The Drinks World Is Shifting

The beverages industry is rarely static, but the pace of change in recent years has been remarkable. Consumer tastes, health consciousness, sustainability concerns, and cultural shifts are all pushing producers — from small craft breweries to global distillers — to adapt, innovate, and rethink what people want in a glass.

Here are five significant trends worth following, whether you're a drinker, a bar owner, or simply someone interested in where the industry is heading.

1. The Low & No-Alcohol Revolution

This is no longer a niche category. Non-alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks have moved from afterthought to priority for producers across the spectrum — beer, spirits, wine, and cocktails.

The driving factors are well-documented: younger demographics drinking less overall, a growing wellness culture, and significant improvements in product quality. Early non-alcoholic beers were notable mainly for what they lacked. Today's offerings from craft-focused producers use sophisticated brewing and dealcoholisation techniques to deliver genuine flavour and mouthfeel.

Non-alcoholic spirits designed for cocktail mixing have also matured significantly. Brands have invested in botanicals, distillation processes, and complexity rather than simply removing alcohol and hoping for the best.

2. The Craft Lager Renaissance

For years, craft beer was synonymous with IPAs and stouts. Lagers — long associated with mass-market production — were seen as beneath the ambitions of serious craft brewers. That perception has shifted dramatically.

A growing wave of craft breweries are now investing in quality lager production: Czech-style Pilsners, German Helles, Vienna Lagers, and American-style craft lagers brewed with the same care applied to their hop-forward counterparts. The result is a premium lager market that rewards patience (lagers require longer cold-conditioning times) and precision.

For drinkers, this is excellent news. A well-made craft lager is one of brewing's great achievements — clean, refreshing, and technically demanding.

3. Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Cocktails Come of Age

The RTD market exploded during pandemic-era lockdowns and hasn't looked back. But the category has matured considerably since its early days of overly sweet, artificially flavoured canned drinks.

Craft distillers, established cocktail bars, and independent producers are now releasing canned and bottled cocktails made with real spirits, fresh ingredients, and genuine bartending knowledge. Pre-batched Negronis, Spritzes, Highballs, and sours are available at a quality level that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

For consumers, RTDs offer genuine convenience without sacrificing craft. For producers, they represent a growing revenue stream and a new way to reach drinkers outside bar environments.

4. Sustainability Moves From Buzzword to Business Practice

Environmental responsibility is increasingly a commercial differentiator in the drinks industry. Breweries and distilleries are investing in:

  • Solar and renewable energy to power production facilities.
  • Water recycling systems — brewing is a notoriously water-intensive process.
  • Spent grain repurposing, typically for animal feed or baking.
  • Reduced packaging weight and shifts to more recyclable materials.
  • Local sourcing of ingredients to reduce food miles.

Consumers — particularly younger ones — are increasingly factoring environmental credentials into their purchasing decisions. Producers who communicate their practices clearly and credibly will have a meaningful advantage.

5. Collaboration Culture in Craft Beer

Brewery collaborations — where two or more breweries co-create a beer — have always existed, but they've become a defining feature of modern craft beer culture. These partnerships serve multiple purposes: they generate excitement, introduce each brewery's audience to the other, and allow brewers to experiment with styles or ingredients outside their usual repertoire.

International collaborations are particularly notable, with breweries from different countries combining their regional ingredients and techniques. A New Zealand hop-forward IPA brewed in collaboration with a Danish brewery, for instance, is the kind of cross-pollination that enriches the entire industry.

Following your favourite brewery's collab releases is one of the best ways to discover new producers and stay connected to what's exciting in the craft world right now.

Keeping Up With the Industry

The best way to stay informed is to follow specialist publications, subscribe to brewery newsletters, and — most importantly — keep exploring what's in your glass. Every new beer, cocktail, or wine you try is a data point in understanding where the industry is heading and what genuinely resonates with you as a drinker.