birwin91

Just a general sort of question to the universe of this online forum, how do people feel about non-alcoholic beers and wines, and also about foods that have alcohol in them? Are they a safe alternative, or have people found them too tempting, too close to home and that it's just too close of a step to falling off the wagon?
I've a few parties coming up and I thought it might be an idea to try and join in with everyone with some non-alcoholic wine, but I'm curiously cautious about the muscle memory of the action of drinking. Anyone any experience?

DreamCatcher17

Non-alcoholic beer is for just that a non-alcoholic.
I can tell you I drank to get drunk, not because I liked the taste.
Also, NA beer brought me back to full-blown alcoholism.

I do not NA anything.

I will eat food that has alcohol in it.
1. I am not going to get drunk, that is not my intention, and there is not enough to even get a buzz.
2. If I want to enjoy a nice meal that has brandy or wine cooked it in, so be it.
3. I do not cook with alcohol, because I do not want it in my home.
4. I dont like the smell of alcohol at all, so I dont really order anything made with alcohol.
5. There is an amazing dressing at a restaurant in town that has tequila, I eat that salad a few times a week. There are 5 shots of tequila in it, in a 5-gallon bucket... So that is like a drop.

To each their own. IT is just not my style.

doggonecarl

Until you can join in with a coke or tea or sparkling water--as opposed to trying to fit in with fake wine--skip the parties.

Your sobriety will thank me later.

NerfThis

I have no issue with alcohol in food. I still add wine to some pasta sauces and I enjoy the flavour it adds to the food. It doesn't cause me to want to drink.

I don't drink non alcoholic beer or wine. I didn't drink to get drunk on every occasion before I quit. I did actually enjoy the taste of many drinks and had them because of the flavour, not the buzz, but I've had too many out of control weekend binges to continue drinking anything at all. Drinks imitating alcohol and consumed socially would only reconnect me with drinking alcohol, which would lead to many more alcoholic binges that I certainly do NOT enjoy.

It won't make you 'fit in' any more to drink fake booze than it would to drink cola, so there's no point taking the risk.

Anna

I stayed away from places and people involving alcohol for many months, until I felt comfortable. This is how much alcohol remains in cooked food:

15 minutes 40%
30 minutes 35%
1 hour 25%
1.5 hours 20%
2 hours 10%
2.5 hours 5%

birwin91

Thanks so much for the replies, this is exactly what I need to hear. I went to a birthday last week and stuck to water and left early, I think that will be my game plan going forward, and if it gets too much, just leave!

MindfulMan

It's personal.

Some won't have the slightest hint of alcohol, no food cooked with wine, etc.

I cook with wine. I also have wine in the house for guests, it's left over from my collection which I'm slowly pouring for people or giving away as gifts (some of it is very pricey). BTW non-alcoholic wine is NASTY. Not worth it.

I drink NA beer only when I'm eating Asian food, and not all the time. It's just that I've not found any flavor of beverage that really goes with Asian food other than beer. So in this case, I am drinking it purely for the taste.

Everyone is different. I'm pretty secure in my sobriety, others may just not want to take that chance. Both are valid choices.

I never drink NA beer in social situations to "fit in" or anything like that. I don't give AF. If anyone asks point blank, I tell them I'm sober. Otherwise I say I don't drink. If someone asks why, my stock answer is I just don't like it anymore.

Dee74

I'm another who won't drink NA beer or cook with alcohol.
I really enjoy the vast array of other alternatives and its such an infinitesimally small thing to do without

D

GroundhogDay

This^^^^

I tried it once. I stick to sparkling water now.

MissOverIt

Hi there. I don’t drink N/A beer or wine but know many people who do and enjoy it. I just don’t think about them and am happy with soda water or virgin cocktails. I love a variety of food cooked with alcohol and it’s never a trigger for me. It’s a totally different planet than drinking to get drunk.

bexxed

After a very good amount of time sober, I had NA beer. I didn’t like it. Then much later someone turned me onto another kind and I did like it. I very occasionally drink one, after getting sweaty doing yard work or something like that. I like it for the taste. I never drink that stuff in social situations. I don’t want to fit in with drunk people. NA wine is something I tasted before sobriety. It is legitimately disgusting. I don’t cook with alcohol but if something is cooked, like, cooked down, I will eat it. If I taste alcohol I spit it out. Alcohol tastes like danger to me now.