MISSION: POSSIBLE
Zoomer Radio’s Breakfast Radio with Neil, Sam and Jane chime in after completing the Hill Street Challenge
WHEN WE LAST HEARD FROM THE GANG AT ZOOMER RADIO’S BREAKFAST RADIO WITH NEIL, SAM AND JANE,
they were preparing to take the Hill Street Challenge and go alcohol-free for an entire month. The challenge involved rethinking several aspects of their lifestyle, including health and safety, entertaining, networking, parenting and cooking, by making conscious decisions about which drinks they choose to consume. The good news: The challenge is certainly achievable, thanks to Hill Street Beverage Company’s beer and wine that taste so good, you could never tell they’re alcohol-free. (And they have the awards to prove it!) With their Hill Street Craft Brewed Lager and Designated Draft alcohol-free beers, their full line-up of Vin(Zero) and Vintense wines, and a beverage portfolio that continues to expand, Hill Street gives drinkers a way to consume adult beverages with 0% of the alcohol and 100% of the taste.
ARMED WITH GREAT DRINKS, THE GANG STILL FACED A GENUINE CHALLENGE.C
As the team expected, going go alcohol-free proved more difficult fi l on the weekends than during the week. But Hill Street’s tasty wines prove that it’s the flavour consumers miss and not necessarily the alcohol. “I replaced my old favourite Cabernet with my new favourite, Vin(Zero) Brut Blanc sparkling wine,” says Sam, “and then watched my friends do the same!”
Jane had a similar experience. “I generally try not to drink alcoholic beverages between Monday and Thursday other than a glass of wine at dinner, and the option to have alcohol-free wine took away the urge.” Enjoying a glass of alcoholfree wine became a simple pleasure for Jane who enjoyed the Vin(Zero) Merlot for both its taste and its low calories.
Since Neil already leads an alcohol-free lifestyle, he found the Hill Street Challenge easier than his co-hosts. Yet the challenge reinforced his lifelong commitment to educate others about making smart choices to prevent drinking and driving. “There were plenty of times I wish other people had alcohol-free drinks instead of alcohol!” The challenge also reignited an old passion of his. “I’m cooking more! My pulled pork made with alcohol-free Hill Street Craft Brewed Lager is a hit, and it’s something I wouldn’t have made had it not been for the Hill Street Challenge.”
Neil wasn’t the only cooking enthusiast who emerged during the Hill Street Challenge. Jane also praises cooking with alcohol-free beverages. “Neil’s pulled pork was the best I’ve ever tasted, and my roasted chicken marinated in the Vin(Zero)
Chardonnay was absolutely delicious!” Cooking with beer and wine is all about infusing food with the flavours of the beer and wine; it doesn’t have anything to do with the alcohol hol itself, which evaporates during the cooking process anyway.
Sam had the opportunity to show off her culinary skills while at a beach house in New Brunswick where she “steamed one pot ot of mussels in Hill Street Craft Brewed d Lager and then a pot of lobsters using the Vin(Zero)
Chardonnay.” Hill Street’s beverages aren’t just alcohol-free but also delicious and robust enough to cook with, as proved by the reviews. “Everyone loved the tasty, alcohol-free broths!”
ASIDE FROM COOKING, THE GANG NOTICED SOME PHYSICAL BENEFITS TO THE HILL STREET CHALLENGE.
“I definitely felt like I was more productive during the evenings in the work week as a result of enjoying alcohol-free beverages with dinner,” says Jane. “I could go to the gym, water my flowers, and finish up my household errands with more energy and clarity. Even one glass of regular wine slows you down.”
Sam used the challenge as a chance to integrate her two loves: exercising and beer: “I loved working out and then rehydrating with a
Designated Draft,” she says, citing Hill Street’s winner of a Silver (2017) and Bronze (2016) at the US Open Beer Championships. “Decadent and delicious!”
THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MONTH,
the gang noticed strong curiosity about the Hill Street Challenge among their friends, loved ones, radio listeners, and social media followers. Some people also mentioned a few misconceptions related to an alcohol-free lifestyle. “People assume you may have a health issue if you go alcohol-free,” says Neil. Quality is another concern. As Jane explains succinctly: “Everyone remembers those alcoholfree beers from 25 years ago that tasted horrible!” Hill Hi Street’s wide range of alcohol-free beer and an wine helps to overcome these myths while w converting anyone who gives it a try. “Friends and family enjoyed taste-testing the various Hill Street beverages with an a initial curiosity and a delight in finding they the actually taste good,” says Jane. These products d also appeal to strong consumer demand for products that reflect their health and wellness lifestyle, clean living habits, and desire to be a thoughtful, inclusive host. Enjoying tasty adult beverages without the hangover made it easy for Neil, Sam and Jane to conquer the Hill Street Challenge with ease and inspire others to rethink what they drink.