Modus Brewing has launched Australia's first bottled non-alcoholic dark beer under its popular NORT label.
NORT Stout is the brainchild of Modus co-founder Jaz Wearin, who created a non-alcoholic craft beer range in 2020 while pregnant and experiencing severe FOMO.
It was a savvy business move. Research by Endeavour Group released in June revealed non-alcoholic beer is experiencing its 11th consecutive year of growth, and stout is the most in-demand style of beer.
"Dark beers have always been my jam and as I get older, I'm naturally moderating more between alc and non-alc," Wearin said.
"At the same time, stout is having an incredible renaissance, largely driven by one very famous Irish brewery. They're an iconic brand and what they've done for the category has been phenomenal. But there was a clear gap for an Aussie-made non-alc stout with genuine national, year-round availability in a 330ml glass bottle that feels premium and, for me, is just the right size for a stout.
"We've spent over nine months perfecting the flavour, aroma and mouthfeel and the whole brewery is buzzing about what we've turned out."
NORT Stout has zero sugar and just 83 calories. How was the richness people expect from a stout achieved?
"That was the hard part! Getting all that body, richness and mouthfeel you expect from a stout without the alcohol doing the heavy lifting is a pretty clever art, particularly when you're also keeping the sugar at zero and the calories down," Wearin replied.
"Our head brewer, Ian Jones, has done an amazing job with this beer. We use a blend of dark specialty malts to build those beautiful coffee, cocoa and roasted flavours, combined with some pretty clever work in the mash to retain the body and mouthfeel you'd normally expect from a full-strength stout.
"From there, it's incredibly careful control of the brewing and fermentation process to keep the alcohol, sugar and calories down without stripping out what makes a stout a stout. It took months of trialling, tasting and tweaking."
She believes many Australian beer drinkers, like their wine counterparts, are becoming more mindful about their drinking habits.
And they don't want to compromise on flavour.
"Stout is having an incredible resurgence. People genuinely like stout. They're rediscovering darker, fuller-flavoured beers and wanting a bit more flavour and interest in what they drink," she said.
"I think the next 12 to 18 months will be less about simply 'drinking less' and more about drinking better. Moderate when you want to, have the great beer when you want to, but whatever you choose, it still needs to be really delicious.
"Australians are drinking differently these days: a good beer or two on some days, and a good non-alcoholic one on others."
Modus Merewether's brewery, where NORT is made, is powered entirely by green energy.
QT Newcastle is turning today's International Dog Day into a week-long celebration, dishing out complimentary dot cakes for dogs (and their humans) as part of every Pup Yeah! dog stay checking in between August 26 and 31.
Pet-appointed rooms have luxe beds with orthopaedic memory foam, designer grooming products and hand-baked treats including steak tartare and bacon ice-cream.
There's also a bespoke "Strut Your Pup" map of the city's best local walks and cafes.
Each dot cake is baked by dog bakery Woof Gateaux using dog-safe, sugar-free trimmings.
Hunter Valley wines had a strong showing at the 2026 Sydney Royal Wine Show.
The winners were announced on August 21, and First Creek Wines was the standout. Its 2017 First Creek Wines Single Vineyard Oakey Creek Semillon was named Best Semillon, Best Mature White and Best Single Vineyard Wine, while its 2025 First Creek Wines Limited Vermentino Release was awarded the trophy for the Best Other White Varietal.
First Creek Wines was the only winery to win four trophies, and one of only two wineries to have been awarded three trophies for a single wine.
Tyrrell's Vineyards also took home a major award, with its 2026 Tyrrell's HVD Semillon winning The RAS of NSW Annual Prize for Best Current Vintage White.
Gold medals were also awarded to the First Creek Wines 2026 Murphy Single Vineyard Semillon; 2023 Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon; 2025 Audrey Wilkinson Semillon; 2026 Brokenwood Wines Oakey Creek Vineyard Semillon #2; 2025 Brokenwood Wines Tallawanta Vineyard Semillon; 2024 Bimbadgen Single Vineyard Palmers Lane Semillon; 2024 Hungerford Hill Tempranillo Graciano; and the 2019 Tinklers Wines Reserve Semillon.
The Koutetsu's Chris Wilson has made Australian Bartender's "2026 Top 100 Most Influential" list.
Kenn Blackman, who used to own Xtraction Espresso on Newcastle's Hunter Street, is opening a cafe in Warners Bay in the coming weeks.
Zambrero has added air-fried hot chips to its menu, seasoned with a zesty chicken salt.
Homegrown Markets is launching a fortnightly "Lake Nights" twilight market in October featuring live music and street food as well as market stalls.
Singer-songwriter Miller Roberts has opened Mill's, a coffee spot at 187 Brunker Road, Adamstown.
