I’m taking a break from alcohol as I work to get in better shape. It’s been more than a month. Not drinking is easy. Not drinking while socializing is hard.

I took for granted the extent to which responsible social drinking is as much about ritual as intoxication. Everything from trying a new porter to experimenting with Old Fashioned recipes is fun. Doing it with people you love or laugh with is even better.

As I’ve written before, there are barriers to the adoption of non-alcoholic versions of alcoholic drinks. The functionality of alcohol as a social lubricant, as well as alcohol’s ability to lessen inhibition, are built-in mechanisms that drive consumption rates and make premium pricing palatable. Non-alcoholic replacements for booze don’t share those advantages.

Now, I find myself — like so many other consumers — not wanting to...

We just announced the finalists for our 2023 Beverage Digest Awards. Winners in 13 drink categories will be named at Future Smarts in New York on Dec. 11.

There are a few trends worth noting from this year’s roster of finalists:

— A range of teas came to the forefront. Vying for Best Premium Drink is a Blue Tea Jasmine variant from Rishi’s line of Sparkling Botanicals, as well as a Cold Brew Tea from...

Liquid I.V. is preparing to launch a “For Kids” version of its powdered hydration multiplier, the company told BD. The electrolyte product, intended for children aged one to 12, will become available on Aug. 23. Flavors are...

Occasionally, my late grandfather drank an ice-cold Miller Lite after mowing his yard on a humid Memphis day. He’d pour it into a mug and tap in a bit of salt. He had quit any social drinking decades earlier, but that cold beer spelled refreshment to him.

Refreshment has never been my only reason for drinking beer. Which is probably why the appeal of non-alcoholic beer has puzzled me, especially at the same price as a regular beer. Beer commands the price it does in part because of the functionality of alcohol. For refreshment, I’ll take a sports drink, or a soda. That’s why I wrote in this column last year that I am a non-alcoholic beer skeptic. I write today to tell you that I am becoming a believer — with a caveat.

Recently, I found...

PepsiCo’s Blue Cloud alcohol distribution subsidiary will not acquire Corwin Beverage’s beer distribution business in southwest Washington state, Corwin CEO Keith Richards confirmed to BD. PepsiCo’s recent agreement to buy back Corwin’s Washington-based Pepsi franchise (see Territory Changes & Deals) sparked speculation as to whether PepsiCo would acquire Corwin’s beer business to distribute Hard Mtn Dew and perhaps...