CHICAGO _ Here's the state of things for the beer industry: Heineken _ yes, Heineken _ wants you not to drink beer in January.
As consumer tastes trend toward healthier living _ perhaps embodied nowhere better than the custom of "Dry January" _ Heineken is hopping on board, offering free 31-packs of its alcohol-free Heineken 0.0 to 1,500 beer drinkers in eight major cities, including Chicago.
The January Dry Packs, as the Dutch beer behemoth calls them, will be available at 9 a.m. Dec. 27 at januarydrypack.com, and will be sent by mail to whomever claims them. January Dry Packs will also be available to people in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.
The January Dry Pack box doubles as a calendar to reinforce the idea of one beer a day through the month. Each beer has 69 calories, Heineken says.
"We're helping sober-curious consumers explore alcohol-free options in a way that feels positive and rewarding," Ashleigh Phelps, brand manager at Heineken, said in a statement.
It's also a nod to reality; consumer beer tastes have diverged wildly and increasingly lean toward choices perceived as healthier (which has been a key factor in the rise of hard seltzer).
As a result, breweries are pivoting to innovations that include nonalcoholic and alcohol-free options. That makes Dry January a ready time for Heineken to push Heineken 0.0, which debuted in the United States at the beginning of 2019.
As for the beer, it's perfectly respectable for what it is.
The aroma (bready, lightly fruity) and finish (crisp, just enough bitterness) are strong enough. The weakness is in the all-important middle; right where the malty oomph should be sits an empty, vaguely sweet slickness.
Heineken 0.0 is a passable alcohol-free option. But 31 of them? The price may be right, but February won't come soon enough.
