Alcohol-free craft beer shop opening in Shrewsbury this weekend

The shop, called 'dry', has been launched by husband and wife team Mike and Nicola Dalton and will open in 64 Wyle Cop on Saturday.

The business specialises in alcohol-free beer, lager, pale ale, IPA and stout.

Mike said: "I'm about to open what I believe will be the first alcohol-free craft beer shop in the region – certainly in Shropshire.

"Like so many small business ideas, and particularly in the food, drink and hospitality sector, the idea for dry came from personal experience.

"I have always enjoyed good quality beer ales and lager – particularly as I’ve gotten older. In 2019 I suffered a major health scare and as a result, decided to drastically reduce my alcohol intake."

According to Mr Dalton, sales of non- and low-alcoholic drinks are growing more than any other sector in the drinks market.

"Sales of alcohol-free beers have doubled in the UK over the past five years. Sainsbury's for example have increased the number of products in this area by 300 per cent in the past year," he said.

"Specialist non-alcoholic brewers have sprung up across the country and established craft ale producers have also ventured into the market – the quality of the products is excellent and improving all the time.

"Production has changed radically since the bad old days of the 1980s and there is now very little difference, apart of course from the alcohol content, between the process of producing non-alcoholic craft beer and ‘ordinary’ beer."

Mr Dalton added: "The brand ‘dry’ is a nod towards the businesses my wife and I started 10 years ago – two coffee shops, firmly established in Shrewsbury and both called 'stop'."