Tis’ the season - Mocktails 🎄🎊

SafariGalNYC

The holiday season is here and events and get togethers abound. I thought I would start a thread for mocktail inspiration.

Do you have one that you like? Have you created a new concoction? Do tell!

Merry Christmas season! Happy Hanukkah!

And all that jazz 🎊

Cheers 🥂

SafariGalNYC

This mornings brunch mocktail: tea & elderberry spritzer.

Sparkling water
White tea
Green tea
Elderberry
Elderflower
Lemon
Thyme

SafariGalNYC

A rainy evening here.

Time for a Lavender Kombucha spritz!

Lavender kombucha
Seltzer
Splash of elderflower.

mtaratoot

After my last aquarium dive shift last Monday, I joined one of my teammates to a coffee shop he likes. I was done drinking coffee for the day, but figured I'd get a decaf pour-over. They couldn't accommodate. They apparently had no decaf beans. They could make me a decaf Americano. I'm not sure where they get the beans for that, but.... I just sat with my buddy and had a chat. He offered to buy me a beverage, but I was fine just enjoying his company.

Anyway, my teammate really likes this place. They have "Cof-tails." He ordered a "Coffee Mule." It was essentially a Moscow Mule but made with cold-brew coffee instead of vodka (coffee, ginger beer, and lime). I had a taste, and it was actually quite tasty. They also have a "Cold Fashion," which I presume is a coffee version of an Old Fashion and a Velveteen. I'm curious what those are. They offer a "Tea & Tonic" and an "Espresso martini." No alcohol in any of them. Neat idea, but a little beyond my price point. I might try to make something at home; I have some cold brew.

mtaratoot

There are some decent non-alcoholic beers these days.

Deschutes makes a N/A Black Butte Porter that tastes like Black Butte Porter! A brewery called Athletic makes a few good ones and some that are OK. A Canadian brewer makes "Sober Carpenter." Their West Coast IPA is actually pretty good. Lagunitas makes an IPnoA that's also good.

If you're not a fan of beer, Lagunitas makes a "Hoppy Refresher." It's a sparkling zero-calorie hop-flavored beverage. Good stuff.

I even can go for a few dashes of some kind of bitters shaken on to a few cubes of ice and some sparking water poured on top.

RubyRed427

mtaratoot wrote: »

There are some decent non-alcoholic beers these days.

Deschutes makes a N/A Black Butte Porter that tastes like Black Butte Porter! A brewery called Athletic makes a few good ones and some that are OK. A Canadian brewer makes "Sober Carpenter." Their West Coast IPA is actually pretty good. Lagunitas makes an IPnoA that's also good.

If you're not a fan of beer, Lagunitas makes a "Hoppy Refresher." It's a sparkling zero-calorie hop-flavored beverage. Good stuff.

I even can go for a few dashes of some kind of bitters shaken on to a few cubes of ice and some sparking water poured on top.

I like Heineken 00 beer. I have yet to find a decent AF wine and have dumped out many of them, especially the FRE wines- yuk. Tastes like apple cider. But the AF beer is pretty good.

mtaratoot

RubyRed427 wrote: »

mtaratoot wrote: »

There are some decent non-alcoholic beers these days.

Deschutes makes a N/A Black Butte Porter that tastes like Black Butte Porter! A brewery called Athletic makes a few good ones and some that are OK. A Canadian brewer makes "Sober Carpenter." Their West Coast IPA is actually pretty good. Lagunitas makes an IPnoA that's also good.

If you're not a fan of beer, Lagunitas makes a "Hoppy Refresher." It's a sparkling zero-calorie hop-flavored beverage. Good stuff.

I even can go for a few dashes of some kind of bitters shaken on to a few cubes of ice and some sparking water poured on top.

I like Heineken 00 beer. I have yet to find a decent AF wine and have dumped out many of them, especially the FRE wines- yuk. Tastes like apple cider. But the AF beer is pretty good.

That's interesting to hear.

I was at the Volunteer Appreciation Event last January for the aquarium where I'm a volunteer diver. They had Athletic beer - a couple flavors, and some N/A wine. I had heard some of the N/A wines had improved to actually being good and tasting like wine. I was in a pint-o-beer mode, so I got the Athletic. I'm glad I did. Now I'm even gladder.

For a while I could find N/A Pabst Blue Ribbon. Yeah. I know. But in reality it was actually pretty good. If it was really hot out and I wanted something light, it would fit the bill nicely. A friend was shocked. SHOCKED. So I brought a can to the tavern and gave him one. He got five ounces of regular PBR and did a taste test. He thought the N/A was better than regular PBR - said it tasted fresher. A day or two later I brought a can or two for everyone to get to try and that was fun. The bartender poured two- or three-ounce tastes and offered them up without telling people what they were. Nobody could figure it out, and they were shocked (SHOCKED) when they found out. Sadly, I can't find it anymore. I wish I could.

SafariGalNYC

@mtaratoot - Oooo I’m going to have to investigate that Hoppy Refresher!

@rubyred427 - yeah, I can see how AF wine would be tough. Some of the lower alcohol ones sway too sweet for me as well. I’ve moved over to the sparkling drinks lately.

SafariGalNYC

Mood lighting and a ginger lemon spritz

Ginger juice
Squeeze of lemon
Seltzer
Blackberry garnish

SafariGalNYC

Turmeric chai coquito 🎄 (vegan - can be made with milk instead)

Coconut cream, turmeric, Monkfruit, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg.

SafariGalNYC

@mtaratoot - I tried Prophets - I thought it was great.

Also- I found N/a Pabst on Amazon.

mtaratoot

@SafariGalNYC

I'm usually not much of a fan of the hazy.

The N/A PBR is decent, but no way worth what Amazon was asking when I just checked. No way. I think I'll ask at my local co-op if they can just special order me a case or two. I bet they can. Good to know it is still available. The store I used to buy it couldn't keep it in stock, I presume because it was so popular. They don't like empty shelf space, so instead they fill it with things that don't sell as well... I guess. The co-op should be able to get me some.

Tonight I had a real-deal Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. That's good stuff, ethanol and all.

AllaboutDaCake

SafariGalNYC wrote: »

Mood lighting and a ginger lemon spritz

Ginger juice
Squeeze of lemon
Seltzer
Blackberry garnish

This looks delicious

mtaratoot

Sierra Nevada is now selling two N/A beers. They are both called Trail Pass. There's an IPA and a Golden Ale. I can attest to the quality of their IPA. It's actually tasty!

I saw some in our cooperative natural foods grocery the other week. I was reticent to buy a whole six pack. Beer is expensive, even the N/A stuff. I was out for a walk last week and saw a friend's truck at the tavern, so I ducked in out of the rain and tried one. It was good enough I had a second.

I bought some in the grocery today. It hurt a little less because Co-op members get 10% off one day per month - their choice of what date. Today was my day.

I looked it up on the internet. They worked for five years developing these beverages based on some good experiences the owners of the brewery had in Germany with N/A beer that actually tastes good. They worked for the last years looking for the right yeast that would do the job. It had to ferment to no more than 0.5% ABV, and it had to ferment clean. They finally found one and rushed to develop the final recipe. They don't use ethanol separation methods like vacuum distillation to remove the ethanol; instead they just use a yeast that doesn't make much.

I'm sold.

It's 95 calories for 12 ounces, and it even has a gram of protein in there.

SafariGalNYC

mtaratoot wrote: »

Sierra Nevada is now selling two N/A beers. They are both called Trail Pass. There's an IPA and a Golden Ale. I can attest to the quality of their IPA. It's actually tasty!

I saw some in our cooperative natural foods grocery the other week. I was reticent to buy a whole six pack. Beer is expensive, even the N/A stuff. I was out for a walk last week and saw a friend's truck at the tavern, so I ducked in out of the rain and tried one. It was good enough I had a second.

I bought some in the grocery today. It hurt a little less because Co-op members get 10% off one day per month - their choice of what date. Today was my day.

I looked it up on the internet. They worked for five years developing these beverages based on some good experiences the owners of the brewery had in Germany with N/A beer that actually tastes good. They worked for the last years looking for the right yeast that would do the job. It had to ferment to no more than 0.5% ABV, and it had to ferment clean. They finally found one and rushed to develop the final recipe. They don't use ethanol separation methods like vacuum distillation to remove the ethanol; instead they just use a yeast that doesn't make much.

I'm sold.

It's 95 calories for 12 ounces, and it even has a gram of protein in there.

Those are impressive! I have to go look up if it’s typical for beer to have protein. I love the added bonus. Hmm 🤔

mtaratoot

@SafariGalNYC

It's just ONE gram of protein per 12 ounces.

I've found that very few breweries publish the nutritional information for their beer. Probably because of all the calories. The N/A beers seem to be more inclined to, and they do have a lot fewer calories. I think there's 20g of carbs in the Sierra Trail Pass IPA if that matters. It doesn't matter to me.

I went to their website today and signed up for a "subscription." They'll send me a care package every four weeks, the subscription cost is less than I pay here at the grocery, and they pick up the shipping. I think there will be more of this tasty stuff in my future.

SafariGalNYC

@mtaratoot - can’t wait for pics!!

I’ve been in a kombucha phase lately.

mtaratoot

@SafariGalNYC

I have a couple bottles of kombucha waiting for me in the fridge. I just keep forgetting about them. I'm kind of surprised I've never made the stuff.

Pics of what?

Look what I saw on my walk today. Surprised the heck out of me since it's just a very few days into February:

SafariGalNYC

mtaratoot wrote: »

@SafariGalNYC

I have a couple bottles of kombucha waiting for me in the fridge. I just keep forgetting about them. I'm kind of surprised I've never made the stuff.

Pics of what?

Look what I saw on my walk today. Surprised the heck out of me since it's just a very few days into February:

Wow awesome pic!

Photos of the care package! 😉

I_am_motivated

I know this is kinda late, but if you live near a Total Wine and More they have oodles of n/a beer, wine, and spirits. Amazon has quite a selection as well.