By Oliver Winn
A small Warburton beverage business punched well above its weight at the 2025 World Alcohol-Free Awards, snatching a silver medal in the face of global competition.
The Hairy Armadillo is run by Warburton local Allan Sweeney and specialises in wine-style non-alchoholic sparkling teas, which he crafts from the ground-up.
The drink which won him the silver medal was the Snow Daisy, which the judges described as “earthy, spicy and aromatic on the nose, with flavours of coriander seed, malt load and raisins on the palate.”
Competing against 36 countries and over 600 entries, Mr Sweeney said the award was validation that he’s heading on the right track.
“Starting any small business is a challenge, but the beverage industry in particular is a different beast,” Mr Sweeney said.
“I’m still learning, but it’s nice to get these things, if nothing else, to validate what we do.”
Mr Sweeney’s obsession with fermenting began in a condo when he was living in Singapore, where he’d get his housemates to be his “chief taste-testers”.
After moving back to Australia at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, he quit his job in IT security and started his business.
Now he operates out of a small space at the Yarra Ranges Enterprise Centre, where Mr Sweeney has spent a long time curating and refining his fermentation processes.
“Starting a beverage company, particularly one which uses more of a complex fermentation process rather than using quick acid ferments, it’s far more complex and the food safety requirements are more rigid,” he said.
Mr Sweeney’s goal with the Hairy Armadillo was to attract new audiences, particularly younger millennial and gen z demographics which were straying away from drinking alcoholic beverages.
He saw a gap in the market for alcohol free alternatives that still had complex taste profiles and weren’t simply sweet tasting drinks.
The Snow Daisy sparkling tea which won him the silver medal was described as a “mature drink”, encapsulating Mr Sweeney’s goal at crafting a “refined moment drink”.
Tea based drinks have long been associated with naturopaths and health gurus, but in the Asia-Pacific region, they’ve been the main choice of beverage.
“It’s deeply ingrained in tradition and ceremony in those places and it’s not a massive step for us to then make a tea sparkling,” he said.
“It adds a new element or dimension to something that’s already existed for thousands of years and it attracts new people to tea in a way that has never been done before.”
Aware of the stereotypes for fermented drinks, the Hairy Armadillo aims to distance itself from the pompous nature of standoffish wine drinkers and the like.
“Our branding, even though we’re very serious about making a premium, sophisticated drink, we’re all about breaking down that elitism stereotype around our branding.”
He said the branding is “playful”, taking inspiration from other non-alcoholic beverage companies such as Heaps Normal.
“You can still talk about the terrier or the singular state that the tea comes from and the flavours and aromas, but ultimately, we’re trying to be more fun and inviting.”
In the long term, Mr Sweeney wants to provide an industry first cellar door experience, where beverage enthusiasts can explore new non-alcoholic drinks in an environment akin to wine tasting.
“I think where the premium non-alcoholic industry is going is to provide very similar experiences to what people enjoy with its alcoholic counterparts today.”
“So it’s either visiting a brewery or a winery and then getting fully immersed in the product, I think that’s really where the non-alcoholic space will lead to.”
Though the Hairy Armadillo is still in its early stages, Mr Sweeney finds that when he gains new customers, they tend to be loyal and reliable to the brand.
But for now, he has his sights set on continuing to refine his product.
From the drinks crafted in his condo in Singapore to those meticulously borne out of his nano fermentary, Mr Sweeney continues to master his craft.
“We spent years trying to refine this, and we don’t think that we’re there yet, I don’t think we’ll ever rest.”
