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More and more people are running away from booze in Japan. That's left beverage makers and restaurants scrambling to find new ways to cater to the teetotalers. Everyone from sake manufacturers to bars is whipping up new concoctions that appeal to those who want to go booze-free.

Mocktails in Roppongi

Alcohol in Japan is in a weird state. The country has (somewhat undeservedly) earned a reputation for itself as a nation of drinkers. And to be sure, Japan has a varied variety of boozy beverages to its name – from nihonshu (日本酒; sake) and shochu (焼酎), on up to beer that isn't really beer. And in recent years, Japan's sake, whisky, and even wine industries has received renewed support, not just at home, but abroad.

Overall, however, fewer people are drinking. The young in particular are turning away from alcohol and from alcohol-fueled spectacles, like corporate year-end parties. Others are swearing off the stuff for the eminently sane reason that it's just not good for you. (And before you send me nastygrams – I'm a drinker too, folks. But…let's not kid ourselves, shall we?)

Of course, most non-drinkers still want to hang out with their pals who are imbibing. This is why, as Asahi Shinbun reports, more bars in Japan are offering “craft mocktails.” Asahi highlights Low Non-Bar in Toyko's Chuuo Ward, which specializes in a combination of low-alcohol (under 5% alcohol content) and no-alcohol cocktails. The shop is the brainchild of bartender Miyazawa Hideji, who operates seven stores in the greater Tokyo area. Similar stores, such as Arakawa Ward's Alt-Alc (アルトアルコ; short for “Alternative to Alcohol”), aim to create a bar-like atmosphere by foregoing alcohol completely.

A Non-Alcoholic Twist on a Classic

The non-alcoholic craze isn't limited just to cocktails, however. Non-alcoholic beers also abound in the Japanese market. And now, a historic nihonshu (sake) maker is getting in on the action as well.

Sake maker Gekkeikan has operated out of the Fushimi district of Kyoto since 1637. (Sadly, most Americans likely know Gekkeikan for the cheap stuff that gets sold in US grocery stores, which is only fit for cooking and for drowning ants.) Now the vaunted company is dipping its toes into the alcohol-free game with a non-alcoholic drink that's supposed to have the same taste and aroma as a daiginjou sake.

大吟醸の味わいをノンアルコールで再現！─ 月桂冠「スペシャルフリー」が新たな選択肢を提案する | 日本酒専門WEBメディア「SAKETIMES」 車の運転が控えてたり、休肝日だったり……お酒を飲みたいけれど飲めないというシーンは、日常のなかにあふれています。 そんな時にうれしいのが、お酒を飲んでいる気分を楽しめるノンアルコール飲料。現在ではビールテイストやカクテルテイストなど、さまざまなノンアルコール飲料が販売されていて、実際に飲んだことがある人も多いのではないでしょうか。 … (JP) Link: The Return of the Taste of Daiginjou in Non-Alcoholic Form! Gekkeikan Offers a New Choice with “Special Free”

How, exactly, do you make a non-alcoholic sake that mimics the real thing? According to Gekkeikan's new products manager, Muratsubaki Tatsuya, the answer is: not easily. Muratsubaki joined the company in 2014. But Gekkeikan's been crafting a zero-booze version of Japan's flagship “rice wine” since 2003. The project started and stopped multiple times as developer hit walls they felt they couldn't surmount:

「日本酒はさまざまな成分で構成されていますが、やはり味わいの大きな決め手となるのがアルコール(エタノール)です。お酒からアルコールを抜くだけでは味のバランスが崩れてしまう。日本酒らしい甘さ、酸、辛さをどのように表現するか、非常に苦労したと聞いています」

Nihonshu is composed of various ingredients, but it's really alcohol (ethanol) that's the biggest factor in its taste. If you just take alcohol out of an alcoholic drink, you ruin the balance of its flavors. I've been told getting a drink to display the sweetness, sourness, and bitterness evocative of nihonshu has been taken a lot of toil.

In the end, Muratsubaki says the company emulated beer manufacturers. Instead of trying to take the alcohol out of alcoholic sake, it aimed to create a drink with the taste profile of sake from the get-go. After mastering what they thought was a passable regular sake, the company set its sites on making a version that mimicked the clear and fruity taste of a high-end daiginjou sake.

The result? According to one UJ reader was asked on Twitter: Not too bad, actually:

James Fleming on Twitter @UnseenJapanSite So… the one I tried was light and pretty clean tasting, with a decent aftertaste, mostly lacking the slight ‘alcohol warmth'. I think it would be fine if you prefer some of the more fragrant offerings on the market. Personally, I'll probably stick to Amazake. Solid 7/10 though

A World of Options (Even for Foreigners)

The ascent of mocktails and even non-alcoholic nihonshu add to the options available for a geko (下戸; non-drinker) in Japan, which is already flush with non-alcoholic beer options. Beer manufacturers, taking advantage of increasing health consciousness in Japan, explicitly market their booze-free versions to people looking to take better care of their bodies.

But how do they taste? GetNavi Web decided to do an interesting experiment and asked three foreigners – one from Taiwan, one from Chile, and one from Spain – what they thought of some of the major brands on the Japanese market.

海外の人に日本の「ノンアル健康系ビール」は受けるのか? 4本を採点して最高評価の1本を発表! | GetNavi web ゲットナビ 日本の伝統料理やトレンドフードなどを、様々な国の人に試してもらう企画が本企画です。今回は、特定保健用食品（トクホ）または機能性表示食品のノンアルコールビールでテストしました。 【試してくれた人】 台湾 シュウ・シアンさん ノンアルコールビールは今回が初。 チリ ガブリエル・オルメニオさん 下戸ではないがビールはほぼ飲みません。 スペイン マルタ・ガルシア・フォヘダ・セナンさん ビールを飲むのは月2回程度。 キリンビール 10月発売の機能性表示食品。熟成ホップ由来苦味酸により、腹部の脂肪減少が期待できます。 【5点満点で評価】 「予想より苦味や香りが控えめでした。さっぱりしていて、ゴクゴク飲める味わいです」 （シュウさん） 「ライトな口当たりで、フレッシュな香りもイイ！ でも後味はもう一歩かな。飽きちゃうかも」 （マルタさん） サッポロビール 2015年に誕生したトクホのノンアル。難消化性デキストリンが糖の吸収をおだやかにします。 【5点満点で評価】 「今回のなかでは酸味が強い印象。もう少し苦味があると、よりビールっぽくなると思います」 （シュウさん） 「ハーバルな味と香りが爽やか。青々としたグラッシーなテイストも感じるな。悪くないね！」 （ガブリエルさん） アサヒビール 2016年発売。難消化性デキストリンを配合し、食後の血中中性脂肪の上昇をおだやかにします。 【5点満点で評価】 「麦の甘味を感じるね。ちょっと変わったアフターフレーバーもあって、それが気になったなぁ」 （ガブリエルさん） 「私はこれが一番ビールに近いと思うわ。似た味わいのドイツビールを飲んだことがあるの」 （マルタさん） サントリービール からだを想うオールフリー 実売価格106円 今夏登場。内臓脂肪の減少効果が報告される、ローズヒップ由来ティリロサイドを配合します。 【5点満点で評価】 「ライトでフローラル！ 僕はビールのビター感が苦手だから、これはすごく好きな味だよ」 （ガブリエルさん） 「ビールに比べると飲み応えは物足りないかな。味と香りにクセがなくて飲みやすくはあるけれど」 （マルタさん） 3人が味と同じくらい気にしていたのが成分。ハーブティーとして飲まれているローズヒップは、イメージしやすかったのかもしれません。 LIFE PEPPERとは。 外国人ネットワークを活用し、日本企業の海外支援とインバウンド観光支援を行っています。市場調査からWeb広告までサービスは幅広い。 文／中山秀明 撮影／我妻慶一 (JP) Link: Will Foreigners Take to Health-Oriented Alcohol-Free Beer? Announcing the Best Out of Four!

The winner? Suntory's All-Free, a brand that brags it will help you “reduce body fat.” (I'll have to drink that to believe it.) Testers said it had a “light” and “floral” quality, though one taster said it lacked the “satisfying quality” of a normal beer.

All this said, no one says you have to drink anything even mock alcoholic. After all, coffee, tea, fruit juice, and soft drinks all exist. Still, it's nice to see more bars and brands in Japan making an effort to accommodate non-drinkers. Non-drinkers can feel like they're fitting in a little better with their drinking friends, while bars and restaurants get to charge high-end alcoholic prices for non-alcoholic drinks. In the end, it's a win-win for all involved.

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