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Bristol’s booze-free beverage boom
Bristol’s non-alcoholic beverage sector is enjoying a “moment”.
But according to the entrepreneurs devoting time and resources to championing alcohol-free drinks, this is not a passing trend, but a movement.
As Dry January gathers momentum after an indulgent festive season, a growing number of people are curious about what alcohol-free socialising really looks like. What were once niche sober spaces have moved firmly into the mainstream.
With around one in three Britons expected to take part in Dry January, Bristol-based functional drinks brand Nazcal recently held a “Joyful January” event.
Nazcal was founded in autumn 2024 by JJ Gorman and Will Cleverly
The event was hosted at the recently opened sober bar Arc. Its owner, however, is reluctant to use the term, “sober”.
Javi Tanke describes Arc as a “mood bar”, arguing that a “sober bar” carries negative connotations of being bland, boring or austere.
The Spanish-born graphic artist has created a space serving alcohol-free drinks infused with active ingredients such as cordyceps and plant extracts to alter mood naturally, without alcohol.
“It’s true that we’re sober in the sense that we don’t sell alcohol,” he said.
“But sobriety is really about remaining in your natural state. In Western society, when people hear the word ‘sober’, they often think it means you’re not drinking and therefore you’re boring or bland. There’s still a negative connotation attached to it.
“But an alcohol-free space like ours is anything but boring,” said Javi Tanke, owner of Arc sober bar
“But an alcohol-free space like ours is anything but boring. We have music, radio, art and culture. People come here in the mood – literally – to dance, enjoy music and connect. It’s never ‘sober’ in the way people might expect.”
The organiser of the event Nazcal was founded in autumn 2024 by JJ Gorman and Will Cleverly.
The brand produces functional, alcohol-free drinks designed to enhance mood and social ease using botanicals, adaptogens and nootropics.
For the founders, the idea emerged through serendipity and personal change.
Gorman, who has spent most of his working life as a bar manager and pub landlord, admits it might seem contradictory to launch a non-alcoholic drinks brand while running licensed venues, particularly at a time when the hospitality industry is under intense pressure.
Owner of Bristol music venue The Full Moon and Attic Bar, Gorman brings a deeply personal story to the project.
After a serious motorbike accident that left him facing the possibility of losing his leg, he travelled to Peru seeking healing. There, he encountered shamans whose practices draw on ancient herbal traditions.
“It’s quite a complicated world to suddenly go from selling alcohol all your life to wanting to stay in business, but having to find another avenue,” he said.
“Everything came together after that accident and the trip to Peru. I had a severe infection and there was a real possibility I might lose my leg. One of the shamans blessed me, and the infection cleared.
“I kept my leg. That experience was a turning point. They told me that if I sorted out my diet and took care of myself, I could still be useful – that I had something to offer.
“When I returned to the UK, I was incredibly fortunate to meet Will.”
Cleverly, equipped with a wealth of experience in design and brand consultancy, met Gorman around four years ago.
“I spent a lot of time masking anxiety, and the way I managed it was by drinking,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say I was drinking extraordinary amounts, but I was definitely using alcohol as a crutch. Eventually, I decided to give it up.
“That’s when I met JJ. We bonded over a shared mission around mind, body and soul, and a desire to choose a different way of living. But we’re also fun-loving people – we still want connection and social lives.”
Arc on Broad Street is the first sober bar in Bristol
Cleverly is keen to stress that giving up alcohol does not mean isolation.
“That’s why we created Nazcal. It speaks to people who want to go out, see their mates, relax and let loose – but without alcohol.
“I’m 45 years old. I still want to enjoy myself. What we’re seeing is that alcohol often comes with a heavy toll, and more people are looking for alternatives.”
Nazcal currently produces three main varieties, designed for a range of social and personal settings: the Puma, the Mariposa and the Buho.
Another brand making inroads is Nania’s Wildbrew Kombucha, which began life on an allotment in Montpellier. Founder James Bayliss-Smith originally started out making wine under the name Nania’s Vineyard, but the kombucha trade soon took centre stage.
During the pandemic, Bayliss-Smith found himself with an unsold wine stock and took a stall at Whiteladies Road Farmers’ Market. Wanting more than one product on the table, he brought along kombucha he had been brewing at home, bottled in repurposed champagne bottles and sold without labels.
“People loved it,” he said. “Every week they came back for more. That’s when I realised there was something special there.”
Today, Nania’s operates from a microbrewery behind Arbor Ales in Easton, producing barrel-fermented, unpasteurised and unfiltered kombucha.
The brand name, loosely translated from Persian as “grace” or “beauty”, reflects Bayliss-Smith’s painstaking approach to creating beverages worthy of its name, with flavours ranging from hibiscus to ginger, with varying potencies.
Bayliss-Smith is moving into the next chapter of the venture after securing a grant from the West of England Combined Authority to install a walk-in refrigerator and fermentation room for storing live cultures.
Nania’s Kombucha began its life on an allotment in Montpellier
He said: “I want to build this business up, and I’ve been really fortunate to receive a grant from the West of England Combined Authority. It’s a carbon reduction grant, which is helping to fund a walk-in fermentation room and a walk-in fridge.
“All of my kombucha has to be refrigerated because it’s live, so that infrastructure is essential. I’m currently working out how to cover the remaining costs, and I’ve decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign, which I’ll probably be launching in the coming weeks.”
Another non-alcoholic beverage brand which stemmed from a journey of self-discovery is Drinks Kitchen, founded by Alli Briaris, whose brand has earned several Great Taste awards and is going from strength to strength.
Briaris spoke of a two-year journey into sobriety followed by a personal epiphany.
One moment stood out. Scheduled to attend the theatre with her husband, she chose instead to stay at home and open a bottle of wine.
“It suddenly hit me – what was I doing at home, drinking, while everyone else was out enjoying themselves?” she said.
“I realised I was switching off from life.”
Like many, she tried Dry January and other breaks before the pandemic created space to stop drinking completely and reassess her habits.
That period led to a renewed focus on health, creativity and flavour-driven, botanical drinks produced using high-quality ingredients at a food development centre in Weston-super-Mare.
Her range of non-alcoholic spritzes includes spiced rhubarb, herb verde, grapefruit piquante and orange cinchona.
Drinks Kitchen, founded by Alli Briaris, has earned several Great Taste awards
For Briaris, the overall positive impact was self-evident.
She said: “I haven’t drunk for just over two years, and life feels so much more interesting. I have more energy, more curiosity, and I actually want to get out and experience things.”
“Sobriety hasn’t made life smaller — it’s made it bigger, more interesting and more alive.
“You stop drowning your emotions and start feeling them properly. For me, sobriety has been brilliant.”
The entrepreneurs insist that non-alcoholic beverages are not “joyless substitutes”, but experiences in their own right, delivering flavour, enjoyment and connection.
Some of the leading lights in Bristol’s booze-free beverage boom: Alli Briaris, James Bailey-Smith, JJ Gorman and Will Cleverly (from left to right)
For them, it is about helping to reimagine drinking culture itself as something more intentional, inclusive and joyful.
All photos: Milan Perera
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