Dry January – is it worth it?

Drinks blogger James Robertson looks at the options for “Dry January”. SOME of us do “Sober October”, some of us do “I Cannae Remember December”, and some are now two weeks into “Dry January”. I have not been successful in achieving Dry January by the way, but hats off to my wife who has stoically…

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Sober October: soda, ‘gin’ and ‘beer’

As ‘Sober October’ gets underway, Peter Ranscombe rounds up some of the latest non-alcohol releases and revisits some old favourites. BETWEEN “Dry January” and “Sober October”, it’s getting harder and harder for a drinks writer to earn a living… so, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. The latest month of abstinence is the ideal…

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One Year No Beer: a lockdown lifeline

Looking to change your relationship with alcohol? Peter Ranscombe reports on a Scottish firm’s online programme. FOR so many of us who have been staying safe at home with no exposure to the coronavirus, it’s been a lockdown of memes. Memes about face coverings, memes about zoom quizzes, memes about TikTok challenges. One set of…

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Get ready for a beer spa treatment this weekend

Dry January has become a phenomenon, but with four weeks of detox almost complete and February being only days away, Heverlee is offering a novel way to ease out of abstinence – with the UK’s first official ‘beer spa’ treatment. Belgian beer, Heverlee, has teamed up with renowned men’s grooming company, Ruffians in Edinburgh, to…

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A preview of food trends set to arrive in 2020

In 2019 veganism was on the rise, as more people than ever signed up for Veganuary last year. With people becoming more health conscious, does this mean no beer for a year? Greta Thunberg has waged a war against global warming, making people all over the world sit up and listen. This has led to…

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Responsible drinking campaign arrives in Scotland

Tryanuary’s annual campaign to promote responsible drinking in local pubs and bars is coming to Edinburgh this weekend. The event was initially created as a response to campaigns promoting dry January. Tryanuary is now a yearly phenomenon encouraging special pub-based events and festivals to help boost pubs’ and independent beweries’ profiles throughout a challenging month…

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WINE TO DINE – JANUARY 2019 – LOWER-ALCOHOL WINES

Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe selects five lower-alcohol wines. FEW months appear as bleak as January – the heady excesses of Christmas and Hogmanay are fading into the background and it feels like a long way to go before we can indulge in the whisky-fueled revelry of Burns’ Night. Fear not though; even if the belt…

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Fewer calories but no compromise on taste

PETER RANSCOMBE AS JANUARY draws to a close, those new year’s resolutions are getting harder and harder to keep. For anyone who over-indulged during the festive period by reaching for that extra mince pie or another slice of Christmas cake, weight loss is usually top of the list come Hogmanay. While our food packaging is covered…

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