Where to Find Non-Alcoholic Drinks

The hunt for your favorite NA beer, wine, or spirit may be a bit difficult depending on what you're looking for. Early on, I've already seen a drastic difference in the options available at restaurants, liquor stores, grocery stores, and online.

If you're looking for some of the more popular drinks, you probably won't have much of a battle finding them. However, if you're looking for something specific, it may feel more like a scavenger hunt than a shopping trip. We'll start locally and then expand to the online options that may be available to you.

Grocery Stores

Grocery stores could be considered the least out of the way since grocery trips are necessary regardless of how frequently you make them. Different stores will provide different options, with most carrying at least the larger-label NA beers and a small selection of NA wines. Some may also carry spirits, mixers, hop water, canned mocktails, and ready-to-drink options.

Typically, these drinks are placed near the regular beer and wine aisles, either refrigerated or on a shelf. At this point, however, that can vary by store.

I visited my local Walmart and Whole Foods and found major differences in both the drinks available and how they were labeled. At Walmart, the NA wine was near the alcoholic mixers, there was no signage for either NA beer or wine, and the options were mostly limited to major distributors. Whole Foods had a designated non-alcoholic beer section, more options beyond the major brands, and more than double the overall selection.

Liquor and Specialty Stores

The drinks available at liquor and specialty stores will generally offer much greater variety than grocery stores—full-stop.

While visiting one may be out of the way for some people, these stores can be well worth the trip because of the sheer difference in what you can buy. It may feel a bit jarring to walk into a store that primarily caters to alcoholic beverages while looking for something non-alcoholic, but these are some of the better places to visit if variety is important to you.

There will usually be signage indicating where the NA aisle or refrigerated section is, so you won't have to search high and low. Craft and imported beers are also more readily available, allowing you to expand your taste beyond the major labels. The staff may be more familiar with the store's NA selection as well, giving you a better idea of what something tastes like before you buy it.

One of the more unique bonuses is that you may be able to mix individual cans or bottles of beer to personalize your experience. For my first $100 Sip, where I challenged myself to purchase a variety of beers, wines, and spirits while staying as close to $100 as possible, my local Total Wine had plenty to choose from.

I've already decided that I'll probably visit liquor and specialty stores more often than grocery stores for ANewSip simply because of the volume of options available.

Breweries and Taprooms

Who doesn't love going out on a nice day and visiting a local brewery or taproom? If you answered no, I'd be pretty surprised.

In my experience, they can be especially fun to visit with friends or family. We like trying new beers and sharing them to see who made the best choice.

Some breweries and taprooms produce their own NA beer, stock outside NA brands, or offer hop water or another house-made alternative. I'd recommend contacting the brewery or taproom before visiting to make sure its NA listing is up to date, since websites and apps can sometimes show outdated information.

If NA options are available, you may even be able to buy cans or bottles to take home with you.

Bars and Restaurants

Bars and restaurants may have the most unpredictable selection. I've been to bars with an entire NA list that included wines, beers, and mocktails. I've also visited a local Tex-Mex restaurant that carried a single NA beer, and you had to specifically ask about mocktails because they weren't listed on the menu.

Asking what NA options are available may earn you a blank stare occasionally, but the question is becoming much more common.

In general, you may have better luck at cocktail bars, sports bars, entertainment venues, hotel bars, breweries, health-focused restaurants, and places with dedicated non-alcoholic or mocktail menus.

Check the restaurant's website, menu, or app before visiting, but keep in mind that its information may not be current. You can also ask your server or bartender about the drink's ingredients and alcohol content. As I mentioned in my last post, this is particularly important with mocktails because some may contain bitters or other ingredients that include alcohol.

Online Retailers

If your goal is to find the greatest variety, you may want to visit an online retailer.

ProofNoMore, The Zero Proof, Better Rhodes, and NA Beer Market are a few options. As of this writing, ProofNoMore has one of the broadest beer-oriented selections, with around 155 NA beers listed on its site. Better Rhodes lists around 155 NA wines, while The Zero Proof offers a large selection of wines and spirits. NA Beer Market is another beer-focused option, with roughly 50 individual craft beers listed.

These websites also make it fairly easy to filter by brand, drink type, ingredients, nutritional information, and ABV.

On the flip side, you may have to deal with shipping costs, delivery restrictions, weather concerns depending on the time of year, regional availability, and potential minimum order amounts.

I plan to use online ordering for something special I have brewing in October. I'm keeping the full idea under wraps for now, but I can share that the options at my local stores aren't going to cut it for what I have in store. I'm going to need to make some room in the outside fridge.

Buying Directly from the Brand

Buying directly from the brewer or maker is another option, but it can be a bit of a gamble because you're putting your trust in one brand to deliver.

If you're willing to take that leap of faith, you may have access to its full selection, including variety packs and limited or seasonal releases. You may also find first-order discounts, bulk-shipping offers, or free shipping once you spend a certain amount.

Where Should You Start?

I swear I'm not intentionally trying to make you do a significant amount of research beforehand, but the NA category is still growing and it can be tricky to find exactly what you're looking for.

Your best bet is to search the store, restaurant, or retailer online before going and see whether the drinks you want are available. You can be like me and just wing it, but checking a website or app may save you some time. Depending on where you shop, you may even be able to have the drinks delivered without leaving the house.

There isn't one perfect place to start. If you're most comfortable buying online or at your local grocery store, start there. If you don't mind visiting a liquor or specialty store to round out your options, give one a try. At the end of the day, the choice to drink NA is yours, and this guide can help you weigh your options.

I can say with certainty that I plan to use all the resources available to me. Grocery and liquor stores near me should satisfy my early voyage, but for events like the one I have planned for October, I imagine I'll have to order online, either directly from the maker or through an online retailer.

Non-alcoholic drinks are available in more places than you may realize. Finding the right one may simply take a few extra steps depending on what you're searching for. Start with what makes you most comfortable, ask a staff member or server if needed, and branch out if you choose.

Now that we know what "non-alcoholic" means and where to find these drinks, the next question is how they're made and why trace amounts of alcohol can sometimes remain. We'll explore that in the next post.

Until then, let's enjoy ANewSip.