Menopause Monday : Alcohol Alternatives

If you have ever considered giving up alcohol, and you're in the menopause transition, now might be a great time to do so!

Giving up alcohol can:

• improve immune function
• increase longevity
• improve sexual health
• reverse live damage 
• improve brain health 
• reduces certain cancer risks
• Improved sleep!

​I can attest to that last one. If I drink alcohol, I will wake up at some point mid-night sweating my buns off. Even though I go back to sleep, I likely will wake up not feeling refreshed. If I've had any more than a tiny glass of vino, I will be under motivated for most of the day. Just so you know, I'm not a teetotaler, but the science that once said that moderate alcohol intake was good for us was actually flawed. 

​So what NA (non-alcoholic) options do we have? Lots!

If you're like me and want a soothing and relaxing beverage at the end of the day, but not the alcohol, there are tons of mocktail recipes online. 

Check and see if there are any dry bars in your town. One of our favorite local brew pubs even offers mocktails and NA beer. 

Maybe you have a kava bar in your area. Kava has calming properties. I may think it tastes like mud mixed with something akin to Anbesol, but our local shop is rocking the night away every time I pass by! 

I can enjoy a fancy mocktail with adaptogens and edible glitter created by my friend Sam who owns Roll Up Herbal Bar. She's been through a rough last year since Hurricane Helene destroyed her first brick and mortar shop in Frog Level area of Waynesville, NC. But she's got an awesome new location right on Main Street. If you are local come celebrate her grand re-opening ribbon cutting on September 26, along with Golden Bear Alchemy who shares the space. The event is  sponsored by the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce.

My current favorite NA option is Hop Water!
If you aren't familiar with hop water, it's seltzer water infused with hops. Hops are the flowers that give beer its hoppy bitter flavor. Hops have even been studied for managing hot flashes and helping with sleep disorders. Win win, right!? Hops also help preserve beer. That's why IPA beers (Indian Pale Ales) are so hoppy. They added more hops to preserve the beer for the long shipping voyage from India to England. There's your worthless trivia for the day. You're welcome! 

Ironically I don't drink much beer ,and never choose IPAs, but I really enjoy hop water. Weird, I know. The price of store-bought hop water is ridiculous for what it is, IMO. Being the DIY/cheap girl that I am, I set out to make my own. Turns out it's easy-peasy. 

If you want to nerd out, this article from Home Brew Academy goes into more detail, but here's the simple DIY recipe I use to make my own hop water.

Simplest DIY Hop Water Recipe. Ever.

The link above has you making the hop water and running it through a kegerator to carbonate it. I don't do that because I don't have one and don't plan to spend the bucks on one. If you are all fancy-pants, you can follow the recipe in the article link above. Otherwise, here we go!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups boiling water
• 4 hops pellets (I got mine at Fifth Season Gardening in Asheville. Any decent home brew supply store should have some.)
• citric acid (I just add a little bit of lemon, lime or orange juice to mine. Probably about a tablespoon.)

EQUIPMENT

• quart mason or cleaned glass mayonnaise jar
• tea kettle or pot to boil your water
• tea infuser (this style works well. You want one with a super fine mesh because the hops will turn to mush once you pour the water over them. More on this in a bit. Check your local tea shop or thrift store for an infuser.)

PROCESS 

• boil the water
• put pellets in the infuser sitting on the rim of your jar
• slowly pour the boiling water over the pellets. Fill jar so the bottom of the infuser is submerged in a bit of the water.
• seep for 5-10 minutes, or less, then remove infuser and discard in your composter.
  The time allotted can vary depending on your hoppy-ness preference. The longer the seep, the stronger the hop flavor.
• let hop water cool
• cap and refrigerate 

HOW TO SERVE
Once the hop tea/water is chilled, here's what I like to do.

• Grab a pint mason jar, or equivalent 
• add some ice
• mix 1 part hop water, 1 part kombucha (optional), 1 part seltzer water (you can use plain or flavored)
• give it a gentle stir, with a fancy straw if you like, and enjoy!
• If you are more into sweet-ish drinks I've tried 2 drops of stevia and it was sweetened just enough to taste sweet, but not like stevia, which ruins the flavor of everything it touches if you use too much. Of course you could make a simple syrup or add some honey. I'm not the boss of you, so you do you, boo! 

See! it's that easy!

Oh, one more thing. Well three. 

Hops are related to cannabis. Woo-hoo! But it doesn't get you high. Again, woo-hoo! It just a has a nice calming effect that doesn't get you high or drunk. So you feel good without having any regrets. How awesome is that!? 

Get every last drop! As you get to the bottom of your jar of hop water it will be very cloudy from the dregs of the hop pellets. I pour the last of the hop water through a coffee filter sitting in my coffee pour over do-hicky*, which sits on my pint jar, as I prepare my final hop water mocktail before I rinse and repeat.
* for image only. I bought mine at my local kitchen supply store, and I encourage you too! 

Which hops to buy? Holy cow, there are over 200 varieties of hops in the world. I am just starting down this whole brew-my-own hop water rabbit hole, so I got two varieties to try initially; Chinook and El Dorado. You can get 1 oz packets for around $3 (see what I mean about more affordable than store bought!)  I really liked the Chinook hops. It's more fruity, citrusy without that too-bitter over the top hoppy flavor. Maybe that's your thing though. I think I'll try this Amarillo one next. You can see the aroma/flavor hints right there on the package. 

​I hope I covered all the info needed so you can make your own hop water/hop mocktail. If I missed anything, just let me know.

If you try this, what do you think? I'd love to hear from you in the comments. 

thanks for reading! 

~Kristin