BALTIMORE — "Nine out of ten times, the first reaction is: 'wow, this tastes pretty good!'"
That was exactly what Darryl Collins said when he first tried a nonalcoholic beer.
As an extrovert, and an attorney, going out for drinks became a regular part of his routine, both to socialize and decompress.
"And then at the end of the week, I realized, wow I maybe had three beers on Monday, three on Tuesday, and then it begins to add up. Like wow, I've consumed a lot of alcohol this week," Collins said.
Once he discovered happy hours could come without the hangovers, he was sold.
"And I've just been on a mission to introduce it to everyone," Collins said.
Nonalcoholic beer has been around for awhile. But for a long time, it stood alone. As demand for zero-proof drinks has grown, so have the options.
"Right now there are over 500 nonalcoholic options," Collins said.
Although there's a lot of product out there, there's far fewer places to purchase them. Enter - Hopscotch.
It's a new bottle shop in Fells Point that caters to everyone - whether you're sober, pregnant, or just looking to cut back.
"That's how I came up with the name Hopscotch. Some people have one foot in, one foot out. Those are the sober-curious people who drink alcohol and nonalcoholic beverages. Then you have other people with two feet in, and those are the people who are sober-serious and don't drink any alcohol at all," Collins said.
The motto at Hopscotch is: "first drink's on us." Every day that the place is open, there will be a new drink on tap for customers to sample.
The shop will also host events like mocktail-making classes and wine or beer tastings.
The grand opening is this weekend.
You can find more updates on theshop's Facebook page.
