What to Drink During Sober October (Beyond 0% Beer)

0% beer is usually the first thing people reach for in Sober October, and it does a fine job for the first week or two. It's familiar, it's easy to find, and it slots into the same moment a regular beer would. The trouble tends to start around week three, when the novelty wears off and it starts tasting like exactly what it is: a stand-in.

Look for something with actual structure

The drinks that hold up for a full month are the ones with real depth to them, not just an absence of alcohol. That's the gap a properly fermented concentrate fills. JIN JIN isn't trying to taste like a beer or a wine substitute; it's its own thing, built slowly from over thirty plants, and it holds its own as a drink rather than reading as a compromise.

Five ways to serve it through the month

Neat, over ice. The simplest version, and the one to start with if you haven't tried it before. Let the ice do some diluting and drink it slowly.

With soda and a twist of citrus. For the evenings that feel like they need something with a bit more fizz and ceremony to them.

Sohn's Signature Serve. Our founder's own go-to, and worth trying if you want to see what the drink can do properly.

As a batch jug for the weekend. Mix a jug in advance, keep it in the fridge, and you've got a proper drink ready without any last-minute effort when people come round.

Straight, as a small pour before dinner. An aperitif-style serve, in a smaller glass, for the evenings you want the ritual without a full drink's worth.

The point of trying something new

Sober October tends to go better when it doesn't feel like deprivation dressed up in a different bottle. The month's easier, and more interesting, when what you're drinking is something you'd genuinely choose again in November, not just something that got you through October.

New to this? Start with the Sober October Starts Here plan this pairs with.