Zero-alcohol beer. A bad idea?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Bolton, UK
Posts: 6
Zero-alcohol beer. A bad idea?
I've been sober for 9 days and do NOT miss the alcohol. Never again. But I do want a zero-alcohol beer, because I like the taste of hops and malt.
My wife thinks this would be putting one foot back into hell.
Any ideas?
My wife thinks this would be putting one foot back into hell.
Any ideas?
Guest
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 1,049
Bad idea Sbr,
Find something you like other than hops and malt. You can't have it both ways.
I always wonder when I see *so many* threads on this topic, (it makes my head spin) if near beer had the same alcohol content as your favourite beer, would you drink it?
Find something you like other than hops and malt. You can't have it both ways.
I always wonder when I see *so many* threads on this topic, (it makes my head spin) if near beer had the same alcohol content as your favourite beer, would you drink it?
same planet...different world
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Butte, America
Posts: 10,946
hi sober123
congratulations on your 9 days! -
I've posted this a lot -
so those who've read it -
already know what I'm going to say.
you can skip this I suppose.
I was a bartender before I sobered up.
In almost a decade of bartending...
both in the bar, and in my own personal 'social' setting...
100% of the people with a problem who ttried to drink 'near' beer...
went back to drinking full force.
100%.
I watched them.
I paid attention, because I was curious as well.
That's my personal obversation from within the alcohol industry,
over a span of eight to ten years.
Full time.
Hope that helps!
congratulations on your 9 days! -
I've posted this a lot -
so those who've read it -
already know what I'm going to say.
you can skip this I suppose.
I was a bartender before I sobered up.
In almost a decade of bartending...
both in the bar, and in my own personal 'social' setting...
100% of the people with a problem who ttried to drink 'near' beer...
went back to drinking full force.
100%.
I watched them.
I paid attention, because I was curious as well.
That's my personal obversation from within the alcohol industry,
over a span of eight to ten years.
Full time.
Hope that helps!
Last edited by barb dwyer; 05-25-2009 at 09:18 AM. Reason: spelling.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Omak WA
Posts: 1,049
O Alcohol Beer or Non-Alcohol Beer...
Hi Sbr123,
I didn't even try it...I knew several young adults in AA that did drink it & before long they were back out drinking again...what ever they could find to buy that fit their budget.
My son had another trick up his sleeve or down his mouth...he drank O'Douls non alcohol Beer in the livingroom while reading the paper & would make trips out to the back yard through the garage where he had vodka hidden. I told him that maybe he could fool his wife but wasn't fooling me...!
There is an old book around called "The Games Alcoholics Play" that has all of the tricks of "sobering up alcoholics".....the only one playing this game is the alcoholic & the alcoholics' in Recovery know all these tricks too. So you are fooling yourself & it is costing as much or more that a good beer.
kelsh
I didn't even try it...I knew several young adults in AA that did drink it & before long they were back out drinking again...what ever they could find to buy that fit their budget.
My son had another trick up his sleeve or down his mouth...he drank O'Douls non alcohol Beer in the livingroom while reading the paper & would make trips out to the back yard through the garage where he had vodka hidden. I told him that maybe he could fool his wife but wasn't fooling me...!
There is an old book around called "The Games Alcoholics Play" that has all of the tricks of "sobering up alcoholics".....the only one playing this game is the alcoholic & the alcoholics' in Recovery know all these tricks too. So you are fooling yourself & it is costing as much or more that a good beer.
kelsh
Sober since 9th May 2008
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 2,973
Have to say I agree with everyone else but ................................
Only you truely know yourself, if you say " never again" and believe you can drink a non alcoholic beer with no problems then go ahead. If your not sure then why risk it ?
Guessing you wouldn't have asked the question if you really were sure though.
Welcome to SR, hope you stick around and keep posting, always room for another Brit on here.
Only you truely know yourself, if you say " never again" and believe you can drink a non alcoholic beer with no problems then go ahead. If your not sure then why risk it ?
Guessing you wouldn't have asked the question if you really were sure though.
Welcome to SR, hope you stick around and keep posting, always room for another Brit on here.
Thriving sober since 12/18/08
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Orlando, FL
Posts: 3,115
Why bother? I'm sure there's more flavors out there that you like other than malt and hops. If you're posting here, you're probably on the fence about it anyways, so really are malt and hops THAT good that you just can't bypass them? Try a cream soda, they're yummy!
When I quit drinking, I stopped drinking beer. NA beer has alcohol (as do tons of non 'drink' type things), and I don't drink alcohol anymore.
I think this is where personal choice comes into it.. I'll eat a cake baked with vanilla extract, but I sure as hell wont drink a beer with alcohol in it.
When I quit drinking, I stopped drinking beer. NA beer has alcohol (as do tons of non 'drink' type things), and I don't drink alcohol anymore.
I think this is where personal choice comes into it.. I'll eat a cake baked with vanilla extract, but I sure as hell wont drink a beer with alcohol in it.
) same planet...different world
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Butte, America
Posts: 10,946
I don't remember everything about the first days I spent sober -
but I *do* remember getting a bladder thing and the doc telling me to drink cranberry juice.
And I couldn't.
Because c'berry juice was a trigger for me.
I found out.
First sip.
Because of about a jillion mixed drinks w/ cran juice.
Maybe that's a comparitive?
but I *do* remember getting a bladder thing and the doc telling me to drink cranberry juice.
And I couldn't.
Because c'berry juice was a trigger for me.
I found out.
First sip.
Because of about a jillion mixed drinks w/ cran juice.
Maybe that's a comparitive?
Attitude of Gratitude
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Posts: 2,305
Glad you found us and jumped in and congratulations on 9 days!
I also have seen some recovering alcoholics who say they just like the taste and drink non alcoholic beer for a short time and then wham! They're off to the races so to speak. I've actually heard more than one alcoholic say that instead of drinking a real beer, they only drank whiskey because they promised themselves they would never drink beer again. Now, how much sense does that make?
IMO, near beer is near drinking. Why risk it?
God Bless,
Judy
Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 679
I posted this on a thread recently that turned out to be from years ago and had got dug up and then got closed. But it is on the same subject so I will post it here:
The "alcohol level" doesn't bother me. In fact it says less than 0.5% which basically means trace because it is slightly fermented. I drink Kombucha drinks which also have the same thing on them (0.5% alcohol) because they are slightly fermented. I am no chemist but I am pretty sure that some foods I make at home and leave lying around and then go back to as left overs probably ferment slightly. Whatever, for me it is splitting hairs. I have never felt a buzz from NA beers and when I was dry for four months a couple years ago I downed them like no tomorrow.
That being said I actually do not recommend it and this is why. When I drank them I was a dry drunk. I was going out, partying, all my thought patterns were the same, carrying on with my life exactly as it had been, but sober. It was this sort of crutch that now I know I didn't need. What it prevented me from doing, and I think this is extremely important for true recovery, was mourning alcohol. You have to really get it through your head and heart that alcohol is a thing of the past. And how can you do that if you are replacing it with a poor substitute? You can't. Now almost 8 months in to what feels like true recovery I would never want a NA beer. It is not against my principals. It just seems gross.
But I also respect everyone is different. If you are weighing the two choices though as to which is better for recovery I hope you choose to abstain. I think it will serve you better.
That being said I actually do not recommend it and this is why. When I drank them I was a dry drunk. I was going out, partying, all my thought patterns were the same, carrying on with my life exactly as it had been, but sober. It was this sort of crutch that now I know I didn't need. What it prevented me from doing, and I think this is extremely important for true recovery, was mourning alcohol. You have to really get it through your head and heart that alcohol is a thing of the past. And how can you do that if you are replacing it with a poor substitute? You can't. Now almost 8 months in to what feels like true recovery I would never want a NA beer. It is not against my principals. It just seems gross.
But I also respect everyone is different. If you are weighing the two choices though as to which is better for recovery I hope you choose to abstain. I think it will serve you better.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Colorado Prairie
Posts: 1,417
Try a cream soda, they're yummy!
For the record, I drank NA Beer for the first few weeks. I even had the liquor store order me a keg. I eventually lost interest in it and stopped drinking it. Mind you that all my drinking was done at home.
Most people I see fail when drinking NA beer are drinking their NA Beer in bars and nightclubs. They then switch to the real thing because every one else is getting drunk and starting to liven up. So the question to all those that fail on NA Beer is why are you tempting fate in a bar anyways? I'd do it, but stay out of bars.
Bottom line is if you're going to quit drinking, you're going to quit. If you're not, you're not. NA Beer or not.
Therefore I disagree with your wife. I disagreed with my wife when she told me the same thing your wife is telling you.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Virginia
Posts: 818
When you ask that question you open up Pandora's Box. I would suggest that for now you stay away from it. You're too early in recovery to do anything that would threaten you. Having said that, I confess to the fact that I used to drink O'Doules Amber and started that after about 2 years of sobriety. I like the taste and found that it did nothing to cause me to want a real beer. But that's me. A lot of folks have different opinions on the subject. Now I stick to diet coke as O'Doules seems kind of filling and heavy. In your case I'd stay away from it for now and revisit the subject in a year or so.
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