Denise Hamilton-Mace | Mindful Drinking Mentor Writer, Speaker & Coach

Mindful Drinking and Moderation in Midlife: How to Drink Less, On Your Terms

Health EN ↓ 184 episodes

**A Spotify 'Rising Star' show** How do I drink less without quitting completely? What's the difference between low, no and light alcohol drinks? Why can't I drink like I used to? Why do alcohol-free drinks cost so much? If you're in your 30s, 40s, 50s or beyond and asking these questions, this is your podcast. Welcome to the essential show for midlife adults who want to drink less, on their own terms—without the pressure to quit completely, follow rigid rules, or label themselves as sober. I'm Denise Hamilton-Mace, your mindful drinking mentor, magazine editor, writer and public speaker on al...

Author

Denise Hamilton-Mace | Mindful Drinking Mentor Writer, Speaker & Coach

Category

Health

Podcast website

www.lownodrinker.com

Latest episode

Jul 8, 2026

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Episodes

109: £62,899 on Booze in a Lifetime 03.09.2025

Send me a message 🤗 This is part two of my mini-series on the true cost of alcohol-free drinks. Last week, we pulled back the curtain on the industry economics — from research and development to supermarket shelf space. This week, I’m shifting the focus to you as the drinker. Yes, an AF pint might cost the same as a full-strength one, but what about the money saved on late-night taxis, hangover t...

108: Costs Pt1: What You’re Really Paying For 27.08.2025

Send me a message 🤗 Time to tackle the question that comes up again and again: why do alcohol-free drinks cost so much when there’s no alcohol in them? This is part one of a two-part mini-series on the true cost of drinking alcohol-free. Today I’m breaking down the industry economics behind your favourite low and no drinks — from the surprising truth that alcohol is often the cheapest ingredient,...

107: Masculinity, Mental Health, and Moderation with Performance Coach Ben Hill 20.08.2025

Send me a message 🤗 This week I’m joined by Ben Hill, founder of Ask More, a performance Coaching service for professional men looking to up their game across the board, to talk about masculinity, midlife, and moderation. We dive into why so many men still struggle to open up, how beer o’clock has quietly become the male equivalent of “mummy wine culture,” and the surprising amount of time and cl...

106: Introvert, Extrovert, Ambivert: 4 Steps to Match Your Drinking Style to Your Social Energy 13.08.2025

Send me a message 🤗 Changing the way we drink can reveal who we really are. In this episode, I explore how introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts approach alcohol differently – and how understanding your personality type can help you drink in ways that genuinely suit you. I introduce my Four I’s Framework (Identify, Investigate, Implement, Iterate) to help you match your social energy to your drin...

105: Defending Your Right to Moderate in an All-or-Nothing World 06.08.2025

Send me a message 🤗 In this solo episode, I’m diving into the loaded topic of moderation — and why it’s not the dirty word so many in the alcohol-free space make it out to be. I’m sharing my own experience with passive moderation, why I never said “I’m quitting alcohol forever,” and how that gentler, more flexible approach led me to a place where I barely drink at all — without feeling deprived o...

104: 5 Secrets to Better Mocktails at Home with Lila Volkas 30.07.2025

Send me a message 🤗 This week I’m joined by certified nutrition consultant and booze-free mixology expert Lila Volkas, who shares her brilliant five-element framework for making better alcohol-free drinks at home. We get into why creating complexity is trickier without alcohol (and how to work around it), plus how ingredients like apple cider vinegar and citrus peels can completely transform your...

103: No One Tells You This About Drinking Less in Midlife 23.07.2025

Send me a message 🤗 Let’s dive into some little-discussed truths about changing your relationship with alcohol that nobody talks about. From disrupted sleep and mood swings in those first crucial weeks, to navigating shifting friendships and social dynamics, I'm not sugarcoating anything. I explore how your taste buds will literally change, why you'll discover more about yourself than e...

102: "No One Wanted to Work with Me" - Athletic Brewing's Bill Shufelt 16.07.2025

Send me a message 🤗 Bill Shufelt, co-founder of Athletic Brewing, joins me to share the remarkable journey behind America's leading non-alcoholic beer brand. From his personal decision to stop drinking 13 years ago to building a business that's now outselling major breweries, Bill's story is one of identifying a genuine market gap and relentlessly pursuing quality. We explore Athle...

Welcome to the New Show! 09.07.2025

Send me a message 🤗 Welcome to the Mindful Drinking & Moderation in Midlife Podcast. I'm so glad you're here. We're about to go on a life-changing journey together. The destination: A life less intoxicated! === 🌱 Ready for real change? - https://www.lownodrinker.com/4weekreset === 🗝️ Become a Vault member to get access to the moderation tools that actually help - https://mindf...

101: 10 Things You Need to Know Before Starting Your Dry Month Challenge 09.07.2025

Send me a message 🤗 In this episode, I’m sharing 10 practical strategies for not just surviving but thriving during any alcohol-free challenge, whether it's Dry January, Sober October, or your own personal experiment. Drawing from years of trial and error plus insights from the Low No Drinker community, I cover everything from prioritising sleep and movement to exploring the brilliant world...

100: Episodes, 15 Questions, 1 major update 02.07.2025

Send me a message 🤗 I’m flipping the script! To celebrate hitting an astonishing 100 episodes, today, I am testing my skills and interviewing myself. Plus, I share some exciting news about the evolution of the Low No Drinker Podcast! 0:00 Celebrating 100 Episodes 2:49 Motivation 6:30 Toughest episodes 12:39 Best episodes 16:56 Explaining my job to my kids 19:10 Defend big alcohol 22:59 Ridiculous...

#99. Between Teetotal and Tipsy: The Lost Art of Small Beer 25.06.2025

Send me a message 🤗 James Grundy, co-founder of Small Beer, joins me to share the fascinating story behind reviving a brewing tradition that vanished over a century ago. After several years building a gin brand, James & partner, former Fuller's brewer Felix James, set out to revive "small beer", historically consumed for nutrition and hydration, with an upper limit of 2.8% ABV....

#98. Lyre’s: The Honest Truth 18.06.2025

Send me a message 🤗 This week, I'm joined by Anita Osborne, the Sales and Marketing Manager for Lyre's Spirit Co. in the EU and UK. Anita takes us behind the scenes of one of the most successful global alcohol-free brands, sharing the highs and lows of building a business that spans over 60 territories.  From launching with an ambitious 12 spirits (including an alcohol-free absinthe!) t...

#97. Adults Only? Are Alcohol-Free Drinks Safe for Kids? 13.06.2025

Send me a message 🤗 Today I’m diving into a question that comes up a lot — is it safe, and is it a good idea, to give alcohol-free drinks to kids? I’m talking specifically about drinks under 0.5% ABV (so not low, light or mid-strength alcohol). I cover the safety aspect first, but more importantly, I explore the bigger question: should we be giving them to kids at all? I share why these drinks ar...

#96. Get That "One or Two Pint" Feeling with Impossibrew’s Social Blend 11.06.2025

Send me a message 🤗 Mark Wong joins me to share the journey behind Impossibrew, the functional beer brand that went from Dragon's Den rejection to securing six and then seven-figure crowdfunding. I nosy my way into their proprietary "social blend" of plant-based ingredients designed to replicate that one-or-two-pint feeling without the alcohol, how they've iterated their recip...

#95. Alcohol-Free Wine vs AF Beer: It's Not a Fair Fight 06.06.2025

Send me a message 🤗 This week, I'm diving into the thorny topic of alcohol-free wine and why we need to stop whining about it. Whilst I'm not claiming it's perfect yet, the constant negativity isn't helping anyone. I explore why alcohol-free wine faces unique challenges compared to the meteoric rise of AF beer, from centuries of tradition to higher production costs, and why th...

#94. Lifted: The UK's First High Protein, Alcohol-Free Lager 04.06.2025

Send me a message 🤗 This week I'm chatting with Tony Robinson, co-founder of Lifted - the UK's first 0.0% high protein craft lager made for athletes.   Tony and his wife, Rebecca, launched their unique offering to solve a problem they were both experiencing - wanting additional protein in their diets whilst enjoying alcohol-free options after workouts.   With over 250,000 cans sold and...

#93. Stop Asking If I Still Drink Alcohol! 30.05.2025

Send me a message 🤗 I get asked constantly whether I still drink alcohol, as my answer will somehow validate my right to speak on the subject. Well, I'm getting fed up of answering that question, and here's why - it's completely missing the point! In this one-on-one episode, I’m jumping with two feet into why I've built this platform for the messy middle ground, why shame-base...

#92. “Turning my mess into my message” - Laura Silverman, Zero Proof Nation 28.05.2025

Send me a message 🤗 Laura Silverman is the founder of Zero Proof Nation, a global platform connecting low and no-drinks & drinkers worldwide. Nearly 18 years sober, Laura’s LinkedIn profile describes her as "the nexus of NA" – a title she's earned through her tireless work building community and resources for the alcohol-free movement, including the most comprehensive global ma...

#91. Be the Voice of Low No Nation 23.05.2025

Send me a message 🤗 In this special announcement episode, I'm reaching out to you, my wonderful Low No Nation, as we approach a major milestone - episode 100 of the podcast! After nearly two years of bringing you conversations about the world of low, no and light drinks, I'm inviting you to be part of this celebration. Whether you've been listening since day one or just discovered...

#90. How Lucky Saint Is Brewing Beer You Can Believe In (Even at Lunchtime) 21.05.2025

Send me a message 🤗 This week, I’m joined by Lou Pollitt from Lucky Saint, the UK’s best-known alcohol-free beer. We talk about how the brand’s evolved since launching back in 2018, why they stuck so firmly to perfecting just one lager for so long, and how brewing to the German Rheinheitsgebot purity law plays into that commitment to quality. Lou also shares some insight into their newest release...

#89. How I Got It All Wrong at a 5-Year-Old's Birthday Party 16.05.2025

Send me a message 🤗 Today, I’m exploring how years of conditioning led me to make unfair assumptions about my hosts, who were actually on their own mindful drinking journey, at a recent kids’ birthday party. This experience prompted me to question the wider assumptions we all make - about venues, other people's perceptions, and even ourselves and the habitual thoughts and behaviours that dic...

#88. Sober Sound System Ibiza: Changing Raving on the No.1 Party Island 14.05.2025

Send me a message 🤗 He’s the Sober Sommelier who went from a disastrous weekend on to co-create Sober Sound System Ibiza, bringing his personal drink & drug story full circle after seven years. Join me and Alex Norwood Hill on his amazing journey of self-discovery on the party island. Can you go sober in Ibiza? Hell yes, you can!  0:00 The early days of drink & drugs 9:48 Alex's Spir...

#87. The Uncomfortable Truth: 4 Reasons Some Alcohol-Free Drinks Fall Flat 09.05.2025

Send me a message 🤗 It’s time for some uncomfortable truths about alcohol-free drinks. This episode might make me a little unpopular in the industry, but that’s ok because it needs to be said: Not all alcohol-free drinks are good! After being asked this very question during my BBC Radio Xtra debut (yay!), I was inspired to share this episode and explore with you why some low/no options fall short...

#86. 50/50: The Cocktail Box Company Bridging Alcohol-Free & Alcohol-Full 07.05.2025

Send me a message 🤗 This week, I'm chatting with Jonny Hughes, one-half of the husband-wife duo behind Penthouse Cocktails – a unique at-home cocktail box service offering both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions of the same drinks. Johnny, who also writes for Low No Drinker Magazine, brings his refreshingly honest and sometimes blunt (be warned!) perspective on everything from balancing a...

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