Sober curiosity: Have your booze and drink it

FINALLY, something both tipplers and teetotallers, even teenagers, can toast to - booze-free beer.

Driven by a changing narrative around alcohol, and a trend towards healthier living, no- to low-alcohol (NoLo) drinks are on the up. Market forecasts see the NoLo market volume growing 8 per cent between 2021 and 2025, versus 0.7 per cent growth of regular booze. After all, people want to hang out at bars and have a good time with friends, but not be sipping mocktails or fruit punch for the sake of sobriety (or saving calories). Brunch, in The Business Times Weekend, gives the lowdown on NoLo beverages.

Meanwhile, if a pollster should show up on your doorstep you might offer your two cents. What you might offer a pole dancer is between you, the dancer and the pole. But what's to be done if you should encounter a Polestar? Find out in The Steering Column.