Friday. Eight in the afternoon. You are on a terrace in the center with your friends and you want to have a drink a couple of rods (maybe a couple of cupping) to take advantage of the sun of a retreating summer, but the mere idea of the Hangover of the next morning and having alcohol ruin a good part of your weekend puts you back, so you end up ordering a ‘without’ beer. Another one. But… What if there was an IPA or a ‘without’ liquor capable of giving you a touch of euphoria and disinhibition, all without a single drop of alcohol, hangovers or the risk of ending up developing an addiction?
That is the curious promise that a British laboratory has launched.
What has happened? That at a delicate moment for the alcohol industry, marked by the demand drop in key markets, a generational change clear in the consumption of drinks and a growing interest For ‘without’ beers or wines, there are those who already want to go several steps further and reach the ‘holy grail’ of the drink.
Which? Neither more nor less than squaring the circle: liquors and beers that are alcohol-free but capable of intoxicating. Or at least to give those who consume them that point of disinhibition and euphoria that is sought in the bottles.
Who is behind? The key name in that race is David Nutta neuroscientist with extensive research experience who has spent decades exploring how drugs, addiction and anxiety affect the brain. Nutt recognize that the drink offers certain advantages on a social level, but hopes that people can enjoy their drinks in a safer and healthier way, avoiding risks such as addiction, cirrhosis or aggressive behavior.
Convinced that it can be achieved, years ago he co-founded GABA Labsa firm that starts from an ambitious promise: “Give social drinkers what they want from alcohol without the alcohol.” The team is working to bring a patented molecule called Alcarellean odorless, tasteless, colorless compound that acts as “an ingredient designed to promote socialization and relaxation.”
Its purpose, clarify from Bloomberg, is to amplify the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid, a neurotransmitter that transmits chemical messages to nerve cells to tell the brain to relax. The company has also proposed another ambitious goal: that your creation surpasses traditional alcohol without being addictive. Not only that. In the interviews that Nutt usually talks about effects similar to those of spirits without the hangover the next day.
And how are they doing? In your website GABA Labs specifies that its goal is for Alcarelle and derived products to be available in the US starting in 2028, although in an interview granted a few months ago to Bloomberg Nutt confessed that he hopes the compound will be commercially available before the end of 2027. Last January Independent influenced on the same schedule: the idea is that Alcarelle completes its FDA tests this year and can be exploited in 2027.
Since it was founded almost a decade ago, GABA Lab has been searching for molecules capable of acting on GABA receptors of the brain to achieve the desired results (and avoid the unwanted ones), which has led them to develop dozens of different options. “It’s about testing and refining,” the scientist acknowledges. Right now the laboratory has three ‘finalist’ molecules and hopes to soon opt for the most promising to advance its research and development. Your work is already generating a huge expectation.
Statista chart.
Have they released anything yet? Yes. To check the results of GABA you won’t have to wait that long. In 2021, the company launched a drink in small quantities in the United Kingdom and some time later in the United States. Your name: I felt. The brew does not include still the molecule that GABA is pursuing, but it is made with natural ingredients that aim to offer a preview of Nutt’s plans. Its creators they present it as an alternative for customers “tired of choosing between alcohol or non-alcoholic who are looking for a functional beverage that enhances their social connection.”
A different ‘without’ beer? That’s the latest promise from the Nutt team. In 2025 the EFE agency echoed of the launch of a ‘without’ beer capable of generating in those who drink it a disinhibition similar to that of the traditional drink. Your business name: Gabyr. “It provides the same effects that people look for in a drink, relaxation, sociability, but with a much lower impact than alcohol,” claims the co-founder of the laboratory from Hemel Hempsetad, on the outskirts of London, which is where the drink is manufactured, according to the agency.
The team is also already working on a whiskey and a wine.
Why is it important? For several reasons. First, because of what it promises. Although at the moment it is basically about that (promises and declarations of intent), in your interviews Nutt insists that his goal is ambitious: he is pursuing a range of ‘without’ drinks that offer what many social drinkers look for in their drinks: disinhibition and a touch of euphoria. Everything, he insists, with an alternative not addictive neither hangovers. It is drunk and in theory the effects arrive after 20 minutes.
That of course leaves some interesting questions raised in different areas. How to deal with it at a regulatory level? How would it influence driving? And how could authorities monitor its use? with breathalyzers? Does it have side effects? In an interview with BloombergKenneth Sher, a professor at the University of Missouri, admits that it is difficult for him to imagine a substitute for alcohol “based exclusively on GABA.” Another academic, Jim Cook, is also wary of possible side effects, such as drowsiness or memory loss.
Is there more? Yes. Behind Nutt’s proposal there is more than just scientific interest. The lucrative alcohol industry has experienced important changes over the last decades, and although the trend it’s not the same (not even equally intense) in all markets, there are certain patterns that are affecting big brands: generation Z seems less interested by alcohol than its predecessors, trends such as that of “Dry January” and there is much more talk about the beers or the ‘without’ wineswhich already represent a rising market and with big promises.
The Statista portal calculate that in 2028, global sales of non-alcoholic beer would easily exceed $50 billion, which would crown a practically uninterrupted rise in demand that can date back at least to before the pandemic. The Bloomberg agency speaks that in the US alone the ‘without’ drinks market moves close to 900 million dollars each year.
If Nutt finally manages to hit the right note and achieves his ambitious goal, he could become a new prominent player in this booming business.
A version of this article was published in September 2025
Images | Mark Broadhead (Unsplash) and Statista
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