AlexaDaly

I'm on day 11 of being sober and doing very well. My husband bought me some O'Doules nonalcoholic beer. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I don't know if I want to drink it. I'm definitely not going to try the nonalcoholic wine; it sounds ghastly! What's the opinion of the N/A beverages for people who are recovering? Thanks for any advice.

LadyBlue0527

Important to note that non alcoholic beer still has alcohol. O'Douls has .04 I believe. I don't have any experience with NA beers but I know that for me I would just be teasing myself. In being fully honest with you I know that I'd start with that and then would think that it wouldn't be such a big deal to cut that with half a lite beer. So on and so forth, same road, same end result. I also wouldn't drink non alcoholic wine but there are some great truly non alcoholic sparkling ciders out there.

stevie88

Non alcoholic beer = no point....I only ever drank to get rat arsed... If I liked the taste so much why did the first beer of the day always make me gag??

mecanix

For me it is to close in ritual to drinking alcohol so i don't do it .

Fizzy water i'm fine with , but something that is designed to look and feel like alcohol is just rattling skelintons i'd rather let lie .

I do eat rum and rasin ice cream though , but i only buy a certain brand now after trying a new one and finding out it was 3% rum after eating about half a pint , being sick , then wondering if it had alcohol in it and then checking the label ...

Bestwishes, m

Olive1

I, personally, stay away from anything that resembles alcohol.
My drink of choice is now sparkling water. I am hooked. I drink a six pack a day.

Carlotta

I drank to get drunk and I can't stand the taste of beer so I'd not consider getting it. That being said, do a search on this forum, some people say that it triggered them into a relapse because it has a low alcohol content.
It can also open the door to the AV to tell you that if you have one of those, you might as well have a real beer.

ippochick

off-topic here - stevie, your dog is GORGEOUS. we're going to adopt a staffie from battersea later this year.

on-topic. i am a child of alcoholic parents. my stepdad would periodically go on the wagon. he wouldn't drink at all for a week. when we saw the non-alcohol beer appearing, we knew it would only be a matter of days before we all fell into the abyss again.

i personally wouldn't, but then i'm living on ice cream and lattes at the moment, so your mileage may vary...

Soberpotamus

Personally, just not interested in it. I've tasted it before. I don't like the taste of it. But I wasn't a big beer drinker anyway, I was a wine drinker mostly. I drank for the buzz. I don't really see the point in nonalcoholic beers.

I think if we're honest, most of us drank for the buzz... the taste was an acquired appreciation, though I can understand enjoying some of the beers and wines for taste... I mostly drank for the buzz and the drunk.

LadyBlue0527

Oops, I typed that wrong. O'Douls has less than one half of a percent of alcohol. Still maintain that if you were a beer drinker and are trying to stay sober it might just end up being a tease. I know that it would for me.

cheapredwino

Yeah why bother? Choose a beverage which does not remind you of booze.
I used to love the taste of a great microbrew and alcohol is part of that taste experience.
Non alcoholic beer tastes like crap and leaves you yearning for the real stuff.

DylanS

I've had non-alcoholic beer and, even with just 2, I could feel something.

If you Google "dangers of non-alcoholic beer" you'll find a good article, part of which states: "Both alcohol and the anticipation of alcohol may raise levels of a brain chemical called dopamine, which plays a role in feelings of elation and pleasure, according to the investigators. The researchers found increases in dopamine in the rats' brains before and after smelling these "alcohol-related cues.""

The (artificial) rise in dopamine comes with all substance abuse so, if my dopamine is increased by just the body memory (smell, ritual, etc.) then that puts me at risk.

HTH.

ReadyAtLast

Idon't see the point.I drank to get drunk. I know if I drank a non alcoholic wine or beer it would taste,smell,look and feel like alcohol.I'd just be annoyed there was no buzz and probably go out and buy the real thing

Why tempt yourself? There are so many fabulous non alcoholic drinks to explore-it's fun trying

Lexica

I hate the taste of alcohol especially beer. I only drank it to get wasted. So for me I would not be interested in non alcoholic beer. Now if by chance I was drinking non alcoholic beer then for me I know that I would just be triggering myself.

Michael66

I found it best to make a complete break and avoid anything resembling beer or wine. For some it might not be an issue, but personally I wanted a very clear break from my beer-fuelled past.

Isaiah

On rare occassions when I'm out I might order it just to break the monotony of soda, which is my usual drink and typically free at bars (supporting the DDs...?) I feel fine with it, but for whatever reason my senses & brain don't process it as beer. I wouldn't play around with triggers either; if it was anything other than an unusual pop to me I'd leave it behind the bar.

If I were in your shoes I wouldn't touch it.

MIRecovery

Drinking NA beer is like teasing a pitbull not a problem until the Beast gets out

GreenEggsAndHam

I think I'd be irritated/teased drinking something beer-ish instead of beer. I'm not even interested in trying it.

bigsombrero

In treatment my counselor said: "Non-alcoholic beer is for non-alcoholics". Don't bother with it. What are you going to do, drink six of them? How fun would that be?

DylanS

Ha - that's true, BigSombrero. It made me remember my brother trying to quit drinking. He'd go through 1-2 six-packs a night of the non-alcoholic beer. He said he just loved the taste. Sure, bro, that's it. It's the taste. Heh heh.

Nighthawk8820

I say avoid it all together as it may be a trigger for you. I never liked beer, and even when I would go to parties, if all they had was beer, I went home and drank my own Bacardi all night long. I think for some, drinking a NA beer may be frustrating as its just not the same. Stick with Water or something else.