zorah

Just wondering what you all think about nonalcoholic drinks. I know someone who drinks the nonalc. beer and feels no effect (she's been in AA for a long time). I'm wondering, though, if this is a slippery slope. I'm new to recovery so probably not a good choice for me. Have any of you tried this?

Zorah

Fdm

I would not.

Dee74

Apparently some can do it, but it's a no from me.

When I was trying to quit and I drank non alc beer I found myself indulging in the same behaviours and mind processes that I did when I drank normal beer...it wasn't long before I went back to the real stuff because I missed the buzz.

I was like a rocket primed and ready...just waiting on the fuel.

You have to ask yourself really - there's a world of truly non alcoholic drinks out there that won't remind you of what you used to drink - why not pick those?

D

Tippingpoint

I convinced myself that they were harmless early on in my sobriety. I soon realized that they were not good for me.

ReadyAndAble

I think they're a great idea for nonalcoholic drinkers. But I can't imagine wanting to replicate any aspect of active alcoholism.

OCDDan

I tried NA beer, I'm back trying to sober up now (got three weeks so far)

Sapling

I had a guy ask about this in a meeting one time. And a good friend of mine responded..."I didn't get rid of my ex wife...Just so I could go out and find someone just like her." ....I don't know. I guess that just kind of summed it up for me.

Michael66

They didn't work for me either.

ACT10Npack

It really comes down to each person, zorah. Non-alcoholic beer is really not that good as a taste. Some people can drink it and have no problem and others don't. I can tell you one thing, I have never seen a person who didn't have an alcohol problem drink Non-Alcoholic beer. The only people I've seen drinking that stuff did have problems with alcohol.

BillyPilgrim

I drank wine to get drunk, not because I liked the taste
Someone on this site summed NA drinks up I think very well
"Drinking non alcoholic beer is like going to a wh0rehouse to listen to the piano player"

I dont like decaff coffee for the same reasons, whats the point?

Taking5

This comes up all the time and I think it should be made a sticky.

IMO, people who drink this are romancing the real stuff and more often than not relapse on the real stuff. They also contain some alcohol so keep this in mind. Some people can do this but I will never risk it.

There are 100's of good non alcohol drinks out there - fruit juices, sodas, teas, sport drinks (I am a huge gatorade fan now), etc. - that don't carry this risk factor.

instant

I just keeps the whole vibe going. I didn't drink because I was thirsty.

I have found at a social events if I have one or two soft drinks or sparkling water that is enough.

Spinach

I found trying to find a drink that wasn't tea or sweet fruit drink that I liked difficult.
NA wines just tasted like vinegar and fruit juice and most beers tasted unusual.
I have drunk one lager that tastes good alcohol is 0.05% .
All the replies above I would have agreed with and idealogically spot on and I can see it as a way of cheating ourselves and then getting back on the drink. I cannot drink again and hopefully won't and I have a stash of them which I do enjoy, am I the one that actually liked the taste of beer!!
I used to think about vegetarian burgers and sausages. why ? So with the same thought why? Beer.
I do enjoy them.
I see them for some as a gateway to relapse but for me they fit in well.
My kids are great and when they saw beer bottles they came to me and asked me why I was drinking again, so I explained that I'd have to drink 100 bottles to get the same alcohol as 1 bottle of the other beer and they accepted that , but every time they see me with one they check the bottle for me.
They are young but they know I'm not drinking and I guess that's there way of helping.
If anyone wants to know which I drink pm me and I'll say.
I guess the old adage goes if you think it's wrong it probably is.
For me it doesnt and has been useful ,nothing will get me back to the struggle and fear I lived with drink ,my life also is so much better sober.
John.
YMMV.

hypochondriac

I read a thread on this before Zorah and the answer seemed to be a unanimous 'no' so I decided to avoid them. I also remembered that I did used to drink non-alcoholic beers when I was drinking in an attempt to cut down...basically I just drank the non-alcoholic ones during the day and switched to real beer at night. And that didn't last long really. It seems like a good idea but I think it would just lead me back to the real thing x

BillyPilgrim

It was a big release for me when I went into a gig which had a bar and ordered a cup of tea

Was happy to sit watching, drinking tea

It singles me out a bit, was at a wedding the other week, and drank green tea

But what the hell, I aint getting drunk, I am enjoying the evening, and I remember what happened

and I havent got loads of mysterious purchases arriving from Amazon, that I ordered when I got home whilst still drunk

whats not to like about tea?

tomsteve

non alcoholic beer contains a small percentage of alcohol. its from the production methods. i think the smell alone could send me into a drunk.

Someguy23

I can't say much about wether they're good if you're trying to quit, but I have tried non-alcoholic beers and wines, and I can comment on the taste.

N-a beer does indeed taste almost like beer, but very often it tastes like the watery kind of beer that I wouldn't even drink for effect, let alone taste.

Some n-a beers are good (Beck's n-a is pretty nice, and I heard good things about O'Doul), but the tasty ones are expensive (often more so than real beer, since they're never on sale).

As for n-a wine, stay away from that crap. Maybe I'm biased since I'm not a fan of wine anyway, but I can appreciate a good bottle when I try it. N-a wine doesn't even taste like wine, it just tastes sour and smells nasty.

If you're looking for taste substitutes, unsweetened sparkling apple cider (not the alcoholic drink) tastes exactly like a really good semi-sweet white wine. I drink it pretty often and would strongly recommend it (even if you're not looking for a taste substitute). It's very expensive though.

A friend told me that cranberry juice with just a drop of vinegar in it tastes like red wine. Haven't tried it though.

Mark75

If you have to ask... the answer is NO!!

nonblondechef

I drank 2 bottles of Fre' na wine in the first couple weeks of recovery. 1 pretty stemmed glass, on ice, was what I allowed myself. One night after a very stress filled day at work, I drank one glass, then another, then finished it. No, it did not change how I felt. No, I did not enjoy the stale vinegary taste. But yes, it felt familiar and comforting at the time. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks - I realized then and there I would not, let me repost NOT, be able to moderate or drink like a normal person. Old habits die hard. Glad my experiment was a success. Today is my 4 month celebration of sobriety. Wild Berry Iced Tea from Wendy's is my drink of choice when feeling celebratory. Will be picking one up on my way to my meeting at noon today :day6

eJoshua

They're not my cup of tea, but to each his own.