thoughts on non-alcoholic beer
 

i am day six of sobriety. yesterday i picked up some non-alcoholic beer and drank 2 at home last night. i just got in and am having another today. is this an ok thing to do or am I fooling myself down a slippery slope? btw adespite bfeeling incredibly tired at nite, i am feel amazing 6 days into this.

My feelings on non-alcoholic beer are the same as my feelings for Diet Coke and decaf coffee. Why bother? It does nothing and it makes me think about the real thing.

Me too...

I think NA beer is a good way to leave the door open.

There are a gajillion tasty beverages that are non-alcoholic and don't taste like alcohol (and even have lots of great health benefits) - including WATER. Why am I gonna drink something that tastes vaguely like the most awful cheap beer I ever drank and will only tantalize my addicted brain to keep longing and yearning for the 'real thing' - when I have chosen a joyous, sober life.

Nope. Not this guy.

I don't think a single person out there had their first sip of beer and said, "wow, this tastes wonderful!"

I'd celebrate my sobriety in a different way by looking for something that tastes wonderful the first time without making you think of what you wish you could be drinking instead

Personally I stay clear as I never drank beer for the taste and also I want to dissociate myself from alcohol completely.

It wasn't good for me, my AV said hey you are paying the same amount so why not the same thing, that led to a long relapse after months of sobriety.

no need for additional comments

Not a recommended drink by (most) in recovery.
Mountainman

Many of us that are successful in our recovery
and sobriety life will share that non alcoholic
beer does have a small percentage of alcohol in it.

For many of us any amount of alcohol consumed
in our bodies, our system is not being sober.

Recovery from addiction to alcohol require
complete abstinence. No percent of a controlled
substance entering our bodies that would
affect out minds, motor skills and is not being
completely honest in living a free alcohol life.

For me to drink non alcohol beer or beverage
that says that, reading the label thoroughly
and understanding exactly what it means, I
know that to drink it, I would be fooling myself,
tempting myself and setting myself up for
what really lies before me.

Relapse.

Slowing returning to a full blow alcoholic
that could and would destroy me.

I don't play with fire because I know it
will burn me. So to continue to move
forward in my 25 yrs sobriety, I adhere
to all the knowledge of my addiction
taught to me yrs ago and continue to
apply important steps and principles
of a recovery program that continues
to work for me each day I remain sober,
healthy, happy and honest.

Seems like sobriety is the most important part of this equation and if that helps you stay sober and you know you can never drink again, then it is okay. There is no one set formula for recovery except for not drinking alcohol. What you may find is that helps you stay sober in the beginning and as you get more time under your belt, you do not need it anymore. Who knows.

That being said, I am a newbie and I'll defer to those with more time under their belt. Just my $0.02.

Beer of any kind is part of my past life not part of my new

I would drink them in the first few months after getting sober, but now even If I drink a 0,05% NA beer (there is no "zero" alcohol NA beer) I get cravings, my body became very sensitive to alcohol I guess, so I stopped.

Really simple ''non alcoholic drinks are for non alcoholics ''

I never drank wine for the taste, I drank it to get drunk. So NA wine holds no interest for me.

I have nice NA beer sometimes with food to "match" the dish--like with Chicago hot dogs.

But, I didn't even consider buying it until I was a good year sober.
Less than a week sober, I think you are setting yourself up for relapse.

I agree with the comments. My drink of choice was wine, I dont miss the taste of wine at all. I dont care for the taste. I drank to get drunk and I believe drinking non-alcoholic wine would be pointless for me, and I would want the feeling of being tipsy. I find this would be very dangerous for me so I would never drink it. I honestly dont understand why people drink one or two glasses of any alcoholic drink either, if you are not getting at least tipsy, whats the point? This clearly proves to me that I am an alcoholic and Im glad for this realization.

Don't do it! Sounds like a terrible idea. Drink some lemonade or something. Much tastier. Eventually you are going to be having a bad day and think "Maybe I will just drink a few of the regular ones" and before you know it you are right back where you left off. How important is your sobriety to you? Mine is very important to me and I'm not going to risk it by drinking non alcoholic beer.

I'll be the lone dissenter here. I actually enjoy the taste of beer, even though my alcohol of choice is/was wine, and I don't think having a NA beer is an issue. For me, at least. There is no more alcohol in NA beer than in many other beverages/foods. I've found that St. Pauli Girl N/A is the best tasting, it has that rich hoppy flavor that's missing in many NA beers. Different people will have different opinions on N/A beer....do what works for you.

I couldn't be bothered buying it, and think it still has the ring of *attachment* to beer. Maybe it could set you up for relapse, but everyone's different.

I just can't see the point. I'd feel like a dork drinking that stuff, it looks a bit sad. Same as NA wine, tastes lousy, costs, and looks sad. Why bother?

There are some really refreshing drinks out there, but I don't see anything intrinsically wrong with it.

Fantastic that your 6 days have been so good.

Im quite the fan of Ginger Beer, Root Beer not so much.
:lmao