3 days ago
Does a Michelada Without Beer Still Taste as Sweet?
I find myself unhappily on trend. Young people everywhere are increasingly 'on the wagon' — to use the American idiom for sobriety from the 1920s, when the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution banned the production and sale of alcohol. The wagon in the expression was a public- service vehicle loaded with water to tamp down dust and grime on city streets; by extension, it described the clean and sober law-abiding citizens of America. According to some estimates, 39% of Gen Z say they have foresworn alcoholic drinks; about half of them imbibe such beverages only occasionally. Many have taken to non-alcoholic alternatives.
I didn't set out to join that youthful bandwagon. Nevertheless, I have been alcohol-free since Jan. 20, 2025. Those of you who recognize that date as US Inauguration Day must get the coincidence out of your head. It just happened to be when I felt I'd had too much wine over the previous three months. Alas, my doctors agreed with me — because of decades of loving wine and champagne, not just those recent three months. And so, I've spent nearly 140 days looking at how to enjoy the brave new world of NA — a market that's gotten a huge boost in sales and creativity precisely because of health-focused Gen Z, a cohort that probably makes up 25% of the world's population. I am a late Boomer, but now I'm medically required to be young at heart.
