Pub operator and brewer Brakspear is starting the year with two no and low alcohol drinks offers designed to help its pubs beat the Dry January trading blues and make abstainers feel as welcome as drinkers during the month.
The popular Henley Ale Trail is being adopted for non-drinkers, with a new Dry January version encouraging them to buy a low or no alcohol or soft drink in 10 pubs in the town and collect a stamp from each. Full collector cards can be redeemed for a smart metal water bottle featuring the iconic Brakspear bee.
Further afield, more than 20 Brakspear pubs are offering a free bottle of Heineken 0.0% to anyone buying eight low or no alcohol or soft drinks, and a £25 bar tab for the drinker whose completed collector card is drawn from a hat at the end of January.
Brakspear chief executive, Tom Davies (pictured) said, 'Dry January has been no friend to the pub sector, but with millions of consumers set to give up alcohol next month, we've decided to embrace the trend this year rather than rail against it.
'The message behind our campaign is that giving up alcohol for January doesn't have to mean giving up pubs and the social aspects of a trip to the local can be enjoyed just as much if you're abstaining. We're confident our low and no alcohol offers will encourage many Dry January followers to visit a Brakspear pub, and help to keep our pubs a bit busier over the month.'
He added, 'The Dry January Ale Trail is an alternative, not a replacement, to our long-established Henley Ale Trail. Drinkers choosing to stay off the wagon during January will also receive a warm welcome in our pubs and can, as usual, collect stamps against their beer purchases to redeem for a free pint and an Ale Trail T-shirt.'
Pubs taking part in the promotions are offering a selection of no and low alcohol drinks, including: Heineken 0.0%, Estrella Freedamm, Shipyard Low Tide and Becks Blue; Old Mout and Kopparberg zero alcohol fruit ciders, and Seedlip.