at all or want to take a break.
“We like to tell everybody that this isn’t just a place for the sober community,” Gavin said. “This is a place for people like Shwa that are just taking a break or just one night off, even. We really want to try and be accepting of everybody and every type of person that we can.”
Gavin added that Muslims in Fishers are among their regular customers, as it’s against their religion to drink alcohol.
“We’ve gotten a lot of praise from the (Muslim) community,” he said. “They’re very happy to have a spot that they can come hang out at night.”
Both Gavin and Hall said that they initially thought the coffee side of the business would be more popular, but the mocktails and NA beer and wine were the first to take off. Hall said that side has slowed down a little during December and the coffee side picked up. They anticipate another upswing for the bar side in January.
“I would expect with dry January — even if people weren’t doing the whole month, (and) they might be attempting to do the whole year with a resolution,” Hall said. “I could see an uptick in January. It’ll be curious to see how that pans out for us.”
The bar has hosted some events, and they plan to expand those offerings. They had a comedian perform one night, provided space for pop-up boutiques and hope to start a karaoke night in addition to their regular Tiki Tuesdays. In addition to cocktails served on the premises, they have packaged NA beer, wine and spirits that people can buy to take home, and a small kitchen that offers a selection of snacks.
For more, visit mementoretail.com.
Dry January
Following the holiday season, which often involves a fair amount of alcohol, some people decide to participate in Dry January. That simply means not drinking alcohol for the entire month of January.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, taking a month off is an opportunity for people to assess their alcohol consumption and determine whether they want to make a permanent change.
“It gives a person a chance to cultivate alternatives for relaxing, socializing and coping with stress,” according to a post on the NIAAA website. “As a result, many people experience benefits such as improved sleep and waking without the fatigue, malaise and upset stomach of a hangover. Some also find that without the extra calories due to alcohol they lose weight.”
The web post offers tips for achieving the goal of not drinking for a month. They include finding alternative ways to manage stress and anxiety, such as taking a walk; letting friends and family know about the goal and inviting them to join in; making sure that alcohol-free options are available at parties and practicing what to say when offered an alcoholic beverage; paying attention to how not drinking feels; and having a plan in place for when the month is over.
For more, visit niaaa.nih.gov.
