Earlier this year we dropped the news that the Gold Coast’s first Aboriginal food truck, Clinto’s Kupmurri, was hitting the streets with a traditional menu featuring everything from kangaroo, emu and crocodile meats in dishes such as curries, stews, pies, skewers and stir-frys. Owner Clinton Shultz, of the Gamilaraay people, has taken his passion for native ingredients one step further to create one of Australia’s first non-alcoholic bush tucker-infused craft beers. The name SOBAH plays on the term ‘sober’ – the ‘bah’ is a suffix from the Yugambeh language, which signifies a place. So, it more or less means a ‘place of sobriety’, which is the driving force behind SOBAH – it’s aiming to break down the culture of needing to drink alcohol in order to be social. Plus, after a night on these tinnies, you won’t wake up with a headache.

There are two beers in the range so far – there’s the Czech-style Lemon Aspen Pilsner, which is a fruity beer with grapefruit notes infused with native ingredients like lemon aspen (from Far North Queensland), making it rich in vitamins A and C. Love Mexican-style beers? Then the Finger Lime Cerveza will be right up your alley, infused with gulalung (that’s the Aboriginal term for finger lime for those playing at home). SOBAH is brewed at the Pickled Pig Brewery in Tweed Heads with high-quality ingredients using the same methods as craft beer. There’s no heating or chemicals to remove the alcohol – instead, they use a special strain of yeast that doesn’t turn into alcohol as it ferments, but acts as a probiotic instead (healthy beer? Heck yes!). It’s early days for SOBAH, with a Pozible campaign currently underway to launch the beer into the canning phase, so make sure you jump on board to be one of the first to get these native tinnies in your hand.