Whatever your tipple, Angela HansenB次元官网网址檚 liquor store on VancouverB次元官网网址檚 Commercial Drive has stock to satisfy, from Prosecco to tequila B次元官网网址� so long as you donB次元官网网址檛 want any actual liquor.

HansenB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渁lcohol free liquor storeB次元官网网址� Mocktails opened last March, and just a few days into the new year, she was anticipating a B次元官网网址渂oomB次元官网网址� for her business.

B次元官网网址淒ry January, I think is gonna be a big thing for the alcohol-free world,B次元官网网址� she said, referring to the global movement to cut back on alcohol this month. B次元官网网址淪ome people are begrudgingly doing it, and others are very, very enthusiastic to do it, and theyB次元官网网址檙e excited that they have this. You donB次元官网网址檛 have to do Dry January with a Coca-Cola or something like that.B次元官网网址�

ItB次元官网网址檚 not the only business catering to the market B次元官网网址� just a block away is The Drive Canteen, a snack-bar that offers B次元官网网址渟ophisticated non-alcoholic beveragesB次元官网网址� in its store. In Port Coquitlam, B.C., thereB次元官网网址檚 Bevees, a B次元官网网址渂ooze-free bottle shopB次元官网网址� that opened in November 2023.

The rise of stores like Mocktails and others comes as health concerns around alcohol rise B次元官网网址� and as British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 once-booming craft beer industry goes through tough times. A series of high-profile brewers have closed down or are in financial strife; many cite economic conditions as well as a shift in drinking preferences.

ItB次元官网网址檚 unclear whether greater awareness of health risks associated with alcohol are reducing demand, but the rise of booze-free options offer alternatives to those seeking to cut back after an alcohol-fuelled holiday season.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e coming out of December, which is like the heaviest drinking month of the year for most people,B次元官网网址� said Dr. Tim Naimi, director of the University of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.

The research body launched an online tool this month that allows individuals to calculate their alcohol risks based on their consumption, and Naimi said itB次元官网网址檚 important for consumers to make B次元官网网址渋nformed decisions.B次元官网网址�

The risks of excessive alcohol consumption are well-documented, but have come into sharper focus in Canada since January 2023, when the government-supported Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction said the risk of cancer rises at much lower levels of alcohol consumption than previously thought.

Any more than two standard drinks a week put people at higher risk, it said in its report.

Last week, the U.S. Surgeon General released a new advisory about alcohol and the risks of cancer it carries, calling for health warning labels on alcohol products.

Naimi was involved in the research that went into updating the CCSA alcohol guidance, and said it is B次元官网网址渃ommon senseB次元官网网址� for the U.S. Surgeon General to call for better labelling.

B次元官网网址淥ther packaged food and beverage products in Canada require quite a bit of information. But if I buy a bottle of Scotch, it just says 40 per cent (alcohol by volume) and thatB次元官网网址檚 pretty much it.B次元官网网址�

Naimi said a lot of information consumers get about alcohol comes from the industry, and the calculator tool employs B次元官网网址済ood up-to-date scienceB次元官网网址� to inform people of their health risks.

B次元官网网址淏ut more importantly, itB次元官网网址檚 just for people who are considering cutting back,B次元官网网址� he said.

The upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic saw alcohol consumption peak, Naimi said.

B次元官网网址淎lcohol consumption was at an all-time high during COVID and itB次元官网网址檚 come down a little bit to more like pre-COVID levels,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think itB次元官网网址檚 changed that much.B次元官网网址�

For some in the booze business, though, the aftermath of the pandemic has coincided with tough times.

Award-winning Andina Brewing closed its East Vancouver brewery, just a dozen or so blocks away from Mocktails, in April 2023, after six years in business. Other closures followed, including BurnabyB次元官网网址檚 Studio Brewing that permanently closed in December 2023, then Riot Brewing in Chemainus on Vancouver Island a month later.

In a farewell message, Studio Brewing cited B次元官网网址渃onsumer preference shifting away from craft beerB次元官网网址� as well as other economic challenges.

After a decade as one of VancouverB次元官网网址檚 smallest brewers, Callister Brewing shut down around the same time as Studio and Riot brewing. But it had a fallback.

While the company cited rising costs at its brewery site, it also said there was a need to focus on the B次元官网网址渞apid growthB次元官网网址� of its non-alcoholic Callister Craft Soda.

It pitches the sodas in a language familiar to the craft-beer scene B次元官网网址� they are B次元官网网址渃rafted locallyB次元官网网址�, and made in B次元官网网址渟mall batches.B次元官网网址�

Meanwhile, B.C.B次元官网网址檚 craft beer reckoning continues.

In November 2024, Central City Brewing in Surrey B次元官网网址� maker of Red Racer beer, as well as de-alcoholized brews under the Street Legal brand B次元官网网址� sought creditor protection. Court documents outline post-pandemic financial troubles that required it to restructure.

Company president Daryll Frost detailed B次元官网网址渆conomic challengesB次元官网网址� including minimum wage increases, labour shortages, higher taxes and higher food and supply costs.

Another factor, FrostB次元官网网址檚 court filing said, was B次元官网网址渞educed demand for alcohol products generally.B次元官网网址�

Naimi said he was unaware whether demand has actually diminished, though he said recent indications that younger people are drinking less than previous generations are B次元官网网址渒ind of interesting.B次元官网网址�

Customers at Mocktails said they had a number of reasons for going booze-free.

Hilary Hansen B次元官网网址� no relation to the owner B次元官网网址� stopped by for alcohol-free tequila to make margaritas. She said she canB次元官网网址檛 drink alcohol because sheB次元官网网址檚 pregnant.

B次元官网网址淥bviously the babyB次元官网网址檚 the biggest concern, but I would say in general I would like to drink less outside of being pregnant,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not the alcohol, itB次元官网网址檚 the taste, so I just want something really nice in a cocktail that I can enjoy and not have any negative health impact for either me or, right now, the baby.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淗aving options like this is really nice,B次元官网网址� she said.

Enrique Rodriguez, the husband of MocktailsB次元官网网址� owner, said heB次元官网网址檚 also reduced his alcohol intake after initially not wanting to follow Hansen down a sober path.

He said that at parties with his family in Mexico, he used to see alcohol as B次元官网网址渢he climax of freedom, but itB次元官网网址檚 not.B次元官网网址�

Now, he said he alternates between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks on nights out.

B次元官网网址淔or me itB次元官网网址檚 like an awakening,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 can make better decisions to say, B次元官网网址極K, I had enough, I gotta go, you know, tomorrow I have things to doB次元官网网址� and boom, I had the best of both.B次元官网网址�