Booze-free Oktoberfest, shroomy calm & a ginger kick you’ll love

Surviving Oktoberfest Booze-Free

Oktoberfest: the global celebration of steins, lederhosen, and enough oompah music to haunt your dreams. For most, it’s a marathon of beer and bratwurst. For the sober or sober-curious, it’s more like a high-stakes game of how long can I hang without a pint in hand.

Here’s the secret: Oktoberfest isn’t really about the beer. It’s about the energy, the music, the communal chaos. Once you drop the FOMO, you realise you can have all the fun minus the fog.

Drink Differently

Germany’s alcohol-free beer scene is elite. Try Erdinger Alkoholfrei or Clausthaler and you’ll barely notice what’s missing. Or skip the faux beer and go full hipster with kombucha or a spicy ginger soda. You’ll still have something to “cheers” with, and you’ll actually remember what you’re cheering for.

Dress the Part

Go all in with the lederhosen or dirndl. Dance on tables. Belt out the songs. When you look and act like you belong, no one cares what’s in your mug.

Own Your Why

You’re not skipping the fun, you’re skipping the hangover. You’ll wake up fresh, smug, and free from wondering if you accidentally texted your ex in German.

The truth? Going booze-free at Oktoberfest isn’t rebellion, it’s evolution. You’re proving you can live big without numbing it down. So grab your stein of something sparkling and toast to clarity.

Prost, you dry legend.

Grow Your Own Calm: The Autumn Mushroom Movement

If your windowsill basil’s losing steam, it might be time for an upgrade.

This autumn, swap herbs for adaptogenic mushrooms - the fungi famous for boosting focus, mood, and immunity (or at least being studied for it).

Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Cordyceps, and Turkey Tail are the stars of the “functional fungi” world, and yes, you can grow them at home. They won’t make you superhuman, but nurturing them connects you to nature’s slower, calmer rhythm (and looks great on your kitchen counter).

Easy UK starter kits:

• 🦁 Lion’s Mane: eco-friendly, peat-free, and fruit-fast. Available at Marvellous Mushrooms.

• 🌿 Reishi: ready-growing “antler” logs that look as good as they are grounding. Available at Merryhill Mushrooms.

• ☀️ Cordyceps: rare, bright orange, and UK-sourced. Available at Funguru Farm.

• 🍂 Turkey Tail: Great for immune-support teas. Available at Isle of Wight Mushrooms.

Quick science check: You won’t get benefits from eating them raw, or eve cooked. The good stuff is locked inside tough cell walls. Dry them, brew them into teas, or use extracts once you’ve harvested.

Want to go deeper?

Check out DoubleBlind’s How to Grow Mushrooms Bundle - an online course that walks you through DIY setups, bigger yields, and even a grower forum for one-on-one support.

So this autumn, grow something that grows you back, your brain, your gut, and your green thumb will thank you.

What’s Actually Next for Functional Drinks?

On October 21st at The No, Low & Mid Summit (hosted by Club Soda), Daniel will be moderating a functional drinks session with some of the sharpest minds in the game:

• Eoin Keenan (Goodrays)

• Hamilton Lowe (Smiling Wolf)

• Tatiana Mercer (Three Spirit)

• Amy Lupton (PB Creative)

• Brendan Williams (Nuwave)

We’re diving into fresh research, asking tough questions, and getting real about where functional drinks are going next. 🕓 3:50–5:30 PM 📍 The Distillery, London 🔥 Part of the epic No, Low & Mid Summit (Oct 21–22) This summit is the place to be if you’re building, scaling, or just curious about the future of mindful drinking. Full of founders, creatives, consultants, buyers, and people who don’t need a buzz to bring the energy. Want in? Click here.

Mother Root 🫚 Ginger, Grown-Up, and Going Places

This autumn, our drink of choice isn’t spiked - it’s spiced.

Meet Mother Root, the alcohol-free apéritif that just turned the Dragons’ Den set into a fan club. Founders Bethan Higson and Alice Galsworthy walked away with £90,000 from Steven Bartlett, and a 2,000% sales surge to match.

Mother Root’s Ginger Switchel isn’t your average soda - it’s a slow-sipper built on apple cider vinegar, ginger juice, blossom honey, and a hit of gentle heat. Think: grown-up ginger beer meets autumn tonic. It’s bold, complex, and completely hangover-proof.

Pour it over ice with soda for a sharp, fiery kick, or top with tonic and a slice of orange for an after-work ritual that feels like something, without being something else.

The brand’s mission? To redefine what it means to drink well and feel good. And with new retail listings (including Sainsbury’s) and a limited Rhubarb edition, they’re making mindful drinking as stylish as it is satisfying.

👉 Check out Mother Root and raise your glass (of ginger goodness) to a clearer kind of buzz.

Why we love it: fiery flavour, clean ingredients, and serious autumn energy.

Snippets - High

A single dose of psilocybin could ease both depression and chronic pain, say Penn Med researchers. And no, it's not addictive. - Read more

A new study finds that after dabbling in psychedelics, nearly half of users cut back on booze and cocaine, though their weed and tobacco habits often picked up the slack. - Read more 

Target quietly launches THC drinks in Minnesota as Congress weighs a hemp crackdown. - Read more 

New study finds VR “cyberdelics” can mimic the mind-bending effects of psychedelics, boosting creativity and calm without the drugs. - Read more 

New research suggests the Wari used psychedelic beer to turn rivals into allies, building an empire one trippy feast at a time. - Read more

Snippets - Dry

Scotland’s first sober bar is opening in Aberdeen this October, inspired by one woman’s health journey, kidney transplants, and a mission to make mocktails sexy. - Read more 

Josh Cellars just dropped its first non-alcoholic sparkling wine nationwide. Same crisp vibes, zero buzz. - Read more

Lyre’s gives its award-winning non-alcoholic spirits a bold new look. Think sleeker, lighter, and way more cocktail cart-worthy. - Read more 

Turns out heavy drinkers are leading the charge on alcohol-free options. Yep, the sober curious movement has layers. - Read more

Bristol’s newest sober bar, Arc, is bringing alcohol-free drinks and DJ sets to Broad Street. - Read more 

The Sober Irish is launching in Belfast with bold booze-free vibes, premium pours, and a mission to make hangover-free nights the new normal. - Read more

That’s a wrap for this week!

From lab-grown calm to sober bars on the rise, the dry economy is moving fast—and we’re here to keep you in the loop (minus the hangover).

Quick favour before you bounce.

How did this issue land? Hit a rating below and let us know (takes 2 secs, tops):