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If you drink a NA beer, is it....
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Rumor
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Aug 16, 2011, 06:16 PM
 
Considered a relapse or some other negative consequence if you are in AA?
I like my water with hops, malt, hops, yeast, and hops.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Aug 16, 2011, 07:05 PM
 
Note: there is no "non-alcoholic" beer. They all contain trace amounts (0.2% or so).
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Aug 16, 2011, 07:06 PM
 
"pathetic"
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
     
Rumor  (op)
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Aug 16, 2011, 07:08 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Note: there is no "non-alcoholic" beer. They all contain trace amounts (0.2% or so).
Forgot to mention that I am aware of that. Here it is usually 0.5%.
I like my water with hops, malt, hops, yeast, and hops.
     
CollinG3G4
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Aug 16, 2011, 07:37 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Note: there is no "non-alcoholic" beer. They all contain trace amounts (0.2% or so).
Save your money. Just mix carbonated water and baking soda for a refreshing alcohol-free beer.
     
turtle777
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Aug 16, 2011, 07:38 PM
 
I can count the consumption of NA on one hand.
It's not worth it.

I might as well get a soft drink (like Bud Light, Miller, Coors).



-t
     
Uncle Skeleton
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Aug 16, 2011, 07:42 PM
 
North American? Narcotics Anonymous? No Acronyms?
     
turtle777
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Aug 16, 2011, 07:44 PM
 
non-alcoholic

-t
     
phantomdragonz
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Aug 16, 2011, 11:12 PM
 
Yes
     
Rumor  (op)
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Aug 16, 2011, 11:31 PM
 
So the back story:

A girl ordered a NA beer, and I carded her. My co-worker asked why I carded and I told her that NA beers contain about 0.5% alcohol, therefore someone has to be 21+. Then I mentioned to her that some people in AA think they can drink NA beers, but it actually violates their sobriety. Girl takes finishes her order and sits down with her friends. A little while later she comes up to me and ask if I know Bill W. I told her I know a lot of people and she would have to be more specific. She said something along the lines of you obviously don't know him. Okay. Right before she leaves, she comes up to the bar and hands me a note. I didn't get to read it until after she was gone.

Originally Posted by 22 yo AA girl
Dear Sir,

I am a sober member of AA. I drink "non-alcoholic" beer. It does not violate my program. In AA, the question regarding drinking is intent. One would have to drink about 20 "non-a" beers to get drunk. In AA it's not considered a relapse to drink "non-a" beer. I would appreciate you not perpetuating lies about programs you don't understand. Thanks.
Here is the kicker, I've been to AA. It was required when I got a DUI. Twice a week for six months. If you go 30, 60, 90 days and then drink a NA beer, you are back to square one. Regardless of "intent", NA beer contains alcohol. You drink it, you are no longer on a sobriety stretch.

Sadly, she didn't want to have a discussion with me, and instead left a letter and ran. One thing that surprised me is that she is 22 and in AA. While not unheard of, it is uncommon. Second, the way she wrote her letter (underlines and quotation marks are hers) makes it sound like she is trying to convince herself that she is not cheating by drinking NA beer.
I like my water with hops, malt, hops, yeast, and hops.
     
Shaddim
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Aug 17, 2011, 01:04 AM
 
Our AA around here doesn't consider NA beer as falling off the wagon, though it is some truly ghastly stuff. Maybe it's a regional thing?
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
     
Spheric Harlot
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Aug 17, 2011, 01:32 AM
 
Ghastly? There's some fairly decent ones from German breweries.

Fairly.
     
Paco500
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Aug 17, 2011, 05:05 AM
 
Lot's of drinks contain trace amounts of alcohol, not just NA beer- mostly fruit juices. Also cooking spray, ketchup, many tomato based sauces (even on pizza).

I have a friend who is a recovering alcoholic, to my knowledge, he's not had a "real" drink in over 15 years. He does, however, drink NA beer pretty regularly.

I don't know about AA - he went to one meeting and never went back (he's a rare individual with unbelievable self-control), but I think intent should be considered. I think if I were a recovering alcoholic, I would avoid it. I could see telling myself that it's just a bit of alcohol, so no foul- and that went well, so no big step up to near beer 2% or so, and then just moving up until it was everclear. But that's just me.
     
ghporter
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Aug 17, 2011, 06:58 AM
 
Enforcement of "over 21" for nonalcoholic beer is inconsistent; the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's rules are not at all clear on what constitutes or who is qualified to buy beer labeled "non-alcoholic," and I've seen completely opposite situations in the same restaurant in visits only days apart. At 20, my son liked O'Doul's and ordered it at a chain steak restaurant, and was served without question, but a couple of days later the (different from the first) waiter carded him and (rather loudly) pointed out that beer was beer and he wasn't going to serve someone under 21 any kind of beer. Lovely behavior, almost like he expected the older dude at the table (me) to be a TABC agent or something, and he wasn't going to flunk the test.

"Friends of Bill W" is a very open code phrase for AA. Bill W, Bill Wilson, was the founder of AA and is usually credited with formalizing the 12 step program. With that said, it's obvious that the girl asked if Rumor was an AA member, and once she found he wasn't, she took him less seriously. I hope she at least brought the situation to her sponsor's attention.

In a lot of ways, it's not the minimal alcohol consumption that is at the heart of this issue. Instead, it's "putting one's self into a situation" that can lead to backsliding. Bars and eateries that serve alcohol are not good places for alcoholics, because the social situation is in itself "part of the problem," just as hanging out with a bunch of druggies is a bad thing for recovering drug addicts. It would be different if she were having a cold NA beer with close friends while watching a movie at home-that's a very different social situation. But I think that someone who has had to admit that alcohol controls them, but who says "this beer really isn't beer" is on the proverbial "slippery slope" of hedging and qualifying... Some people can manage that sort of fine-edged distinction, but that sort of person usually doesn't need help to stop their abusive drinking.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
rambo47
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Aug 17, 2011, 09:30 AM
 
The best of the bunch IMHO is Buckler. I'll have one on rare occasions and don't feel like I'm drinking again (quit in 1988).
     
SSharon
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Aug 17, 2011, 09:52 AM
 
Interesting question. Have you tried contacting your local police department or liquor licensing department to get their take on the matter? I'm curious to know whether there is a legal threshold amount of alcohol that matters. I agree with everything Glenn said in his post regarding the social aspects being the problem.
AT&T iPhone 5S and 6; 13" MBP; MDD G4.
     
   
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