The pub - which will retain the cues of a traditional pub with bartenders and pints - will serve a range of beers, wines and mocktails with an ABV of up to 0.5%.*
Sainsbury’s has seen a 31.8% increase in sales of no and low alcohol alternatives in the last 12 weeks, and a 33% rise in customers searching for non-alcoholic products online. However, it still sees a certain amount of scepticism from consumers over the taste of such products – which it hopes to address with The Clean Vic.
The pub will offer more than 20 types of drinks, including Lucky Saint beers, Everleaf spritz, a collection of wines, and non-alcoholic dark distillate Celtic Soul as a whisky alternative. The pub will also host cocktail classes run by Millie Gooch, founder of Instagram-based Sober Girl Society, as well as tasting sessions.
Anne Cooper, buyer at Sainsbury’s, said: “We’re seeing a really exciting spike in the no and low alcohol category at Sainsbury’s which has been growing since 2001. With an increasing number of products now available, those who want to hold off on alcoholic beverages don’t need to miss out on the experience of enjoying a beer with friends or even a mocktail made with a delicious non-alcoholic distillate.
“From speaking to customers, we know there is still some uncertainty about what these no and low alcohol products taste like and how they are made. So, our specially curated workshops in the Clean Vic will help customers learn more about these drinks, providing key tasting notes given by the experts.”
The pop-up pub in Oxford Street, London, will be open on July 24-25, and an entry fee of £5 includes two drinks and two bar snacks.
* In the UK an alcohol-free beer is defined as one with no more than 0.05% ABV (unlike a number of other markets where the definition of such a drink is below 0.5% ABV). Therefore, a 0.5% ABV drink is classed as low-alcohol (as per other drinks with up to 1.2% ABV).
