A LITTLE MORE…OR LESS? –
Jan. 8, 2026 – Dry January is hitting a little differently this year.
A growing number of Americans planned to participate in the month-long abstention — 56% of adults, according to CivicScience, up from 54% last year and 52% the year before. What was not so long ago a fringe movement in the U.K. has evolved to become practically, in some circles, the norm. My own group texts this week have been filled with references to Dry January so casual that the implication seems to be of course everyone is participating. (Some of my friends or family members report they’re sleeping better already; others say they just really want a glass of wine.)
But one person I spoke to this week, who has a very significant financial stake in Dry January, offered a surprising perspective on the annual observance. Tate Huffard, founder of nonalcoholic beer juggernaut Best Day Brewing, said he worries “that there’s Dry January fatigue” — and that the pressure to achieve a perfect 31-day record “risks becoming performative.”
