Hi there
I help midlife drinkers take back the power of choice from alcohol.
Hi, I’m Denise Hamilton-Mace, founder of Low No Drinker and host of the Mindful Drinking & Moderation in Midlife Podcast.
My work is for people who want to drink less, feel better and stay in charge of their choices—without being told they have to quit forever.
This is how I got here ↓
MY STORY, the SHORT version
I never said I was giving up alcohol.
But it was definitely time to give up the hangovers.
I was a daily drinker and an enthusiastic party girl. Alcohol had been part of my work, my social life and my identity for years—and for a long time, I didn’t see any reason to question that.
Then I reached my 40s and realised that drinking no longer fitted my life in quite the same way. I didn’t want to carry on as I was, but I didn’t identify with the idea that my only other option was to quit forever.
So I began exploring what could sit between those two extremes: moderation, low and no alcohol drinks, and the habits, emotions and expectations that influence how we drink.
That exploration became Low No Drinker—and eventually, the work I now do with thousands of other midlife drinkers who know they want something to change.
WHAT I BELIEVE
Changing the way you drink should give you more choices, not fewer.
01
Moderation is a skill set.
It isn’t something you either naturally possess or have somehow failed at. The right skills can be understood, practised and strengthened.
02
You don’t have to wait for disaster.
Alcohol doesn’t need to have wrecked your life before you’re allowed to decide that you want it to take up less space.
03
What’s in the glass is only part of it.
Better drink choices help. Lasting change also means looking at the habits, pressures and expectations surrounding them.
04
The choice remains yours.
Drink less, drink occasionally or don’t drink at all. Nobody else gets to decide what the right outcome looks like for you.
THE WORK BEHIND THE WORDS
A lifelong drinker who learned there could be another way.
200+
podcast episodes & articles published
24
years working in hospitality
5
years of drinking differently
I bring together lived experience, more than two decades in hospitality and years spent interviewing experts, researching drinking behaviour and speaking to real people who are changing how they drink.
Low No Drinker magazine (sunsetted after two and a half lovely years) was shortlisted for BSME Launch of the Year. I have also judged and supported the major alcohol-free drinks awards, spoken on many stages about low, no and light drinking and created a raft of practical tools to help midlife drinkers make changes that stick in real life.
WHAT YOU’LL get with me
Honest, practical help. No labels required.
Yes, please:
✓ Practical ways to understand and change your drinking
✓ Honest conversations about moderation
✓ Much better options for what goes in your glass
✓ Support for making choices that suit your life
No, thanks:
x Pressure to adopt a label
x Assumptions that everybody needs to quit
x Judgement about where you’re starting from
x Empty advice to “just use more willpower”
“It’s so honest and refreshingly non-judgemental. I came across your podcast by accident, and I’m so glad I did.“
- Josephine
“The idea that moderation is possible has opened a door for me which I thought was otherwise closed.”
- Kerryn Fields
So what next?
Find the help that fits where you are now.
01
Explore the website
Articles, practical guides and honest answers about drinking differently.
02
Listen to the podcast
Weekly insights and support for mindful drinking and moderation in midlife.
03
Work with me
Speaking, media interviews and professional collaborations.