non alcoholic beer good idea or bad
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 25
Originally Posted by heath480 
If you are hoping to stay sober in the future avoid non-alcoholic beer.
1. Staying sober has nothing to do with "hope". You just don't drink, period, full stop.
2. A true non-alcoholic brew will not, of itself, cause one to lose their state of sobriety.
I'm not powerless over alcohol. No bottle of Scotch ever stalked me. I had to go to the liquor store and purchase it. Just sayin'.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Bklyn. NY
Posts: 1,859
Just tried to quote someone I agreed with, but their post was removed... So I guess I need to be careful here.
IMO, drinking non alcoholic beer to deal with cravings is a horrible idea. It's playing with fire, and from what I've seen and heard from the people around me, more often than not when using it as such, it will lead to drinking again.
On the flip side of that, I have no problem whatsoever drinking non alcoholic beer. Didn't do it though until I was sober for a while, and never did it to beat a craving for the real thing. Did/do it for the same reason I drink a coke once in a while, because I like the taste. I can have a six pack in my fridge for months... It doesn't talk to me in any way whatsoever.
I haven't read all the responses here, but I'm going to guess someone has said non alcoholic beers are for non alcoholics. I find that to be incredibly obnoxious, and untrue as that would imply that regular beer IS then for alcoholics. There is less alcohol in NA beer than there is in a glass of OJ. Physically, it isn't a threat. Mentally it is. If I felt it was a threat in any way, I wouldn't do it. Everyone has to however decide that for themselves as we're all obviously wired differently. My $.02.
IMO, drinking non alcoholic beer to deal with cravings is a horrible idea. It's playing with fire, and from what I've seen and heard from the people around me, more often than not when using it as such, it will lead to drinking again.
On the flip side of that, I have no problem whatsoever drinking non alcoholic beer. Didn't do it though until I was sober for a while, and never did it to beat a craving for the real thing. Did/do it for the same reason I drink a coke once in a while, because I like the taste. I can have a six pack in my fridge for months... It doesn't talk to me in any way whatsoever.
I haven't read all the responses here, but I'm going to guess someone has said non alcoholic beers are for non alcoholics. I find that to be incredibly obnoxious, and untrue as that would imply that regular beer IS then for alcoholics. There is less alcohol in NA beer than there is in a glass of OJ. Physically, it isn't a threat. Mentally it is. If I felt it was a threat in any way, I wouldn't do it. Everyone has to however decide that for themselves as we're all obviously wired differently. My $.02.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Chicago
Posts: 88
I have found that drinking soda has helped me with cravings. Especially in the summer when it is hot outside and I wanted a cold one. The carbonation in soda actually helped me simmer down my urges.
Now, I really do not crave Liquor or Wine. When I think about alcohol, it is usually Beer. I am only 7 months sober, but I hope my cravings go away gradually.
What I mean to say is, NA beer is not a good idea. No beer is truly NA. There is always a residue left. I do not want to get technical here but alcohol and water form an azeotrope and that is why you can never get 100% alcohol by just distillation. Similarly, if you cook with alcohol you can never truly get rid of all the alcohol unless you flambe it.
I go to Soccer bars now and am able to watch the Soccer game for 2 hours just drinking Soda. But it has taken me a while. I will not even TRY NA beer, because for me it is the same as drinking Beer. I crave not just the alcohol, but also the taste of Beer. It is very easy to see me convincing my alcoholic self after a couple of NA beers that: "Hey, I can handle it as long it is JUST Beers!"
My sober self is infinitely better than what it was when I came in. I am not going to jeopardize it by dicking around.
Now, I really do not crave Liquor or Wine. When I think about alcohol, it is usually Beer. I am only 7 months sober, but I hope my cravings go away gradually.
What I mean to say is, NA beer is not a good idea. No beer is truly NA. There is always a residue left. I do not want to get technical here but alcohol and water form an azeotrope and that is why you can never get 100% alcohol by just distillation. Similarly, if you cook with alcohol you can never truly get rid of all the alcohol unless you flambe it.
I go to Soccer bars now and am able to watch the Soccer game for 2 hours just drinking Soda. But it has taken me a while. I will not even TRY NA beer, because for me it is the same as drinking Beer. I crave not just the alcohol, but also the taste of Beer. It is very easy to see me convincing my alcoholic self after a couple of NA beers that: "Hey, I can handle it as long it is JUST Beers!"
My sober self is infinitely better than what it was when I came in. I am not going to jeopardize it by dicking around.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 3,550
Not a good idea, particularly in early recovery. Depending on the person involved, it is likely to trigger the AV in the midbrain, and to the AV it's like an old race horse smelling the track. "Hey! Beer! Way to go!" Then "What's the matter? No Buzz? Let's get some Buzz! One regular beer won't matter! Well maybe two! Well why not a shot of something with a beer chaser!" So it's down the slippery slope!
NA beer may be a teaser to get the AV going. Don't mess with the Beast!
W.
NA beer may be a teaser to get the AV going. Don't mess with the Beast!
W.
AlmA
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Marbella Spain
Posts: 714
Hi zombiegirl
I find NA Beer helps me a lot... I can not stand sugar and chemical drinks...
And like the taste of beer...and is full of vitamins
Plus people think I drink and live me alone...
WARNING:
The 0'0 BEER is completely free of alcohol...
But the WITHOUT ALCOHOL BEER does have some...
I do not know in your country how they are called.
If it is free drink as much as you like
I find NA Beer helps me a lot... I can not stand sugar and chemical drinks...
And like the taste of beer...and is full of vitamins
Plus people think I drink and live me alone...
WARNING:
The 0'0 BEER is completely free of alcohol...
But the WITHOUT ALCOHOL BEER does have some...
I do not know in your country how they are called.
If it is free drink as much as you like
Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Central Massachusetts
Posts: 2,051
Originally Posted by KateL
I love the word pop. and I love pop. I am having a cool pepsi max as we speak
and I love pop. I am having a cool pepsi max as we speak The Pop vs. Soda Page
Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Indiana
Posts: 706
Originally Posted by KateL
I love the word pop. and I love pop. I am having a cool pepsi max as we speak
and I love pop. I am having a cool pepsi max as we speak Zube
Kaleidoscope eyes
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: London
Posts: 5,243
Originally Posted by Johnston
More of a western US term, but I think it's pretty cute too. This site shows how the terms soda, pop, coke are used throughout the US.
The Pop vs. Soda Page
The Pop vs. Soda Page
Kaleidoscope eyes
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: London
Posts: 5,243
shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy rock,
shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy rock
I met a girlfriend- a triscuit,
she said a triscuit-a biscuit,
ice cream soda pop
vanilla on the top
oooo Shalida, walking down the street,
ten times a week
I meant it. I said it.
I stole my mama's credit.
I'm cool. I'm hot.
Sock you in the stomach three more times.
Reminds me of a song from one of my favourite films - Big - I'm such a child!
shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy rock
I met a girlfriend- a triscuit,
she said a triscuit-a biscuit,
ice cream soda pop
vanilla on the top
oooo Shalida, walking down the street,
ten times a week
I meant it. I said it.
I stole my mama's credit.
I'm cool. I'm hot.
Sock you in the stomach three more times.
Reminds me of a song from one of my favourite films - Big - I'm such a child!
Mini Novel Post Writer
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Maine
Posts: 3,649
About the only way that N/A beer would work for you is if you are drinking it for the taste and not the buzz and you're being completely honest with yourself about that fact. It can be done but my prior statement is of the utmost importance. Being realistic, how many people are 100% honest with themselves when they're in recovery about anything that has to do with alcohol?
With that being said on my 2nd attempt to quit long term that failed I can say this. I drank N/A beer trying to fill the big gaping hole that I was missing from not being able to drink. I thought it would squelch the craving. On the contrary, not only did it fail to satisfy me it made that big, gaping hole ten times worse than it was. I'm not kidding.
I would liken it to being extremely thirsty and having someone put a glass of water up to your lips. Then, just as you're about to take a sip of the nice cool water they pull it away. Now imagine that feeling over and over and over again. That's the feeling that you get when you drink N/A beer when you're not being honest with yourself about why you're drinking it. Sheer torture. You can't fool yourself and it becomes very apparent when that buzz isn't kicking in. It's like craving seafood and eating steak to try to satisfy yourself.
I wouldn't recommend it to anyone in early sobriety or to anyone who isn't totally and absolutely ecstatic that they can still drink without the buzz. Again, honesty is key, TRUE honesty.
With that being said on my 2nd attempt to quit long term that failed I can say this. I drank N/A beer trying to fill the big gaping hole that I was missing from not being able to drink. I thought it would squelch the craving. On the contrary, not only did it fail to satisfy me it made that big, gaping hole ten times worse than it was. I'm not kidding.
I would liken it to being extremely thirsty and having someone put a glass of water up to your lips. Then, just as you're about to take a sip of the nice cool water they pull it away. Now imagine that feeling over and over and over again. That's the feeling that you get when you drink N/A beer when you're not being honest with yourself about why you're drinking it. Sheer torture. You can't fool yourself and it becomes very apparent when that buzz isn't kicking in. It's like craving seafood and eating steak to try to satisfy yourself.
I wouldn't recommend it to anyone in early sobriety or to anyone who isn't totally and absolutely ecstatic that they can still drink without the buzz. Again, honesty is key, TRUE honesty.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 3,550
LadyBlue:
I agree with your views about N/A beer except that the point, as I see it, is not so much about "honesty" or about what another post suggested, whether the particular N/A beer was O-O in alcohol or contained a slight amount of alcohol. The problem is that drinking any N/A beer amounts to teasing the "beast" within, enraging the primitive midbrain, as if to say (referring to alcohol) "This is what it tastes, like, smells like! Don't you wish it gave you a buzz! Well you ain't gettin' a buzz! So eat your heart out!" This is a very dangerous game to play with the Beast! It's got ways of getting out of its cage that you may not have discovered yet! A person takes a big chance with sobriety by doing this.
W.
I agree with your views about N/A beer except that the point, as I see it, is not so much about "honesty" or about what another post suggested, whether the particular N/A beer was O-O in alcohol or contained a slight amount of alcohol. The problem is that drinking any N/A beer amounts to teasing the "beast" within, enraging the primitive midbrain, as if to say (referring to alcohol) "This is what it tastes, like, smells like! Don't you wish it gave you a buzz! Well you ain't gettin' a buzz! So eat your heart out!" This is a very dangerous game to play with the Beast! It's got ways of getting out of its cage that you may not have discovered yet! A person takes a big chance with sobriety by doing this.
W.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 17
For me personally, the hardest part of quitting drinking has been not experiencing the delicious flavors that certain beers have. The problem is that 1>10>20>Pass out and do it again! So I made the sacrifice as you have, and good job! A time before when I wasn't 100 percent comfortable with wanting to be sober, I had decided that if I wasn't going to drink, I was going to drink something that looks and kind of tastes like beer. Yeah, it worked for a little bit, but then I found myself buying 12 packs of them, and drinking more each night, until finally I wanted to "control" my intake by drinking 2 alcohol beers, which the next night turned into three, the next 5...you know how the rest goes. This is not to say you will have the same reactions, but if you're like me and mentally have sewn drinking profusely every night into your routine, drinking NA beer is just mimicking your habit. Or harmlessly having a fake beer while hanging out with your friends somewhere. Again, this is not to say it doesn't work with you. I just have noticed how much of a creature of habit I became with my drinking, and don't want anything to bring me back there.
I have a suggestion for you. Seltzer water. Now instead of my beer fridge full of beer, it's full of soda water. It has zero calories, you can pound it back like beer, and if you seriously want to blend in with drinking friends, it will make you pee just as much as them hahaha. The difference being that while they progressively get sloppier, you maintain a clear head and make (hopefully) make good decisions. You also stay hydrated, unlike everyone else who will wake up dehydrated and hungover. When I started at first, I was drinking them like I was drinking beer, so I was going through like 20 a night haha. Then it tapered off, because my brain realized that I wasn't getting a buzz from all of this, so the impulse to drink profusely fizzled away, and now I drink 4-6 a night, and it's because I'm thirsty, not to satisfy an urge.
Regardless of what decision you make, it ultimately is up to you to know yourself and your weaknesses. Good luck, and I hope that you remain sober and motivated to keep bettering yourself!
I have a suggestion for you. Seltzer water. Now instead of my beer fridge full of beer, it's full of soda water. It has zero calories, you can pound it back like beer, and if you seriously want to blend in with drinking friends, it will make you pee just as much as them hahaha. The difference being that while they progressively get sloppier, you maintain a clear head and make (hopefully) make good decisions. You also stay hydrated, unlike everyone else who will wake up dehydrated and hungover
. When I started at first, I was drinking them like I was drinking beer, so I was going through like 20 a night haha. Then it tapered off, because my brain realized that I wasn't getting a buzz from all of this, so the impulse to drink profusely fizzled away, and now I drink 4-6 a night, and it's because I'm thirsty, not to satisfy an urge.Regardless of what decision you make, it ultimately is up to you to know yourself and your weaknesses. Good luck, and I hope that you remain sober and motivated to keep bettering yourself!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: uk
Posts: 473
Originally Posted by KateL
I am from London but we use the term up North. That's where my family originate from so I use it.
I'm from Yorkshire in the uk and it's what we have always called soda.
Xxxx
It's like when we call sweets spice
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 3,550
Another alternative is tomato juice, possibly with quite a lot of Worcester sauce and/or Tabasco. There would be no indication that the Vodka or Gin has been omitted. Same thing with Quinine Water. Add plenty of lemon or lime juice. Again, this may tease the inner Beast if it's used to gin and tonic or a bloody mary. Discretion along these lines is advised. The key is the conditioning (Pavlov's Dog) during the alcoholic episodes, i.e. what the Beast has been accustomed to associate with alcohol. Avoid that whatever it is. Many alcoholics have run the gamut of alcohol containing liquids- cough and cold medicines, even vanilla extract.
The issues are different with regard to meth., crack, prescription pills. There the simple answer is to abstain and avoid places where people are using.
W.
The issues are different with regard to meth., crack, prescription pills. There the simple answer is to abstain and avoid places where people are using.
W.
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