Media FAQs

What is Club Soda?

Club Soda is the Mindful Drinking Movement, of over 60,000 people worldwide. We welcome everyone who wants to change their drinking habits, whether they want to moderate or go alcohol-free. We do this in lots of different ways including providing advice and information, delivering short email courses, organising workshops and socials (currently online only), and encouraging people to support each other in our online community.

We have built an online guide, featuring the best low and no alcohol drinks and the pubs and bars that serve them in the UK, and our first book ‘How to  Be a Mindful Drinker’ was published in December 2019 by DK Books. You can find out more here.

Why a Festival?

We get asked all the time about what to drink instead.  Not only have we built up an amazing knowledge of the range of drinks out there, but we are also witnessing the explosion in the number of great tasting, well-crafted alcohol-free drinks. 

New alcohol-free beers, wines and ciders are making their way into pubs, healthy alternatives like kombucha and herbal infusions are becoming mainstream. People really do want to know how to replace their favourite tipple with something that is tasty, sippable and most importantly healthier. 

So, we wanted to bring the best products we know together in one place so everyone could have a try. A drinks festival without the hangover, and you would still have the whole weekend to do whatever you like!

What is “mindful drinking”?

Mindful drinking is an attitude.

You can change the way you think and feel about alcohol. When you drink mindfully, you become aware of how your body and mind are affected, and can decide if you’re okay with that. You get that bit of space to take control of your drinking habits.

For a lot of people, mindful drinking involves moderation. That could be a lower percentage drink, cutting down for a week, or doing a sober sprint like Dry January. Motivations vary too. You could have a slimming or fitness goal, want to save cash, keep your mind sharp, or might just not be up for drinking tonight.

Remember this – drinking alcohol is not compulsory.

Being mindful about your drinking is all about deciding what is right for you today. You are always in control.

Is 0.5% alcohol-free and what is “low alcohol”?

The law and regulations are quite complicated in the UK (click here for the full story). We consider anything that is less than 0.5% ABV as alcohol-free. Drinks under that level do not need an alcohol license to be sold, an adult will not get drunk by drinking them, and they are safe for drivers and pregnant women. But if they contain more than 0.05% they do, by law, have to be labelled low alcohol if made in the UK.

The “non-alcoholic” beers and wines at this festival can have anything from 0 to 0.5% alcohol in them. If that’s an issue for you, we recommend that you don’t drink them. There will be plenty of other things to try including lower-sugar sodas, tonics and infusions – but do remember that many foodstuffs and soft drinks also contain small amounts of alcohol, sometimes more than 0.5%. 

There is also no fixed definition for low alcohol. We consider beers and ciders under 3% ABV, and wines under 8% ABV to be “low alcohol” – they are not super low alcohol, but much lower than most beers and wines you can buy.

Who to contact?

All our contact details are here.