thoughts on nonalcoholic beers
 

I have been sober for some time now and have changed my life completely because of it but I am going to a social event and I will not have anything to mess me up, but I work with another person who is sober 5 years now and she drinks these at social events anyone else do this. By social event I mean a getaway for 3 days I have no possible exit so I was wondering what you guys have to say about this.

Personally speaking I would ask, why drink a non alcoholic BEER? When there are lovely beautiful refreshing ' non beer' drinks which taste better? Non alcoholic beer tastes just awful!........ However everyone is different I guess!

There have been many threads about na beer. Most people seem to think it's opening the door to drinking real beer.

I was a wine drinker but never had a desire to drink na wines. I drank for the drunk, not for the taste.

Personally I avoid n/a beer as it is a gateway for me, and also I think it tastes vile. I much prefer the light fresh taste of fruity drinks now.

It seems to vary from person to person. It's about what YOU feel comfortable with.

You know, I realized in my outpatient support group that a good part of the addiction, at least for me, was the event. I was a social only drinker so take that for what it's worth, but the ritual of opening and drinking from a bottle or can was a huge trigger for me. I even had a hard time with lime flavored soda water as it reminded me too much of a gin and tonic.

I guess, for me, after 5 years, I didn't care so much about fitting in as I did about remaining happy and sober. I didn't care who noticed.

Just my thoughts...

I've never tried one and I never will because of something I witnessed about one year before I quit drinking.

I was with a coworker in another city for about 3 days on business. He had told me on the way up that he was not drinking and that I should do as I please while I was there and not to worry what he was doing. He was my boss. I would normally have dinner with him at least anyway and still planned to.

The first night we met a bunch of people at the same seminar at our hotel during happy hour to make plans for dinner. He ordered an O'Doul's. There were probably 8 people at our table. When the waitress brought the 2nd round, she forgot and brought him a regular beer. I watched him look at it and make a very half hearted attempt to get her attention. And then he drank it. I ran into him about 6 hours later as I was closing down the hotel bar. He was hammered.

I'll never order an NA beer. It's just playing with fire in my mind.

Yeah I thought I liked the taste at the time but it wasn't the flavor I had a taste for.

Personally I think it's like playing with matches around a gas pump. But if you'll search for and read other threads on this subject, there are some folks with years of sobriety who drink them. You still seem to be getting your feet firmly planted under your recovery somewhat, so my personal advice would be to steer clear and stick with sodas or juices.

That is cool that you are making this trip with someone else with long term sobriety though. Have you talked to this person about your not drinking? They might be good to lean on during this getaway.

Beer was my weapon of choice to get started every single day before finishing the job with 90 proof bourbon. In my half hearted attempts to quit in the past I tried NA beer. The ONLY thing it did for me was make me crave real beer and crave it bad. Everyone is different but if you really enjoyed drinking beer in the past it could potentially be a trigger. Hard to say. Everyone is unique.

Five months, I think I remember you posting. That's fantastic, but not very long for sobriety, not compared to how long you drank, I imagine.

I have almost five years sober and I would avoid a three-day, drinking centric "social event" like the plague.

What other people do is none of my business Kernel :)

I think you should think about a definite plan for this getaway tho - what to say if you're offered a drink, how you'll deal with cravings, what support systems you have in place if you need it...and escape plan, even if it's only to take a walk or to go back to your room is it all gets too much - stuff like that?

and no I never touch the NA stuff now. Too many old behaviours. It made me miss the real thing.

D

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In my first attempts of recovery I'd drink NA beer every week, but now I dont see the point of doing that as I dont want to keep remembering the taste of beer and I guess that was the only reason I was doing that, to remember what beer tasted like, it's not helpful for recovery.

I'm feeling good about the 3 day weekend I'm not going to start again at day 1 Tues. I need to get out and socialize. The consensus is NA beer is a bad idea. Thanks for the responses

1. NA beer is God-awful.
2. All it does for me is make me want real beer.
3. Ginger ale is yummy.

QED

sparkling water with lemon is more refreshing!

Drinking beer was part of my old life not part of the new

I prefer Cocca a Cola to NA beer any day. I did start drinking NA as I actually did think I liked the taste of beer, but wouldn't thank you for it now and agree that it is the act of drinking it that could lead you back down that path!

Here is an interesting article about NA beer and alcoholism:

The Dangers of Non-Alcoholic Beer

Non-Alcoholic Beer does taste bad. I have try it before but would not enjoy it and switch to the real stuff.

I guess I can be the one lone voice crying out in the wilderness. Yes, from time I've been known to have an NA Malt beverage.

My preferred libations are French Market Coffee, Constant Comment Tea, milk, Coke, Pepsi, and Orange Crush, but I'll have a NA from time to time, too (this, going back to my first weeks of sobriety/recovery.....and many of my recovered friends do the same.

...and btw, I have never been triggered to have a real beer. I believe those who have been are just self-fulfilling prophesies.

(o:
NoelleR