Mindful Drinking and Moderation in Midlife: How to Drink Less, On Your Terms
**A Spotify 'Rising Star' show** Practical moderation for the way you want to live.
Why can't I drink like I used to? How do I drink less without quitting completely? Should I go for low, no or light alcohol drinks? Why do alcohol-free drinks cost so much?
If you're in your 30s, 40s, 50s or beyond and asking these questions, this is your podcast.
Welcome to the essential show for midlife adults who want to drink less, on their own terms—without the pressure to quit completely, follow rigid rules, or label themselves as sober.
I'm Denise Hamilton-Mace, your mindful drinking mentor, writer and public speaker on all things low, no and light. Each week, I help stressed parents and busy midlife adults navigate their relationship with alcohol through practical approaches grounded in real-world experience and behaviour change strategy, not willpower or wellness culture
What you'll get:
Mindful Moderation Solo Episodes – Deep-dives answering the questions that matter to sophisticated drinkers who want to moderate smartly:
- How do I cut back when my partner still drinks at home?
- What really works: willpower vs. strategy?
- Why do premium alcohol-free drinks cost the same as full-strength versions?
- How do I navigate social situations when I'm the only one moderating?
This podcast is for you if:
- You're looking for practical advice that fits your demanding life, not another wellness overhaul
- You recognise that coasting with mid-strength drinks, zebra-striping, or bookending your evening with something non-alcoholic are all valid strategies
- You want better mornings without giving up celebrating life's special moments
This isn't about going completely dry or reinventing yourself. It's about keeping energy for what matters most: family, health, career, and living life on your own terms.
Join the moderation revolution happening in midlife – because while Gen Z gets the headlines, you're the one actually doing it.
Mindful Drinking and Moderation in Midlife: How to Drink Less, On Your Terms
#83. You Can Drink Your Own Way
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In this candid solo episode, I tackle the gatekeeping creeping into the low/no space, particularly around big alcohol brands releasing alcohol-free options. After receiving pushback for sharing Heineken's expansion news, I'm setting the record straight: there's no "right way" to be a mindful drinker. Whether you prefer mainstream alcohol-free beers or artisanal botanical concoctions, what matters is making intentional choices that serve you. Mainstream brands offer accessibility, affordability and familiarity that many people need. While I'll always champion independent brands too, this episode is my passionate reminder that everyone deserves a seat at the mindful drinking table—no justification required.
0:00 How Heineken 0.0 started it
2:11 I don't care what you drink
2:57 Big Alcohol AND Independent Brands
4:11 Not all good / Not all bad
6:24 Finding What Works For You: Supermarket sweep
7:25 It's not a competition
Also mentioned:
Heineken 0.0*
Guinness 0.0*
Peroni 0.0*
Wise Bartender*
Dry Drinker*
Get 10% off at Wise Bartender & Dry Drinker with code LOWNODRINKERMAGAZINE
Best episode to listen to next:
#78 What no one tells you about your tastes when you start drinking low/no
#79 Powerful Mindset Shifts That Will Transform Your Experience with Low/No Drinks – pt1
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✅ Get the Beginner's Guide to Mindful Drinking - https://lownodrinker.com/mindful-drinking-beginners-guide/
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❓ Take the Midlife Drinking Triggers Quiz - https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/68dd33385bb4a20015996a13
Heineken 0.0 started it
Speaker 1Hello , hello and welcome to the Low no Drinker podcast , the only twice weekly podcast helping you find , understand and enjoy the world of low , no and light drinks , drinkers and drinking . My name , as you'll know by now , is Denise Hamilton-Mace and I am the founder , editor and host of all things Low no Drinker . This week , I am going to bring you possibly a slightly shorter episode , because I've got a point to make that is really important to me and I want you to focus on what I'm going to share rather than all of the paraphernalia that can go around it . And it is the title of this episode , which is a riff on Fleetwood Mac's very famous song , and that is that you can drink your own way . I'm not going to sing . You can thank me later . I've been told I'm not to sing in public anymore . And the reason for this why am I doing this episode ?
Speaker 1It has come to light lately that , whilst the low , low and light market is growing at a humongous rate and I'm so excited excited by it , and I hope that you are excited too , I presume you are , that's why you're here that there is less enthusiasm for the growth of some big alcohol brands out there . I got some pushback recently on some news that I shared about Heineken's growth . They are now available in one in three pubs . Yes , I'm sharing the information again . So Heineken can now be found in one in three pubs across the entirety of the UK and they just hit 1000 draft taps in pubs in the UK and this is huge . You know , people are calling for alcohol free beers . They're calling for alcohol free beer on draft beers . They're calling for alcohol-free beer on draft . But obviously Heineken falls within that big alcohol umbrella . Now in Lono Nation I share news from all sides of the Lono and light drinking sphere . Why ? Because I serve you . I'm here to share news with drinkers about the drinks that they can use when they choose to live a life less intoxicated , whether that is for a night , a week , a month , a year or a lifetime .
I don't care what you drink
Speaker 1Not everybody wants to be sipping on 10-pound bottles of small batch yuzu-infused kombucha brewed on the forest moon of Endor with the fingers of celestial nuns . It's not a path that everybody wants to take . Some people like mainstream and you know what . That's okay . Personally , I don't care what you drink . I don't care if you drink alcohol-free beers , wine , spirits , ciders , if you prefer 0% or 0.5% , if you like mid-strength drinks , or you only like light alcohol , or you're completely teetotal . It's not relevant to me , and it shouldn't be relevant to anybody else , how you choose to drink .
Big Alcohol AND Independent Brands
Speaker 1Big alcohol brands exist for a reason they offer accessibility , they offer affordability , they offer familiarity and they are . How many people find their way into the low-no and light drinking space ? The first alcohol-free beverage I ever had was a Peroni Zero , and look where it's led me to .
Speaker 1I really want to make sure that everybody in low-no nation knows that choosing a well-known alcohol-free beer or whatever brand doesn't make you less of a mindful drinker . It doesn't make you less of a mindful drinker . It doesn't make you less qualified to be sober . Curious . It doesn't mean that you are not welcome to drink at our table . You have to find what's right for you . It's about being intentional with your drinks choices . It's about being mindful about how it's impacting you and making choices that serve the way that you want to live , not that make other people feel that you are cool or that you've got the trendiest choice or that your drink is on the new frontier of what's going on . It doesn't have to be . It just has to be something that you can hold in your hand and feel that you are having an adult drink at an adult occasion and you are feeling like you are part of the community , and that is what's most important .
Not all good / Not all bad
Speaker 1Yes , big alcohol does bring challenges to the low and low space and , as you'll know by now , I am a big advocate , a big fan of independent brands . Part of the reason why I have this platform is because I want to help smaller , independent brands reach and be found by drinkers like you who want to know what they've got to offer , who want to try something different . And yes , some big alcohol brands are terrible . Don't get me wrong . I'm not here waving the flag saying that Diageo and Heineken and all of those massive conglomerates are the way forward . Some of them are absolutely god awful , but the point is that you have to go and find that out for yourself . It's about what makes you feel good and about what you enjoy , because , just as some big alcohol brands are awful and can turn people away from the category let's not sugarcoat it here Some independent brands are awful as well . But that's just life , that's just business . There is no category of business out there where everything within that category is amazing , and there's definitely no category where every person thinks that everything in that category is amazing . That's why we have variety , that's why we have choice , so that you can go and find what works for you .
Speaker 1There are some very big brands in this space that I don't enjoy , not because they're bad , but because they don't work for my palate , and that's okay . There are some big alcohol drinks that I don't enjoy because they don't work for my palate , but also the flip side is true , you know . So the only way I know this is because I've tried different things and I've tasted different things and I've given them a chance and I've experimented and I've mixed things and I've , you know , tried the beer with the lime and the beer without the lime , and I've tried the spirit with the soda and I've tried it with a lemonade . You know , you try different things until you find what you like , and some of that is going to be big alcohol , and that's okay , and some of it is going to be small , independent brands , and that's okay too . My only request to you is that you keep trying and that you give independent brands just as much of a chance and an opportunity to impress you as you do with big alcohol .
Finding What Works For You: Supermarket sweep
Speaker 1Let's remember that most people who are jumping into this way of drinking are doing it via their supermarket . You're going out for your weekly shop . You've realised it actually is . You're feeling a little bit worse for wear , for whatever reason , or you've got some stuff coming up and you don't want to drink as much , and you're in the drinks aisle and you're picking up your full strength bottles or whatever it is that you're having . But you're also looking to see what they've got in the low no space . And yes , it is a crying shame and I've spoken about it many times before and I will do more episodes on it in the future that independent brands find it so difficult to get space on supermarket shelves . But actually those aren't the best places to find those drinks . There are smaller , more independent supply stores , places like Wise Bartender and Dry Drinker where you can go and find the drinks that you'd like to have , once you've realized that this is a space that you want to explore a little bit more .
Speaker 1So it's okay if you don't care about botanical pairings and subtle oak finishes
It's not a competition
Speaker 1. It's not a competition and there are no medals for finding the most obscure drink with the most unique ingredient . The only medal is one that you give yourself for making a choice that serves you best , and that is what I want to support . And sometimes that will come in the form of me telling you about big alcohol brands . You know , at the end of every episode I ask founders what they like drinking most in this space and so far this year the most popular answer is Guinness Zero , and I've had founders of independent beers and wines and spirits who've told me that they actually would be taking a bottle of Heineken to a barbecue or a bottle of Peroni . And I've also had some who've told me about really niche brands from the middle of Copenhagen that I'd never heard of and that I can't find anywhere in the UK that they'll be taking , and both of those are perfectly valid options .
Speaker 1It matters how you feel when you're drinking the drink . It matters that it supports your goals . It matters that you enjoy the flavours and that you feel comfortable with it and that it fits into the way that you want to live your life . I said I keep this one short because I really hope that this message gets to you if you need to hear it . You don't have to impress anybody with what's in your glass and you don't have to justify your choice to drink low and no to anyone , and that includes other mindful drinkers . Everybody is welcome to drink at our table . You can drink your own way and that is more than good enough .
Speaker 1Okay , rant over . I'm going to leave it there for today . Let me know if this resonates with you or if , if you think , denise , please shut up and get back to teaching us some of the facts about low and low and light drinks . Um , I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on this . You can find me in all the usual places . There are links everywhere . Um , find me on socials at low no drinker magazine or email me , denise . At low no drinker magazine . That's it for me Until next week . Cheers to a life less intoxicated .
