INTERVIEW BY CHRIS TIESSEN WITH DANIEL LA CUTE, OWNER FREE BAR
BACK IN 2022, DANIEL LA CUTE WAS WORKING FOR A START-UP BRAND IN THE BEER INDUSTRY. LIKE SO MANY FOLKS WHO WORK IN BEER, DANIEL SPENT A LOT OF HIS TIME INDULGING IN GREAT CRAFT BREW. OVER-INDULGING, EVEN. AND SO HE DECIDED TO ‘TAKE
A PAUSE’ FROM DRINKING ALCOHOL AND BEGAN SEARCHING FOR CREDIBLE, DELICIOUS NON-ALC ALTERNATIVES. DANIEL DISCOVERED SOME GREAT NON-ALC PRODUCERS IN THE MARKETPLACE SOON ENOUGH, BUT WHAT HE WASN’T ABLE TO FIND WAS A ONE-STOP-SHOP WHERE HE COULD SCRUTINIZE THE WORLD OF CRAFT NON-ALC PRODUCTS AND ORDER WHAT HE FOUND APPEALING. AND SO HE CREATED HIS OWN NON-ALC RESOURCE CENTRE: FREE BAR. BACK IN SEPTEMBER WE CAUGHT UP WITH DANIEL TO CHAT ABOUT FREE BAR AND THE NON-ALC WORLD. READ UP:
CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT FREE BAR – WHEN IT STARTED, WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT?
Free Bar is an online non-alc bottle shop that I founded back in the fall of 2022. The Free Bar team consists of myself, my cousin Laura, and Laura’s wife Jackie. We initially launched the business by offering pre-ordered ‘Discovery Boxes’ that include six new products each month. In January we launched the option to purchase individual non-alc drinks. We currently offer everything from non-alc beer to non-alc wines, cocktails, ciders, and hop waters.
WHO HAVE YOU FOUND ENJOYS NON-ALC BEVERAGES?
When we started Free Bar, we assumed that our customers would be people who don’t drink alcohol at all for any number of reasons. What we’ve found, though, is that our customer base includes many ‘sober-curious’ consumers – people who are mixing non-alc beverages into their regular routines. We are building a community that encourages people to try non- alc drinks, while offering a plethora of product for those who are at any stage of their alcohol- free journey. We ship all across Canada and have loyal customers from coast-to-coast.
WHICH NON-ALC BREW GOT YOU INTO THE GAME? WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MOST POPULAR OFFERINGS?
The first non-alc beers that sparked my obsession were from Libra in PEI. Their offerings are super tasty and are available all over Eastern Canada. In recent months, we’ve been selling a lot of Nonny’s ‘Czech Pilsner’ (BC), Bellwoods’ ‘Stay Classy’ IPA (Toronto), and Wellington Brewery’s various hop waters (Guelph).
CAN YOU LIST SOME OF FREE BAR’S NON-ALC CANADIAN PRODUCERS? While we source product from all over North America and into Europe (world leaders in the non-alc category), there are some amazing producers here in Canada – including Harmon’s, Nonny, Bellwoods, Collective Arts, Edna’s, Opus, and others. Indeed, there are too many good ones to list.
WHAT ARE SOME CURRENT TRENDS IN THE NON-ALC GAME?
There are a number of new products coming out right now with adaptogens – stress- relieving herbal agents that seem to be getting a lot of attention these days. Free Bar offers a couple of them – including products from The Noh Co and Auralis Botanical Brewing.
ARE THERE PLANS AFOOT TO BUILD UPON AND/OR EXPAND FREE BAR? We have goals to increase our presence online through our website, collaborate with some breweries to create our own product, host events, and eventually open our own brick and mortar location as a community hub either in Hamilton or Toronto. The sky’s the limit in the non-alc landscape and we’re poised to grow.
ONE LAST QUESTION: HOW DID YOU LAND ON THE NAME ‘FREE BAR’?
Our friends lovingly refer to our house as ‘free bar’ because we love to host parties and provide the drinks for free. When we were looking for a name for this non-alc initiative, we wanted to give a nod toward its alcohol- free mandate. ‘Free Bar’ stuck – and we couldn’t be happier.
FREE BAR
freebarco.com