2020 was a landmark year for alcohol-free beer in Australia. Nationally distributed breweries Holgate Brewhouse and Modus Operandi Brewing created their own. The U.K.’s Big Drop Brewing Co. entered the market with a locally brewed product. New players, such as Heaps Normal and Zero+ Sports Beer, were launched. And UpFlow Brewing organized Australia’s first alcohol-free beer festival (virtually, because 2020).
Parallel to this, local Black Lives Matter protests highlighted Indigenous deaths in Australian custody, and national debate about Australia’s colonial history centered around Colonial Brewing Co. There was also a growing focus from the Australian food industry to support Indigenous-owned businesses that work with native ingredients.
In beer, sometimes it takes an industry outsider to get ahead of the game. Launched in 2017, Sobah is an alcohol-free brand founded by Aboriginal Australian Clinton Schultz and his wife, Lozen.
Schultz is a qualified psychologist working with Indigenous communities who, after seeing the damage alcohol can do first-hand, decided it was time to stop drinking himself. A former chef, Schultz initially started selling Sobah as a complement to his native-food-focused truck. Interest grew and his creation is now in more than 200 bottle shops around Australia. The company also donates to social causes supporting the reintegration of former prisoners into society, as well as Aboriginal youth training.
Since its launch, Sobah has highlighted native Australian ingredients, such as finger limes (a long, skinny citrus fruit with caviar-like pearls for flesh) and pepperberries (exactly what you imagine them to be). This year, it launched Australia’s first zero-alcohol, gluten-free Ale that uses kakadu plum (an astringent, plum-shaped fruit).
Even in an increasingly crowded alcohol-free space, Sobah is acting with intention, and standing far apart from the crowd.
Words,Luke Robertson