Drunk on Vibes
Who wants lemonade at 2 am… only me?
The advertisement slogans may range from curing hangovers to dodging kicks from bouncers, but alcohol-free drinks have hit the market ground running. Be it a quick swig to calm one’s nerves from stage fright or to jitter them so they can hit the dance floor like a sack of potatoes, alcohol served many purposes; some eliciting frowns and some…effects that the people beside the curb could explain to you all much better than I can.
And thus, alcohol-free wines, spirits, and beer were introduced and advertised to have the same calming effect as alcohol without any of its side effects. But, that’s not possible, is it? Alcohols contain ethanol in varying percentages that affect brain chemicals, namely GABA or gamma-aminobutyric acid and Glutamate. GABA calms the nerves and neurotransmitters in the brain, and Glutamate helps the brain keep its wits. Ethanol affects both. Acetaldehyde is mainly present in beer.
, which helps in fermentation. Think of it as fungus eating the liquid. Ethanol also acts as a psychoactive substance that makes the body want more……drinks.
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Let’s also understand the concept of ABV- it is the abbreviation of Alcohol By Volume, and the number basically tells us if we are going to be the stand out of the night or the send out.
So, how have chemical industries managed to replicate this while taking care of high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke, liver failure, pancreatitis, cancer, brain damage, and (insert synonym for death)?
The answer…. dealcoholisation. The alcohol is removed after fermentation and put into a vacuum. Here, it is distilled at low pressure to separate a thin layer of ethanol. They extract this ethanol and put the alcohol back in the tank, and with a little bit of carbonic acid, the engineers reblend it. But unfortunately, a lot of avid alcohol tasters do claim it doesn’t taste like normal alcohol. However, it doesn’t hurt to give it a try. But is it the same for wine, or how about spirits?
Well, they do show better results due to the process of dealcoholisation not robbing them of almost all flavour. Wine, especially, does have a lot of non-alcoholic alternatives on the shelves of many supermarkets. This is due to a different method, reverse osmosis. The alcohol is separated from the wine and treated, thus keeping all the other chemicals in the wine. As for spirits, they are not far behind. For these drinks, two substances stand out: Propylene Glycol and Triacetin. Both solid choices, low turbidity so as not to disturb the liquid’s feel and texture and mild sweet taste. They are added as flavour concentrates to alcohol, but drinks that tend to contain them do not sell well on commercial shelves due to their low shelf life.
But the horizons are vast. One day, maybe, a perfectly non-alcoholic alternative may come up which would be as popular as today’s “heaven” liquids. But, for now, for immaculate vibes, try these out.
