Steppenwolf

Seems like I'm in the minority here, but I have a one every now and then. It has never made me feel any different than I did before drinking it... Physically or mentally. There are some tasty ones. Bittburger for example tastes great and has Three different brews that have 0.0% if you're worried. I think they are the only ones that are completely alcohol free. I have heard for many people, it leads them toward relapse. I tend to think that if you're not working a good program or routine, than an untied shoelace can lead you to relapse.

TKS

Greetings fellow (former) brewer. I think it's extra tough for us sometimes, because we know what exceptional beer can taste like.

Twoworlds12345

i personally wouldnt drink it, i would seriously doubt my will power if i could taste cider (my personal choice of drink) again. even though it is non alcoholic it would be so tempting just to switch back to alcohol.

But its personal preference after all

JAC13

Hi Guys!

I do drink NA beer sometimes as I hate soft drinks and fizzy sodas etc. like the idea of ginger beer though, I can remember as a teenager drinking it on holiday and it was refreshing might try it.

On a different note, went into Tesco at the weekend to buy some NA beer as we were having a BBQ, they normally have a big range but it was all sold out!

Jackie x

ZoeM

I never actually liked the taste of alcohol, so this wouldn't really do anything for me.

Louise82

Not for me, although I do dip my wafer into nonalcoholic wine when I receive communion.

jazzfish

For me, it is more than just going alcohol free. I am also changing the way I drink. With NA beer, I would still drink them like regular beer: fast, completely, and on to the next. This is why I don't look for substitutes for alcoholic drinks.

I had to learn to drink non-alcoholic drinks moderately. Instead of going to a party and drinking 10 alcoholic drinks, I had to learn to drink only 1 or 2 non-alcoholic drinks. Now that I am no longer chasing the effect, I often find half finished drinks set around the house because as soon as I am satisfied, I forget about them.

Marcher13

Back when I made coffee professionally an order for a decaf soy latte was referred to as a why bother? and, for me, it's the same thing with non-alcoholic drinks. Plus I think Natty hits the nail on the head by saying it's a "slippery slope".

Croissant

Thanks for the insight.

I think it's just different for everyone. I don't want my new boyfriend smelling of my old boyfriends aftershave. It doesn't mean I haven't let my old boyfriend go, it just means I want to focus on the present, not the past.

I know that's a simplistic analogy for a serious issue by the way!

jazzfish

I wanted to make clear what I was getting at in my last post.

I used to buy NA beer saying I like the taste.

But I would drink it as if I was going for the effect.

Eventually, I noticed I wasn't getting the effect.

Then I would wonder how I could get the effect - ah, buy real beer.

And that was how it led me back to drinking, in my experience.

UnixBer

I'll pass. Too risky, too pointless, possibly triggering = threat to sobriety. Most NA drinks do contain alcohol, and it may only need a small amount to awaken the addiction and cravings. Since can't know for sure, I prefer not to take the risk. Safety first with sobriety.

longbeachone

Yuck. I hate beer. But I get the question, because it's about the drinking experience. You could include non alcoholic wine and virgin drinks. The only thing I ever will order is a very spicy virgin bloody Mary. (And you know what the Brits call a virgin bloody Mary...a bloody shame), because I love the taste. I'm partial to strawberry lemonade these days.

TucTee

I actually like NA beer, but it's too expensive to drink on a regular basis. For me, I need to be drinking something constantly at a bar. The NA beer is nice as a visible and psychological placebo, but not at 4 bucks a bottle. Regular beer is cheaper where I live.

If I'm hanging with buddies and we hit Total Wine, I'll get a six pack of cheap NA stuff everyone once in a while so we can still "drink" together. I find it to be beer without the mind-altering effects (and consequences).

Conclusion: fine by me, but too expensive to rely on.

sgs

I am day 8 and doing ok--i took a drink of Communion wine last Sunday with no problems ??????

Louise82

That's great! I just happen to dip my wafer in nonalcoholic wine purely out of choice, and because my church offers the choice between wine and NA wine. Congrats on 8 days and welcome to SR!

roberooski

I think I just peepee'd my pants!!! LMAO!!!

Friend in AA that just hit a month had one at a AAA Baseball game the other day and he did fine.....go by how you feel, not how others felt. Only you know your own triggers. Are you tempting your own troubles? Are you trying to justify? How long have you been sober? Are you trying to "blend in"? Is a non-alcoholic option not available?

jkb

I like to have one here or there. At a wedding the other day and I had two. Kind of made me feel like part of the celebration. Did not trigger me to have real beer. However, it is expensive so I probably wouldn't bother buying it. I like sprite more...

gingerrogers

I had people trying to get me to drink non alcoholic beer but I think it's to close to the real thing for me. I think I have to remove myself from that whole alcoholic lifestyle to stay sober.

JimmyPage87

Okay, I'll try answer this question as truthfully and honest as I can.

I'd been off all alcohol for over three years, I watched a movie (Django Unchained) and two guys ordered beers, after seeing that I really wanted just taste some beer again, it looked so nice, so refreshing. The setting was so cool. It romanticized the idea of a col beer for me. Which probably sound stupid.

Well anyways, after much debate with myself, I bought various non alcoholic beers over the course of this summer. I wouldn't drink not drink many, maybe one, two. I've had no problems really, no craving for 'real alcohol' or anything like that. But I don't want to 'drink to get drunk, I just missed the experience of a cold beer. I find a lot of people say 'non alcoholic beer is gross'. I think they haven't tried many, because there are so many and some are truly fantastic, especially European ones. Although I can't stress enough everyone is different.

Whether to drink them? Even though I can do it with no problems, I'd probably generally advise against it, because it all depends on the person and you only know yourself if you can take that risk or not. There's always a chance it'll trigger something in some person and give them 'a taste' for the real thing again.

One thing I can say is it maybe lowers your guard a little? I remember a long time ago I was petrified of anything containing alcohol, even food cooked with a small amount of wine or beer, anything containing certain kinds of vinegar, Christmas pudding, etc etc. I used to put myself and my family crazy reading ingredients and stuff, and looking back, do I really want to be like that? I don't think I do..

Now I'm not like that at all, but even before the NA beer I wasn't as extreme, as years went on I got more relaxed. Now I'll eat food containing small amounts of alcohol, I'll drink non alcoholic beer and even one low alcohol beer. I used to go over it in my head, am I justifying something? But I really don't think I am. I think I consider myself 'cured' of my alcohol problem. But what I drank is either alcohol free or contains so little alcohol I'll not get any effect from it. Everyone is individual and I don't think I've a problem now. I can have one low alcohol beer and while a few sounds appealing, I can say, no I've had one, that's all I'm having. Years ago this would not have been the case.

Bottom line. I'd just be cautious, wouldn't advise it for everyone. Just my two cents.

DisplacedGRITS

I'll admit, i make chicken marsala with cooking sherry and cooking marsala. I cook the mushrooms in that kix for about 30 minutes. I don't taste any alcohol bite in it so i don't feel triggered. I also cook my risotto with cooking white wine too. Again, no bite, no trigger. I cook with nonalcoholic wine too and drink it. It's like complex juice to me. It's not for everyone but i like it. I think it's up to the individual. I did get to a point in my addiction where i drank the cooking wine. It was disgusting but hey, i didn't care back then. If i ever feel like i am wanting to drink it again, down the drain it will go. It's a little like having a loaded gun in the house so i am on guard but i'm not constantly aware of it like i used to be. As long as the obsession stays at bay, i will continue to use it. For me, it's all about how i feel about it. So far, so good but awareness of my perception of the wine is important.