The Mood Weaver

MODSUB109

Wotcha!

If you can believe it, there are only 40 days left until Christmas.

Need some gift ideas?

Just 14 days until the ModSub Holiday Gift Guide.

As always, enjoy some great drinks this week.

Myles

In this week’s edition:

NAN
New NA Drink News

FUNCTIONAL HOP WATER
Fabric - Rhythm

BEER
Ted Segers - Unleaded Regal Brew

Read time: 5 minutes 32 seconds

New Non-Alcoholic Drink News

NORTH AMERICA

COCKTAIL: Always exciting to hear something new from The Pathfinder camp. The Seattle-based spirit company has teamed up with Caffe Vita to bring us Espresso Tonic. (Link)

BEER: Dark Diamond is a brand-new dark lager from Best Day Brewing. (Link)

BEER: Over in Upstate New York, Ellicottville Brewing has released its second NA beer, Blackberry Kölsch. (Link)

CIDER: Colorado’s Stem Ciders has debuted its first two non-alcoholic ciders: Apricot Haze and Blueberry Lime. (Link)

FUNCTIONAL: Back in time for the holidays, Cann’s Cranberry Sage returns in three dosages. (Link)

BEER: Dayton, Ohio’s Warped Wing Brewing Company has released its first non-alcoholic beer—Zero Attitude IPA. (Link

WORLDWIDE

COCKTAILS: Across the pond in the UK, Smiling Wolf Drinks has launched four functional RTD cocktails following the success of its non-alcoholic spirits. (Link)

WINE: A new NA wine—ZZVINO—debuts from Doom Juice Wines in Australia. (Link)

BEER: Staying in Oz, one I missed in August—Coopers Brewery launched Coopers Zero. (Link)

WINE: One more from Australia: Brown Brothers have expanded their non-alc line with the launch of Dry Zero, featuring three varietals. (Link)

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FUNCTIONAL HOP WATER

ModSub’s thoughts: I’ve not yet spent much time with hop water. I’m not sure why. One of my favourite non-alc spirits from last year was Hilfens Hop Hit, which makes it incredibly simple to whip up all manner of hop-water flavours. Instead, I chose to make more complicated cocktails—and loved them. I guess a standout RTD option just hasn’t jumped out at me in the same way so many other drinks I’ve written about have.

But that may have changed with the launch of Fabric, a hop water crafted with cannabinoids. Initially rolled out in three thoughtful variations—Rhythm, Downtime, and the limited-run Clarity—each has been specifically designed to cater to different mood states.

Clarity helps with focus and calmness, and contains 10mg of CBG. It’s non-intoxicating and gives that much-needed boost when things start to flag. You know that moment when your mind wanders toward an afternoon coffee? Here’s your alternative, with a lemongrass twist.

The highly sessionable Rhythm, sees Fabric’s hop water infused with microdosed THC—just 1.5mg—along with 5mg CBG and 25mg CBD. It’s flavoured with orange peel and desert lime, giving a crisp citrus lift to the bold tropical notes from the Galaxy hops. If I didn’t know better, I could have sworn someone grated orange and lime zest directly into my can—the citrus flavour is that freshly potent. And the effects? I’m enjoying a can of Rhythm as I type this piece, and while I have no idea how the combination of these cannabinoids works together, I’m supremely relaxed.

Downtime ups the ante a little too far for me, with 10mg THC and 10mg CBD—double my self-imposed limit of 5mg THC, the level at which it stops being enjoyable. Still, for those of you who prefer a higher dosage, this might be just the thing to wind you down at the weekend. Blackberry and lemon myrtle join the hops in this one.

I’ve watched this company grow through their regular LinkedIn updates, impressed by the speed with which they’ve gone from idea to product in hand. Their energy is inspiring and they sure do seem to be having a lot of fun despite the inevitable hurdles they must be facing.

They’ve come out of the gates with a strong mission to support mental health awareness and programs with 2% of their profits. They are currently running a philanthropic social-impact partnership with Protect Our Winters, a non-profit fighting against climate change by offering 100% of the proceeds from the first 10,000 cans of Clarity.

Fabric’s debut year has been seriously impressive, and I look forward to see where where this journey tales them in 2026. As for Rhythm, it’s shaping up to be a staple in my own rotation—and if you’re curious about drinks in this space, it may well earn a place in yours too.

How Fabric describes Rhythm: A refreshing fizz made with Australian-grown Galaxy Hops, notes of Orange Peel, and Pearl Lime. With just 1.5mg of THC, Rhythm is a microdose in beverage form. It’s light, subtle, and designed to gently ease you into the experience. It’s what we recommend for first-timers and casual consumers. It’s the kind of drink that works well at a dinner party or winding down after a run, where you want to feel good, but stay social and present. 

BEER

ModSub’s thoughts: FINALLY, I got my hands on some Ted Segers. To be honest, I had been waiting such a long time, I wasn't sure they were real, but as I’m now holding one in my hand, I know it to be true.

Ted Segers is the brainchild of actor Dax Shepard and his two childhood friends, Aaron Healey and Aaron Tyrell. All three have lived similar, difficult lives—growing up with strained paternal relationships and struggles with alcoholism and addiction.

Hanging out with each other one day, they came up with the idea to create their own NA beer. "What else would you expect from more than 60 years of combined alcoholism?"

What started as a personal project—the three friends commissioned a brewery out of Chicago to create the beer just for themselves—has turned into a nationwide success. Encouraged by the public’s enthusiastic response to the brand's collection of t-shirts, which showcase the trio's shared sense of humor about the challenges they've faced, they decided it might be time to brew their beer for others to enjoy!

And so, Ted Segers was born. "Ted" from Nugent, "Seger" from Bob, and plural because that's apparently a Michigan thing. The can’s “dad” art was fashioned after Healey’s own father, who boasted “a moustache that just didn’t stop.” The three friends even created a persona for Ted—a father figure, loyal to his family and no longer drinking alcohol. Oh, and one who doesn’t drink and drive. I shouldn’t forget that.

The beer itself is a tasty, crisp golden lager with a lingering malty finish that barely hints at a little citrus as it winds down. It’s a thirst-quenching light beer worthy of some real estate in your refrigerator—a reward for a long, hard day. Their marketing highlights the fact that if you crack open one of these, you’ll probably make short work of the other five while you're at it. And they aren’t wrong.

But what the beer really is, is a collaboration of three friends who’ve faced similar uphill battles, come out the other side, and can now laugh about it—without ever losing sight of the serious nature of their stories.

You could laugh or cry. They chose to laugh. I’ll raise a Ted Segers to that any day of the week.

How does Ted Segers describe their Unleaded Regal Brew: Ted Segers, the beer made by alcoholics, for alcoholics, is a regal, non-alcoholic brew for serious drinkers. Ted hits a light, crisp flavor profile that will have you slamming beers well into the night and remembering the whole damn thing. So when you’re done wrapping cars around trees, Ted Segers has a beer for you. 

This article was first published on October 12, 2024

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