Slothify Wrapped 2024

So here we are. We've nearly completed 2024. For the world at large, I'd say it's been a year of mixed reviews. But I am not a global commentator. I am The Sober Sloth, founder and chief sloth of self-titled, small alcohol-free drinks business The Sober Sloth. Here's a colourful peek at some of the highlights of 2024 for The Sober Sloth and our ride-or-die fan base, which in no way infringes upon the intellectual property rights of any streaming platforms 🙅 For those who are short of either time or attention there's a highlights reel at the bottom x

Favouritest Fruit/Sour Beer

There were so many iconic fruit and sour beers this year and frankly most of them could've taken the crown 👑 It feels like 2024 was the year flavoured AF beers really took off 🍒 Indeed Mash Gang produced a fair few that were hugely popular but they were undercut by an underdog - the spectacular 5-Fruit Gose by Brulo. This one sold out time and time again at The Sober Sloth and I get it with this one, I do. It helps that it comes from Brulo who cannot put a foot wrong when it comes to brewing alcohol-free sips. This gose is like a gateway drug but for alcohol-free beer. You try this, you'll want to try them all. It's a beer that's packed with flavour (5 different fruits if I'm counting correctly) and it's refreshing AF without being either too sweet or flat. If you had someone that was on the fence about trying an alcohol-free beer, you'd give them one of these and they'd be hooked. Then you'd tell them they can get their own from The Sober Sloth.

The 5-Fruit Gose reigns supreme in 2024

Classiest Cocktail 🍸

The Instagram poll had us believing the Espresso Martini was going to be the run away winner here, but NO. We've got a tie for best cocktail and the Espresso was nowhere to be seen 💨 The rum, lime & bitters-inspired Gunner Saint and Mavrik's Passion Star Martini both blew the Sloth Squad away this year and they kept coming back for more. Which do you prefer? While they tied for online sales, the Passion Star was the runaway winner at pop-up events. Its resemblance to the real thing had folks checking the ingredients list over and over again.

Most Popular Limited Edition Brew

Some are here for a long time, some just for a good time. Mash Gang in particular are renowned for their short-stay brews, but they're not alone, with Cloudwater and Drop Bear both producing some highly-sought bevs this year. They couldn't topple the phantom brewer though as the most popular limited edition brew this year went to the gang. Their collaboration with Pastore to be exact. The Sorbetto was a combination of blackcurrant, cherry and lime and above all others it's what the Sloth Squad wanted to quaff this year. With the expiration date on this brew falling in late December though and no plans for a re-brew, there's not much time to try it before it's gone forever. You know what you need to do. It's available at a reduced price now too. What more motivation do you need?

Best (permanent AF) Brewery

The category dedicated to the brewers who have set up a permanent home, both physically but also in our hearts. Undisputedly MG are the kings of the short-term brew, but what of those that are there for us year-round? The number of brewers is growing which is beautiful to see, but the far and away winner with The Sober Sloth crowd this year at least was Below Brew. With a selection including Forgot to Take My Pils, Check This Stout, and Tweet and Sour it's easy to see why. They're a pretty low-key brand in the AF world, but their brews are low-key incredible. I can't wait to see what they've got lined up for 2025. I would like to caveat this by saying that Cloudwater actually was the most popular permanent brewery in terms of how in-demand their drinks were at The Sober Sloth, but as they are predominantly an alcoholic drinks brewery, they weren't eligible for this category. Well done to them though and yay for a Manchester brewery killing it x

Stout Supreme

Stouts came into their own this year, and with the big boys in ireland producing a like for like alcohol-free version of their best seller, it was up to the smaller brewers to keep up. And boy did they? That's a rhetorical question because yes, they did. And the pick of the bunch for the Sloth Squad this year was the previously mentioned Below Brew: Check This Stout. I cannot argue with this; this is a real sloth favourite too. 🦒 Honeycomb pastry stout WHAT it's sort of like a liquid Crunchie. Sounds weird? Perhaps. Tastes incredible? Darn right. I'd probably call this a gateway stout too, because it has a bit more flavour that might appeal to a broader audience. Or not. I don't know what the people want. I like this though. Clear winner. 🥇

2024: Year of The Giraffe

Most Popular Lager and Ale

I'm doing this as a two-for-one, in part because it's my platform and I can do what I want, and in part because the two drinks are both from the same brewer. Miraculously both of these drinks only joined the ranks in September, and yet somehow overtook all other lagers and ales that had been with us since the start. A new release often generates a fair bit of buzz and fair play to Firebrand for coming in at the right time. They stole the crowns this year with Little Wave Lager and Shorebreak Hazy Pale. 🍻

Winning Wine

I don't want to dwell on this category because no offence but the bar was pretty low. AF wines are yet to reach the quality that AF beers have found, but there are still a couple of goodies. Jukes Red was this year's winner amongst the Sloth Squad. It's sparkling and it's made with apple cider vinegar so at the very least it's an intriguing flavour. Apparently it mixes well with juice to make an improvised cocktail too? Each to their own. 🍷

Jukes Red hit the crowds for 6 this year

CBD Champion

It's not just about the alcohol immitators. This year we discovered CBD drinks, which was TREMENDOUS for my wellbeing, but dreadful for my bank balance 💰 Luckily, I wasn't alone in seeing their benefits, and Little Rick's Sparkling Raspberry Coconut was the runaway favourite, despite my inability to spell raspberry correctly on the website. It's also the lowest sugar and lowest calorie option. Coincidence? Maybe. I personally preferred the raspberry lemonade but that's only recently been added to the ranks so it's not had as long to make it's mark. A sure winner for 2025, although with Brulo rumoured to be re-releasing their own CBD IPA there could be a healthy bit of competition... 🌿

CHILL OUT

Most Popular Collection

In the very beginning, The Sober Sloth actually only offered Collections, carefully curated, themed boxes of AF goodness. Being the magnanimous sloth I am though, I wanted to afford people free will and allow them to pick their own. Some preferred being told what to do though and so the Collections continued to flourish. And the winning Collection this year, beating out the stouts, lagers and mocktails was the Club Tropikana Collection. 🍍🍎🍓🍇

Flavour at every turn. Bam! Bit of peach. Oosh! Wave of pineapple. Shazam! Wall of cherry. If your tastebuds demand a bit of variety and fruity punches, you cannot go wrong with Club Tropikana. Was it your go-to Collection too?

The Sober Sloth: Big In...

Obviously Ramsbottom is where the biggest fanbase is. It's where it all started, the home of The Sober Sloth, physically, metaphorically, gastronomically, intergalactically. But 2024 saw The Sloth go national, introducing nationwide-deliveries, with fans popping up across each of the home nations. But where did we see the Sloth Squad grow the most? 🗺️ Even taking Ramsbottom out of the equation, the North West was where the Sloth Squad represented the most, with Liverpool and Wigan proving to have our most dedicated fans! Clearly there's something in the water that tastes gross and is driving folks towards the AF alternatives. Honourable mentions to Birmingham, Sunderland, South Shields and London though all of whom had hangover-swervers who kept coming back for more. In total, we found fans, friends and followers in 40 towns and cities across the UK and with plans to conquer the USA and Japan next year who knows where it'll end. 🇬🇧 Disclaimer: plans to conquer the USA and Japan are entirely abstract and unlikely to be followed through.

The Unappreciated One

I debated whether or not to include this, but I had the data so I thought it would still be fun to share the losers (note to self: think of a nicer word than loser before posting) as well as the winners this year. A bit of a surprise one this: Brulo's King For a Day NEIPA. 🥺 It's juicy and has the same quality of Brulo's other brews. Maybe it was overshadowed by the other Brulo greats. Perhaps it's because I stocked them in 2023 and they expired early in 2024; I can't really remember. A lot has happened this year. Let me know if you think I should get it back in so we can try and make it a winner in 2025.

Rave Reviews

This is just an opportunity to brag really. This year the wonderful Sloth Squad shared their thoughts 43 times on Trust Pilot and each and every one of them was a 5* review. Speaks volumes doesn't it? Rhetorical again - The Sloth is universally loved. Thank you to every one that took the time to share their experiences. The reviews are just as important as the sales. It's recognition and validation that what The Sober Sloth is doing matters. And that is just huge. 🙌

This will always be my favourite review

Range of drinks available in 2024

Some people have referred to The Sober Sloth as the Blockbuster of alcohol-free drinks and I think that's apt. Do we offer videos, DVDs and games? No. Can you 'rent' drinks from us and return them? No. Have we filed for insolvency? No. We do have a cult following though who would give their small toes in the name of the sloth, and we've stocked a huge range of tastebud-tinglers this year for you to choose from. In that respect, we are exactly like Blockbuster. 157 is the exact number of drinks we've offered this year. That's actually a bigger range than Blockbuster offers as they no longer exist so in many respects we are bigger than Blockbuster. Just take a moment to drink that in (lol pun intended). There weren't even that many Pokémon in 1997. Can we crack 200 next year? And of all of those 157 we offered, which was the favourite I hear you asking...

Drink of the Year

Here it is! The big one! The drink, above all others that took the crown. The one that everyone wanted. **DRUMROLL** 2024 was the year of the Twisst Caramel Cream. It wasn't even close - even before the late Christmas surge. 🏆 This Irish Cream alternative ruled the roost this year, selling more than twice as many as any other drink. Despite the best efforts of the AF beer crowd; the Caramel Cream just could not be toppled. If you've tried it, you'll know why. Stock is low at the moment but fear not if you've missed out so far; more are coming before the end of the week so I can get them to you before the big day

Alexa, play We Are The Champions please x

And that. Is a wrap, as they say. Do you agree with the results? Be sure to stick around to help influence the outcome next year!

Thank you so much for being part of the journey in 2024, whether you've bought drinks, come to say hello, told friends, given me a review, sent me a message, followed along on socials or even just sent good vibes. It's been unreal - truly better than I thought it could possibly be when I started 18 months ago. I've got some exciting things lined up for 2025. I can't say too much but think bigger & better, and I'm delighted, thrilled, genuinely honoured and humbled to have you along for the ride.

Cheers! 🍻💚

Boozeless & boujee: Is the alcohol-free movement inclusive enough?

Picture the scene. It's a bright, warm, summer's Sunday morning. Bleerily, slowly, you open your eyes. The sun peaks through a tiny gap in your curtains. ☀️ You can hear the birds chirping in a leafy tree nearby. 🌳 There's a gentle breeze from an open window somewhere, lovingly kissing your face. "Blissful", you think, still hazy, as you shift your body to sit up right so that you can take a sip of some refreshing water from the glass on your bedside table. The movement causes your insides to recalibrate. You're hit with a sudden wave of panic and an urgent need to vomit. 🤮 A searing pain bursts into your skull like a swat team conducting an early morning raid. 🚨 It's made infinitely worse by that bastard sunlight. You start to itch and sweat. The hangover has arrived. 💀 You know it's only going to get worse, and it'll last longer than the last one. It always seems to. My god will those birds outside shut up?! The last of your senses awakens as the taste of last night's kebab fills your mouth. Chilli AND garlic sauce? Really? 🌶️

You reach for your phone. 📱 Might as well do that first because the dizziness isn't going to let you stand up any time soon. A dopamine hit will surely ease the pain... Okay, maybe not. 11 missed calls, 10 messages from angry & hurt friends, and nine notifications from Monzo reminding you you spent £110 (your budget was £30) last night. It's like the world's worst 12-days of Christmas re-write. But instead of 12 days of weird, inconvenient gifts, you get 12 hours (maybe 12 days or even weeks) of misery, shame and regret. "Never again..." 😳

This is just one example, one semi-autobiographical scenario that compels people to reconsider their relationship with drinking. People try to quit or cut back for a whole variety of reasons, whether it's beer fear, health, financial or other reasons, and it seems we're doing it more now. We're drinking less, or cutting it out altogether - and shouting about it from the rooftops. 📢 Wonderful! But there's something I've noticed that's distinctly similar about the majority of those voices. They're quite middle class. And that's not a loaded comment or judgement. Just an observation. I'm not here to slag off the middle class. You might even put me in that category. I'm not here to discuss the nuances of and issues with the class system. I'm just a sloth. I'd just like to ponder whether the alcohol-free movement has too much of a middle-class culture to generate the widespread appeal it needs to truly take off. 📈 I've been sober for a couple of years now and I wouldn't necessarily consider myself any better off - notwithstanding a cost of living crisis. While any sober influencer might be quick to tell you that you'll save thousands a year by not drinking alcohol, I have to wonder whether that's actually true. I mean will you just find yourself spending more in other areas of life to mitigate against the void that alcohol attempted to fill? And does that render the alcohol-free lifestyle out of reach for many? 💰

Being alcohol-free of course has strong links to the ever-growing 'wellness' industry, so perhaps you'll be compelled to replace a night of drinking with a morning of yoga & pilates. 🧘 But what if you can't afford yoga & pilates? Go for a walk! 🚶 Of course, go for a walk, get out into nature! But what if you live on an estate, miles from any parks, rivers or woodland? 🌲🍂🦌 Or even if you do live near a park, how many times can you walk around it before you get bored and need a fresh distraction? Booze? NO, we're moving past that. Okay how do I move past it? I need someone to guide me through this; this is tough. Someone who's been there themselves. Oh, an alcohol-free / stop-drinking coach! How much do they cost? Oop no maybe not. moving on.

They say community helps a lot, particularly with the early stages of sobriety, but even socialising can be tough for the alcohol-free crowd with a lower budget. For those who struggle to be around alcohol at all, it's best to stick to alcohol-free spaces, but once the daytime cafes close, those spaces are at a premium. And that premium can easily be £7.50 for a mocktail in a boozeless bar. And that's assuming the boozeless bar is free to enter. I've seen alcohol-free spaces advertising ticketed events ranging from £15 up to an eye-watering £99. Ninety-nine pounds. 😶 Not including drinks. I had to read that a few times myself. It's easy to see how those sobriety savings shrink. Now, I'm not for a second trying to say that these price points shouldn't be allowed. Frankly, people can charge what they wish. People will pay a lot more for a lot less and ultimately if people are willing to pay the price, then it is worth it to them. I run a small business myself selling alcohol-free drinks, I get it. But what if you can't pay those prices? 🤷 These spaces, these opportunities, this lifestyle isn't necessarily as inclusive as we claim when ultimately tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands will be priced out of 'the lifestyle' by the cost (and associated expenses like travel) of 💪a sobriety coach (£40+ per hour), 🍸 mocktails (north of £7), 💃 sober events (£15+), 🧘 yoga, pilates & meditation classes (various), 🧇🥞 boozeless brunches (£15+), 👚 the merch, 📚 the quit lit (£8),

‍🤝the sober network memberships (£5 per month+)

and no you don't need to buy it all, or even any of it. But you have to replace the alcohol with SOMETHING. Find what works for you. But how do you find what works for you if you don't have the means to explore it? What if you don't have the time or the money to do that? Those are resources that many can't afford. A bottle of wine on the other hand... 👀 Inclusivity isn't just about breaking down the barriers to access for some. The alcohol-free movement is beautiful, but if we want everyone to benefit from an alcohol-free (or low-alcohol) lifestyle, then it does need to be more accessible. Going sober isn't as straightforward as having the willpower to put down the bottle. Yes, we save money by not buying a drink, but how much does it cost to not drink? It needs to be a price we can all afford.

The Sober Sloth: In Real Life

A woman peers over from a couple of yards away, drawn in by the array of colourful cans and bottles I've displayed to mimic the Pride flag colours. 🏳️‍🌈 She's cautious though, like a meerkat. She can tell something's off. "Oh alcohol-free?" she blurts out as she reads the sign next to my stall. "That's not for me, that!", followed by a swift exit, soundtracked by a laughter which sounds like a mocktail of confusion, mockery... apprehension, and maybe even shame? Perhaps I imagined that last one. Either way, that's the second such interaction I've had. And that's almost preferable to the other types of interaction so far- people walking past with a sympathetic look as though they've just watched me run for a bus that I wasn't able to catch.🚌🏃 The inaugural Ramsbottom Pride started about an hour ago now, and I've already had the set-back of having been shifted to a pitch outside, down an alleyway essentially, despite having reserved a spot indoors some months ago. It turns out it's very much a case of first come first served on the day, so it was my mistake for turning up on time. 🕒 An alleyway spot is all that's left, out the back, behind the building where the festivities are taking place. I'm not alone back here at least; there are 4 or 5 other stalls, so the mood isn't totally dead. Until the unforecasted Mancunian rain makes a brief appearance. 🌧️ It's fleeting, but just enough to soak my unprotected leaflets and posters. This isn't quite the dream start to my first-ever market stall, which I'm hoping will get me a step closer to creating a physical space for The Sober Sloth. Not for the first time along this journey I'm left wondering what I've got myself in for, as I stare enviously through the window at the stall holders inside, close to the action, with their dry dream-catchers, brownies and bottles of home-made perfume. The weather soon clears up and something resembling a sun appears in the sky. ☀️ A more regular stream of people wander through the alleyway. I try my best to put on that smile that you show to strangers to indicate that you're not a threat. It's tough, still feeling like I may have made some terrible life decisions, completely misjudged my entire business idea, and wasted the last year or so developing it. But the emergence of the sun, and the morale-boosting support of my partner, who's come along to experience it with me keeps me going. Even if I have no success today, at least I've tried. At least my display has added some more colour to the Pride celebrations. People have seen the branding so maybe they'll buy something online at some point instead. Maybe. The little girl who's sat with her mum at the artwork stall across from me is making her own little friendship bands. She makes a sale. 💸 I'm delighted for her. But then. A couple steps outside. They scuttle past the cloud of smokers who've made the alleyway their home and shuffle towards my stall. They don't say much, but one of them starts rifling through one of the crates, examining all of the contents. She knows it's alcohol-free right? She's looked at enough cans by now to surely know it is. She's still here. She must be here on purpose. Does she actually want an alcohol-free drink?! 🤔 Maybe she's just feeling sorry for me. "Can I just get this please?" she asks a moment or two later. She's finished rifling and she hands me one of my mocktails - a Mockarita, an AF version of the margarita, and one of my favourites I might add. I don't say this out loud because I don't want to sound sales-y and scare her away, and also because all I can think right now is OH MY GOD I'M MAKING A FUCKING SALE! The transaction goes through. A notification pops up on my phone confirming it. I feel so delighted, so relieved. 😌 My brain can't decide whether to say "That's great!" or "That''s fab!" so my mouth settles on "That's grab!" as I hand over the customer's drink like a new mother proudly offering up her newborn for a loved one to hold. I have made a fucking sale. I've brought something to this space that somebody values enough to actually pay for. It's just one drink but if nothing else happens today I'll be happy. But something else does happen. Moments later a woman comes bouldering out of the Civic Hall that's hosting the Pride event. She marches up the alleyway -on a mission - announcing to the person she's with that she wants to find The Sober Sloth! 🦥

"Oh, that's me!" I squeal, ushering her over to my stall. "I've been following you on Facebook for a while and I heard that you were here!" She says. Somebody has gone out of their way to seek me out. WHAT. "I love what you're doing and I want to support it." She picks up three AF beers without so much as a glance at the labels and becomes my second-ever IRL customer. 😲 That happens twice more over the course of the day, with someone else referencing my Instagram page. People take time out of their day AND GO OUT OF THEIR WAY specifically to support The Sober Sloth and it feels unreal. Over the afternoon, I also meet a couple in recovery, a family who don't drink, a substance-abuse therapist who takes a fistful of leaflets for her clients, a pregnant lady going to a hen weekend, a few folks who are just enjoying the day without alcohol. Even a fellow Lost Toys of the Alleyway stall holder comes along at the end of the day and buys one of every mocktail that he's been eyeing up since I arrived. It's overwhelming. Everyone is so lovely, so supportive, perhaps even grateful (?) that there's something for them, whatever their journey, their preferences, their situation. I mean not literally everyone but the power of those that were supportive infinitely outweighed the sceptical responses. I think it felt even better too in a place like Ramsbottom where so much of the social scene here is centred around alcohol. It felt daring to challenge that norm. Despite a shakey - and rainy - start, and a less-than-optimal location, The Sober Sloth made a difference. Not only by adding even more colour and inclusivity to this Pride event but helping mindful drinkers to feel seen. That's all I wanted to do, and I did it, and it felt good, so I'm going to keep doing it. 😊 The Sober Sloth started as a concept, but seeing its impact in reality tells me I need to keep going. This journey has only just begun and with the support I've received so far, there's no telling how far it'll go. 🌎 Here's to a bright future, yummy mocktails, meaningful connections and the AF revolution. And thanks to you, dear reader, for joining me on this journey. Your support means the world. The Sober Sloth will be popping up again on 29 October at the Ramsbottom Halloween Makers' Market, so please do come along if you're around and say hi. Let me know you've read this blog and there'll be a free drink in it for you, so we can toast to that bright, hangover-free future together. 🥂