There will be no need to argue over will be the designated driver for a drinks festival taking place in Evercreech next month. Why? Because it's a celebration of alcohol free drinks!

Wise Fest, run by alcohol-free drinks distributor Wise Bartender, will be held on July 15-17, and will showcase some of the finest alcohol-free drinks on the market, alongside music, street food and general revelry and merriment!

Wise Bartender was started by Tom Ward in his garage in 2019 – and since then it has grown to become one of the biggest alcohol-free drinks retailers and distributors in the country, with more than 35,000 customers.

Tom decided to start Wise Bartender after his job in public health, which included looking at the harm done by misuse of drugs and alcohol, highlighted how few "adult" drinks options there were for people who wanted to have a drink, but didn't want a soft drink.

Now the alcohol-free is the fastest growing sector in the drinks industry, with more and more manufacturers – both small, independent makers, and bigger brewers and distillers – creating alcohol-free offerings.

"Everyone enjoys a drink, but not everyone enjoys or needs the alcohol," said Tom. "And I think we are seeing a real cultural shift in attitudes towards alcohol. Recently we went to an event at a university and we had the biggest crowds. We had 18-year-old Love Island wannabes knowing exactly what kombucha is, and wanting to try alcohol free drinks. I don't think that would have been the case not that long ago.

"And at the other end of the spectrum there are older people – like my parents – who like a drink, but are noticing that they can't drink as much as maybe they used to.

"It's not necessarily about replacing alcohol – it's about complementing it."

Alcohol-free drinks have had something of a bad rap in the past, with people believing they are all very sweet and high in sugar.

"It's not true," said Tom. "Actually, alcohol-free drinks are almost always low in sugar.

"Of course there are some bad ones out there, but there are lots that are really spot on.

"There are a lot of very good alcohol-free beers out there. Wine is harder to get right. It's a higher alcohol percentage, and alcohol is a great carrier of flavour, which is why it can be a challenge. Often the alcohol-free wines are very sweet, but we have found some with drier flavour profiles that are very good.

"We try all the drinks before we take them on, and we do reject quite a few.

"We have also done a couple of collaborations to make our own drinks. We have 250 beers, but only eight ciders, so we joined up with Crafty Nectar to make one, and it went on to be named as best alcohol free cider in the world at the International Cider Awards 2021.

"We also joined with a London brewery to make an elderflower lager. There are lots of the pale ale style lagers around and we wanted to do something bit different to encourage other brewers to be more innovative."

Wise Fest will take place from July 15-17 at Wayside Farm in Evercreech.