Zencat

Not drinking, if not drinking is the point, makes for lucid and engaging conservation with the opposite sex. Drinking...well that's good for jumbled conversations around nothing and everything that matters less and less as the drinks come.

SadRN

Any chance you can go some place other than a sports bar? And I wouldn't think anything of a first date ordering a soda. Hope it goes well.

nvrbeentospain

I agree with the others than ordering an NA beer would probably lead to more comments than just ordering a soda or something like that. Also, I don't really have an opinion on the risks of NA beer, but I don't really get the point of it either. I didn't really drink beer for the taste, no matter what I said back in the day. Without the booze factor, I think it'd be a big, huge disappointment anyway.

About the date, I agree that you don't have to share the recovery thing on the first date. If it goes anywhere, though, you're going to have to share it pretty soon.

EmeraldRose

Personally speaking...I would stay away from 'a first date' until I wasn't on the fence with my alcoholism. This past year has been an emotional rollarcoaster for me as it is...the last thing I need is to throw a man in the mix. LOL
But seriously, I had alot of feelings, thoughts and situations I had to and have to deal with...going out on a date is just too 'personal' for me right now.
Especially to a sports bar. Holy cow.
But good luck on your date...maybe you are more stable in your first few weeks of recovery than I was.

And being an alcoholic, its just easiest for me to remove imitations from the equation.

wpainterw

I would not risk it if I were you. There is an argument that if you were not a beer drinker, your brain may not have built up an association between the taste of beer and alcohol. But why take the risk? If there is even a small amount of Pavlovian association between the two then your body may be off and running, like a racehorse that smells the track again. Also the very small amount of alcohol in the "alcohol free" beer might serve as a trigger. Why take the risk? Try tomato juice with plenty of Worcester Sauce and Tabasco to pep things up. A harmless drink with a bit of a kick to it. And it also is a good idea to eat quite a bit. Eat something sweet.

W.

quitforme79

If a woman runs for the hills when you tell them you are in recovery they aren't worth YOUR time..just sayin

sugarbear1

any alcohol can potentially lead to relapse. perfume use was the beginning of one woman's relapse. it depends on the person.

why take a date to a sports bar? that would turn me off...

MrSilver

I didn't know this, thanks for the info.

roodood

As far as drinking non-alcoholic beers, I've always looked at it this way. Why would I want to pretend that I'm drinking? If it weren't for the alcohol content, I wouldn't have bothered with a beer in the first place, so why would I now? I've either decided to take the drink out of my life, or not. I've met with people in bars and other social gatherings where drinking was prevalent - I just order a soda. Occasionally someone might ask if I don't drink. My usual reply is just "no", and 99% of the time, that is the extent of the conversation. Besides, the last time I checked, non-alcoholic beers taste terrible.

mattparadise

Yeah, it's fine to order NA beer. It just doesn't taste very good.

Pinkcuda

I know people that drank N/A beer. Some relapsed and some didn't. The ones that did drank it mostly in bars and the ones that didn't drank it at home. The ones that drank it at home lost interest because they're alcoholics and N/A beer doesn't contain alcohol. The ones that relapsed in bars did so because bars contain alcohol.
In other words it wasn't the N/A beer that caused them to relapse. If I was to switch to Orange Juice would I be drinking an N/A Screwdriver? Therefore risking relapse?

MrSilver

I don't have much experience with NA beer but for me it has not triggered anything. What it will do for you I don't know. If you think it might then I would avoid it.