Did you kick off the new year celebrating Dry January or have you enjoyed a recent mocktail-pairing dining experience? Specialty non-alcohol beer and cocktails are growing in menu popularity.

In recent reports, beer without alcohol—or non-alcoholic (NA) beer— is expected to be worth more than $30 billion by 2032, according to Food Dive industry reports. NA, also referred to as zero-proof beverages for evening drinking—and suggested pairing with food—is in fact trendy, according to experts.

Zero-proof awareness is also a boon to shrubs, mixers, and seltzers, which are growing—and launching in Northeast Wisconsin. Siren Shrub Co. in Stevens Point, Wis., has been partnering with local farms and sources of flavor in Northeast Wisconsin canning their five shrub varieties since 2018. It all started when the co-founding duo of Layne Cozzolino and Mindy McCord started experimenting with recipes in their kitchen.

Luba Libations, Egg Harbor, Wis., is just getting started with their line of zero-proof cocktails.

“Shrubs are tangy, apple-cider based vinegars used for beverages,” Mindy says. As we discuss cocktails, recipes and substitutions, her approach to introducing shrubs—and the unique vinegar-based flavor profile— is simple to anyone new.

“You can replace any acid you currently use in cooking in half-ounce increments for a boost of flavor,” she shares. “Or you can also use it as a marinade. Just start wherever you already use lemon or lime.”

For our story, she offers a classic cocktail Siren Shrub recommends for its Rhubarb shrub on the market: Blossom Breeze.

Their five varieties of shrubs on the market feature ingredients sourced mostly from area farms. From tart cherries grown by Sister Bay, Wis.-based Seaquist Orchards to Jalepenos from Park Ridge Organics in Fond du Lac, Wis., the Siren Shrub flavors feature fresh fruit, roots and herbs. Sweeteners include maple syrup by Tapped Maple Syrup in Stevens Point, Wis.

Siren Shrub vinegar-based drinks may have started at local markets, but are now available in mainstream grocery, whole food and health food markets. Additionally, 2025 launch plans include a Shrub Club subscription to give enthusiasts an entirely new way to keep up with the limited release quarterly flavors, themed by season, Mindy shares.

STARTING PROOF (FREE)

Drinking pre-production Luba Libations zero-proof cocktail samples in Christiana and Nic Trapani’s kitchen in Egg Harbor, Wis., reminds me when I was first introduced Vitamin Water (yes, the now-everywhere popular bottled water was at one time a lab test going through market tastings!) The couple, in Luba’s case, went searching for an evening beverage that wasn’t a typical seltzer nor alcoholic.

What started with trying any and all the varieties of non-alcoholic drinks on the shelf, resulted in four expertly formulated flavors meeting their exact product vision: splash of juice, hint of sweetness, just the right amount of carbonation, and without caffeine, preservatives or other unrecognizable ingredients.

“We went to the kitchen and started cooking,” Nic says. “About 40 tries later we came up with [the very first flavor]. Next, we involved food scientists… what we formulated in our home kitchen was shipped to them for testing so they could dissect the ingredients, home recipes, and a sample [to make Luba].”

Low-calorie and recognizable ingredients were requirements for the Luba team. “If you can’t say it or can’t Google it, it doesn’t go [into Luba]”, Nic shares.

After four months and three iterations of Luba, the calorie count and flavor trials and nutrition facts helped them land on a competitive 60-calorie-or-less baseline.

Tasting production samples from the lab is preparation for dialing in carbonation at the first bottling leading up to Spring.

Grapefruit Poloma—the very first flavor the team made—is 60 calories with a tangy but not pucker-your-face sour, according to Nic.

But the couple isn’t only focused on winning in the market. They’re focused on elevating sustainable and environmental causes through the drinks category. They also connect deeply with their family roots. Luba means “love” and is also Christiana’s grandma’s name and homage to her Ukrainian background. On its Moscow Mule flavor Moscow is crossed off the can and “Kyiv” remains, which is specific to the capital of her home country.

• Sips for Sustainability is donating 1% of every sale to critical environmental causes of their all-natural and sustainability-at-heart initiatives. Find Luba Libations in stores in April.