• Capital Eats
  • Posts
  • Non-alcoholic beverage shop Knyota is ahead of the curve

Non-alcoholic beverage shop Knyota is ahead of the curve

Adult appropriate non-alcoholic drinks are becoming a burgeoning business category

Knyota is a Swahili word meaning “little star.” Owner of this non-alcoholic beverage shop, Benson Mutalemwa chose the name because of what it symbolized for him after he became a father.

He explained to me that his business, this “little star” would also act as a guiding light for the kind of father he wanted to be for his child. A sound enough and even poetic explanation, but it was also married to the reality that non-alcoholic or as Benson labels it “adult appropriate non-alcoholic drinks” is a burgeoning business category.

Knyota owner Benson Mutalemwa

Knyota owner Benson Mutalemwa. Ralf Joneikies/Ottawa Lookout

We spent a fair amount of time chatting about all sorts of things and I was impressed by his enthusiasm and innate knowledge of the business on which he had embarked. It’s also more than a little impressive that anyone would tackle the idea of no-alcohol beverages for the adult demographic.

His customer base appears to be all over the map but he has identified that certain groups gravitate towards certain products. Women 25-45 prefer mocktails while women 45+ gravitate towards non-alcoholic wines. His non-alcoholic beers are a hit with younger men, while men 30-45 buy his “spirits.”

Oddbird wines

Oddbird wines. Ralf Joneikies/Ottawa Lookout

Lyre’s for example is an Australian company that produces products from Absinthe to Whisky and everything in between. I’ve had their Highland Whisky and while it’s not going to fool any whisky aficionado, it’s a remarkable product in that you can feel and taste how much care went into crafting something so close in flavour.

There’s that hint of peat smoke coming through with what feels like cayenne working its magic in the background to suggest the burn of alcohol. I can easily see how mixing these beverages for mocktails would give you an even closer approximation to their alcoholic counterparts.

The “whisky” I enjoyed was of moderate length on the palate and had enough complexity that I found I was actually sipping rather than drinking it one go.

Famed German wine producer Leitz has a complex process in place for crafting zero-alcohol wines for their Eins, Zwei, Zero line up. Swedish company OddBird puts equal care into the wines they craft as can be seen in their beautiful packaging. I also highly recommend visiting their artfully designed website. The photography is stunning.

Calgary based Sobreo uses a process that takes almost a year to create their botanically based drinks which can be mixed with other non-alcoholic drinks or even regular spirits for a lower sugar experience. As founder Kirk Reynolds told me “My doctor said that it wasn’t going to be the booze that killed me but the cola I was adding.”

Sobreo

Sobreo. Ralf Joneikies/Ottawa Lookout

The adult appropriate drink space is growing and so many of the people creating these products have their own very real stories to tell. Out of pain springs opportunity.

Benson has taken a bold step in launching Knyota but he’s also giving Ottawans a gourmet experience of a different kind. The products he carries are very good on their own but it also opens up a whole new realm of mixing possibilities.

A few months ago for example, I found that I was without gin but I did have vodka. I took a can of Clever gin and tonic and voila a good replica of a G and T.

Knyota offers workshops and tasting flights and there are some classic cocktail recipes on the website involving the products they sell.

Benson’s ahead of the curve. I see this as a growth category that will have a positive impact both in business and for the larger society.