Non alcoholic beer ????
 

Good idea or not?

I have been enjoying one or two becks blue this week while sober. Is this just compiling my desire for beer in the future, Or a good substitute to help kick the habit?

There's been many threads about this subject. Most say it's a bad idea cause it often leads to getting 'the real thing'.

I don't drink NA wine cause I never drank wine for the taste, just to get drunk.

Universal opinion is that it is not a good idea. But for me, it has worked out pretty well.

I force myself to think that it is the real thing since it tastes the same and provides bubbly hydration. But since I am not getting the same effect , my mind is now tricked into thinking that beer does nothing to me (very similar to sinclair method). So quickly losing interest in any kind of beer (alc/non alc) after about 2 weeks.

Just my experience - again, popular opinion is contrary.

You've probably confirmed what I already knew. But I suppose no harm done

Thanks

Thanks. Food for thought calmself

In my opinion, definitely not.

In my experience it was the former - always led me back to regular beer eventually.

NA drinks are a very common topic around here, and while there is no definitive answer the best thing do to is look at your motives. I drank NA beer for a time and drank it just like I did my regular beer -obsesivelsy: sneaking around, trying to calculate how many I could drink before I actually felt some alcohol effect ( there is a small amount of alcohol remember).

Bottom line it's your choice - but if you had to come and ask, that probably tells you something right there - no?

Depends.

Do you think injecting saline instead of heroin or smoking fake crack would be good substitutes for addicts of those substances trying to kick the habit?

NA beer comes in the same "kind" of bottles or cans that beer comes in. Same cold feel in the hand, same condensation drops forming on the outside, same malt smell, same carbonated bite, marketed like beer, and so on...

No, NA beer was not a good substitute for this alcoholic.

Wanted to add, with hundreds of alcohol-free beverages to choose from, why pick a fake beer?

least, Scott and doggonecarl have much more experience with this thing. I would suggest you follow their thoughts, as they know the pros and cons better.

I switched from beer to sparkling water, and for me that's been enough of a break to not remind me of beer, and yet also to give me something refreshing to drink.

It hasn't awakened any cravings. Quite the opposite in fact: when I'm cooking, which was always a time I'd drink, I'll occasionally crave a beer. Turning to the sparkling water helps make the crave die away.

non crack crack- good idea for an ex crackhead or not?

My usual reply if you need to ask don’t do it.
Early in recovery, the best thing is to avoid any possible triggers.
The harsh reality is the world doesn’t give up drinking when we do.
Any type of social gatherings, I make sure to have a full stomach and a soda, tea
Or some other drink to avoid the constant asking me if I need a drink.

Never tried, I'm still early on in recovery but I couldn't think of anything worse.

I never liked the taste of beer, I just drank it for it's effect. There are a million nicer tasting drinks to have. Why risk drinking something which is identical to an alcoholic beverage? IMO it's asking for trouble. Soft drinks, tea, coffee, mocktails, so many better tastier choices out there.

There is no way I would ever drink a NA beer.

What's the point? I drank beer to get drunk, not enjoy the taste. I don't need to take that risk.

I drank NA 7 years ago when I first thought about getting sober. I drank a 12 pack and then went to captain because it wasn't doing what I wanted it to, being drunk!

I choose not to drink NA- I don't want to relapse.

I agree with Zebra. Beer was for getting drunk. I didn’t sit there and “enjoy” the taste so much that I drank 16-20 in a sitting. For me, there is no point to drink it. NA beer is just a bunch of empty carbs with no health benefits. Plus, I donated enough money to these beer companies over the years. They will never get another cent from me.

Not a beer drinker myself. Being an alcoholic I would probably drink anything that has alcohol in it, but that asides, I hate beer. I was dating a recovering alcoholic once and for a celebratory occasion he bought non alcoholic bubbly wine. It was not very good. But it could be a trigger. It was not. It was a sweet gesture by my boyfriend at the time but we went back to our usual cranberry juice with tonic water or sparkling water. And a little bit of lime and lemon. As pointed out above, there are so many beverages available, find your thing!

it's all about the behaviour for me
 

My experience is I don't drink NA beer because it looked like beer, felt like a can of beer, it smelt like beer, it had that same condensation thing on the can like a beer, the same fizz and foam when you pop the can, tasted like beer (kinda)....

Then I'd wonder why I'd go out everytime and get 'real' beer.
I was still knee deep in old behaviours, and didn't even realise it.

As a former beer drinker I know it ticks all the boxes for me, and opens the door to old behaviour and old thought paterns.

I don't recommend it.

I don't need to know but maybe ask yourself why would you choose NA beer when there's so many other things to drink, though?

Is it really the taste of a beer you want, or are there other things happening here as well?

D
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Can't tell you for sure. On a concious level the taste.

I used to think that too... but I can look back now and remember times I drank beer with ciggy butts in it, so maybe taste wasn't quite the hallmark I thought I was for me? :)

D