Question about O'Douls

[Snooks]

Last evening at a meeting an individual stated he'd had an O'Douls, but "didn't like the taste". It's my impression O'Douls beer still has alcohol in it. The individual has lots of problems......what about it, is it a slip to drink "near beer"?

[fritolay]

Non alcoholic beers contain about .05% alcohol, compared to a light beer at about 4.5%, or a regular beer at just over 5.0%. You would have to consume an unthinkable quantity of it to become intoxicated, however the minute amount of alcohol you do ingest from it can lead to an urge to have more, or harder drinks for those who cannot have just one. Call it a stepping stone, or what have you. Unless you really love the taste of beer (most people don't!), I see no reason to drink it.

[degadar]

Never tried that particular brand, but eeeeeew. alcohol free beer is pants! It sucks, it's like drinking rancid rainwater out of a saucer that's been sitting on the windowsill under a geranium for three weeks.

Water - that's the baby.

Deg.

[fritolay]

It's similar to opening up a candy bar, shaving off a tiny sliver with an xacto knife, and expecting yourself to be satisified. What you've actually done is go through the process of purchasing the candy bar, opening it up, prepared to eat it, and then shortchanged yourself. Now, how many would have the will power to toss the rest of the bar away without another thought? Most would not. The same thing with allowing yourself a tiny taste of alcohol--it's not nearly enough to feel any effect whatsoever, you won't get buzzed or relaxed, but your body has gone through the drinking process, and the natural tendency is to desire more until satisfied.

[aasharon90]

Hi, Im Sharon and Im an Alcoholic.

Thanks snooks for sharing.

Near beer like the person who shared before me does contain small amounts of alcohol in it. Ud have to drink lots of it to get a buzz. However for me.... i wouldnt drink it mainly because why would i want to drink near beer if i cant drink the real stuff. If i want a drink, I want a drink. and it better be the REAL stuff. And it better be alot of it....which it wont be in this whole wide world. : ) Honest...there would never be enough alcohol to satisfy me and the cravings i have for it.

To drink a near beer would give me the ok that is cool to drink a little alcohol. And for me today, to drink even one drop would mean to eventually get drunk, go crazy or die. And that my friend, i almost did. True story.

I wouldnt touch it with a 10 ft pole. : ) Even longer than that.


Thanks for letting me share.

[drew_61]

Hi Snooks,
That guy should switch to Clausthaler, it tastes a lot better, LOL! I drink a "near beer" occasionally and it has caused me absolutely no harm. It does not cause me to go out and get wasted. Whatever this guy's issues are, they are not related to O'Douls.

[CarolD]

Welcome to SR...

Yes... in AA when you drink alcohol it is considered a a slip.

I have been in AA for many years...
the only time I count is my own.
That keeps me out of others business.

Tolerance is the key for my peace.

Glad to see you here...

[drew_61]

Hmmm...Well, if I was really interested in "slipping" I certaily wouldn't bother with an N/A beer. I'd have to drink 5 billion of them to cop half a buzz.

[brigid]

I can't imagine that near beer would really taste very good, beer is supposed to be fermented in a particular way that involves producing alcohol. I have tried non-alcoholic wine and not really liked it. Now I just drink lots of other interesting and delightful things, heaps of herbal teas and a lot of a non alcoholic fermented drink that has no alcohol in it, just lots of good bacteria (lactobacillus). There are heaps of other things to drink.

Too, I have found that I worry more about myself and what I am ingesting these days and as long as I am ok with me, I am ok with whatever anyone else wants to do, that is their business, if they want to share with me, that is great too.

love Brigid

[markofevil]

I've had some NA beer in the past back when I tried to control my drinking on my own. The amber O'Douls was decent as I recall.

However, if you don't want to drink, don't drink anything that tastes anything at all like beer. You're just playing with fire. You just want to be out of the habit of drinking completely.

[nocellphone]

Originally Posted by SweetNuff

I know three or four people in recovery that drink O'Douls once in a while, none have gone back to using.

No, not yet... Recovery from alcoholism can be a slippery-enough slope. Why grease up one's shoes?!? :scratchch

I've thought for years that, for an alcoholic, drinking "non"-alcoholic beer is like shooting oneself in the head with a small-caliber handgun. It might kill ya; it might not...

Why bother when there are soooooooooooo many 100% safe beverage alternatives? Sounds like a continuation of risky behavior to me...




...plus, by most accounts...............it tastes like ASS!

[nocellphone]

The truth is, those occasional O'Doul's drinkers might never suffer consequences as a result of indulging, and I hope that's the case for them and anyone else who chooses that route.

The sadder truth is that I've met many, many alcoholics who would like to drink like "normal" people (all I know about "normal" is that it's a setting on a washing machine... ) and be the exception who can have a little something alcoholic now and then. For too many of them, the consequences that follow are dire and often fatal.

I just hate to see people take unnecessary chances with their lives and the lives of those around them. No one needs to die (or live miserably) from the disease of alcoholism.

[fraankie]

well, today o'doul's
tomorrow, rubbing alcohol
next, how about a little beer
after that, slam your little car
into a little light pole

lol

seriously, it's a program of abstinence
as in,
zero tolerance

[jimhere]

I agree with just about everything that has already been posted on this thread. I guess my question is-why bother? As has been said, if you are going to have a slip, do it good and do it right and get it done with. And then I hope you make it back.

[AndrewBeen]

At best you are teasing yourself. At worst you are tempting a big mistake.

[doorknob]

On the same grounds, it probably isn't safe to drink fruit juice, unless it's fresh squeezed. However, I tend to think the problem with NA beer is psychological and behavioral, rather than a reaction to the trace alcohol, an amount which often occurs naturally in other products we consume.

[nocellphone]

You may be right, doorknob. I imagine that if a person whose drug-of-choice is IV heroin were to shoot up a few syringes of water just for kicks, it would set off an avalanche of cravings.

I've known people to do that, just to get the rush from the ritual around the using process.

Personally, if I see a snake and am not sure whether it's poisonous or not, I'm not picking it up. The risks outweigh any potential gains.

[slacker]

I see it as a situation with no positives and a plethora of potential negatives.

Not to mention it tastes like crap.

[fiat]

hi,
I am sober for 4yrs 3months and have been drinking O'doul's for 2 1/2 years. I love the taste of beer and usually only drink one every week or so. There's more alchohol in one swish of mouthwash than in this beer and I'm not trying to get drunk on mouthwash. Very Comfortably Sober with no desire to return to drunkeness.

[Peter]

Welcome to the forums fiat.

[aasharon90]

Hi Im Sharon and Im an Alcoholic.

By the Grace of my HP and people
like you here in SR I havent had a
drink of alcohol since 8-11-90.

For that and you I am truely grateful.

If i know something has alcohol in it
and I knowingly take a sip of it then my
conscience would emmediately let me know
I slipped.

I couldnt continue on in recovery
honestly know what i did was intentional.

For me....to take a sip ...well..what the he**
I dont want a sip of something if i like it
that much....in fact i know there would never
be enough alcohol in this world to satisfy
my craving for it....

And thats a fact.

When i was in rehab back in 90 for 28 days....
via the back seat of a police car...my first
stop and night was there in the crazy ward,,,,

See i had tried to end my miserable life by drinking
and a hand full of pills.....it was family intervention
that saved my life....

Anyway,,,,that first night...everything i had in
the way that might cause harm to me was
taken away....my spray cologne,,,mouth wash....

Later in group i learned that people actually
drank that stuff in desperation....

Then yrs down the road i gained wisdom and
knowledge of my disease and took the suggestions
so freely shared with me to help me and guide
me thru recovery without alcohol.

I also learned about change and replacing people
places and things that would remind me of
alcohol....

Odouls would remind me too much of alcohol...
and thus if i want the real thing then im not
skimping on the taste....Dam** i want a REAL drink.

Any kind of alcohol is poison to me....
To drink poison would mean i would die.

This is an honest program and so I have
to be thoroughly honest in all aspects of my life.

Including what i put in my body with food or liquid.

Thanks for letting me share.

[Peter]

O'douls and its likeness may have infinitesimally minute traces of alcohol (as may many of the other foods we consume on a daily basis, sometimes without even knowing it,) but drinking so called "non alcoholic" beers is too close to the real deal for my alcoholic brain to be comfortable with it......

[Rob B]

There is a reason it is called non-alcoholic beer. It is for nonalcoholics.

[Tazman53]

I am an alcoholic, I will not deny that fact nor try and fool myself that I am not.

I hated the taste of beer when I first started to drink it, but there was something in beer that made me feel like I belonged, like I was "The Man"! I did not like the taste, but that feeling it gave me when I first drank it was AWESOME!!!

The reason I drank beer was for the ALCOHOL!!!

I like the taste of 100s of different drinks that in no way, shape, form, or fashion even give the apperance or resemble the taste of an alcoholic beverage.

Hey how many people would drink near Vodka? What about near whiskey, gin, bourbon, or near white lightening?

Near beer to this alcoholic would be just like being near an exploding hand gernade!

Would simulated sex be okay for a sex addict trying to recover? I mean it is not real sex, it is just simulated so it would never make them think about real sex right?

[leeside]

I think that an alcoholic cannot have even a drop. Near-beer has at least a drop. Try drinking a sparkling apple juice or cider. :beerchug: