26 January

I gave up pretty much all alcohol years ago, for health reasons at the time (I was isolating possible causes of a heart arrhythmia). I still have the odd celebratory champagne for birthdays etc. Australians get drunk at twice the world average. We shouldn’t be proud of that, it’s really not good for us. And it’s only when you give up that you notice how boring our social lives can be, with booze. Nothing is more boring than people being drunk. Luckily the zero alcohol brewers are getting masterfully good at alternatives. I was impressed with this one, the taste indistinguishable from alcoholic beer. The wines are getting there too, and the spirits. Young people are increasingly drinking these zero alcohol alternatives. You get all of the taste, with none of the hangovers.