Given the incredibly rapid rise – in both quantity and quality – of non-alcoholic beers, wines and spirits in recent years, it was really only a matter of time before someone put together an umbrella-type festival that sought to celebrate the best of them.
So it will be that the Picolo Drinks Festival will take place in Melbourne’s Timber Yard on February 11 February 2023.
The lineup will feature 30 low and zero-alcohol drinks producers, with the likes of Heaps Normal, T.I.N.A, NON, Better Beer, Four Pillars, Ovant, Senza, Banks Botanical, Sobah, Lyres, Yes you Can, Gruppetto Spritz, Mischief Brew and Giesen all confirmed, with more to be announced.
There'll be a a live cocktail competition featuring some of Melbourne's top bar-tending talent, live music, and games and activities that perhaps couldn't be tried at regular booze festivals, namely roller-skating, 'Beersketball' , and a limbo competition (where punters try to reach "new lows", obviously...).
A dedicated Mould Cheese Collective stand will showcase some delicious dairy products, while a full food lineup will be confirmed closer to the date.
Some of the producers behind the products featured at the festival will host talks and masterclasses to explain the technical wizardry that allows them to make no-or-low alcohol drinks that actually taste really good. And, yes, there will be prizes.
The festival will take place over two sessions, starting midday and 5pm. Tickets for each are $35 which includes entry, all drinks tastings, a stemless REVEL wine glass, and entertainment.
