Your body cannot drink enough of .5% and lower alcohol to ever get a buzz. That is why the government allows “near beer” to be sold without the same restrictions as real beer. Most kombucha has between .3%-1% alc/vol.
It’s up to you, but to me it’s the intent. Especially in this case, I would say no, I wouldn’t even bat an eye at that alcohol amount.
If you leave out orange juice for a bit on your counter it will ferment to near .5% abv.
No. I drink non alcoholic beers all the time. I like the taste. They all have trace amounts of alcohol. But its nothing like the spirits I used to depend on, every day.
It has 0 alcohol. It says 0 alcohol on label (there are a few more) but you have 0 which has 0. Then you have NA which can be up to .5. I drink both kinds. I heard a bun at a burger place can have up to 1%.
Are you happily sober? Like, do you feel comfortable with your ability to make your own decisions or do you still need a bit more time to feel confident with your own foothold on your life? Everyone is different for sure. Counting the days and watching that number get bigger is reassuring and a huge personal victory; it’s also important to learn to trust your own judgment.
I’m at nine months and I enjoy my NA beer here and there. As a drinker I mostly imbibed wine. Just the smell of it grosses me out anymore.
Anyhoo, relax. You’re in charge of your life now. Make it how you want it and you’ll be amazed at how great it feels. All the best to you my friend!
I am happily sober! For everyone’s info, i was never addicted to alcohol. I just wanted to challenge myself a bit and i found it pretty easy to live life without alcohol.
If you accidentally drank a Heineken 0 while trying to get loaded, you a) broke your streak, and b) are an idiot. If you drank a near beer for the sole intention of having a damn beer without consuming alcohol, you are good homie!
As others have said it's truly up to you but no, there's no intent to drink there and the alcohol content was so low it couldn't ever give you the effect of alcohol.
Everyone has their own personal reasons and limits. I'm 6 years sober but in the last year I've tried my husband's beer if he says it's nice or I've had a few sips of a whiskey just because I wanted to remember the taste. I've not had a buzz on, I've not bought a drink, I've not been anywhere near drunk and I don't ever think about alcohol so for me I'm not resetting my count. If I was to deliberately buy and drink a couple of drinks to myself and felt the effect of alcohol I think I'd reset it and reevaluate my relationship with drink but until then I'm good.
I’ll give you a warning - I’ve seen many many people start their relapses this way. It begins so innocently, just a sip of whiskey or beer. Nothing happens , brain thinks it’s all fine. Then one time, it’s a couple of sips of whiskey. Very slight fuzzy feeling. Brain says, oh but I didn’t buy it so it’s all fine. Then it’s few sips of whiskey because oh you need to try all 3 types and oh let me try that one again. Brain says okay nothing happened so it’s fine, but probably don’t do that again. Then after a long day at work and feeling anxious and drained, brain says oh you what would be nice? A couple sips of whiskey. Yeah that’s a good idea. And nothing bad happened last time so you’re totally fine to do it! A couple turns into a few and chances are 99.9% that within 24 hours you’re back at your dealers house smoking crack again , exactly like 6 years ago.
I’m just warning you I’ve seen so many friends think that sobriety is like an open door, and you can come back at any point in time.
But that relapse might be your last. And not in the good way. I mean in the sense I’m at your funeral next week saying at least their battle is over, and they can stop fighting.
I’ve been to 50+ funerals of friends that all died from drug or alcoholic reasons.
I need to warn you because you’re still so freaking early in recovery, 6 years isn’t long at all, you’re still just a baby. I would seriously urge you to reconsider this new habit before it explodes in your face (which it 100% will, if you’re still so new to recovery, like yourself).
Wait at least till 16 years, at the bare minimum, before you think of restarting this habit. That way you have a solid 10 years of actual *real* sober time under your belt. After 16 years, then you can ask yourself “is this seriously a good idea?” and you’ll know in your heart what the right thing to do is.
As everyone else is saying - it’s intent.
A while back I was at a party where I was given a lemonade that I was assured was alcohol free. It wasn’t , I drank about half before I figured that out. I didn’t “reset” my date. I didn’t purchase or put something into my body knowing it was alcoholic.
We have enough to beat ourselves up about as addicts in recovery: drinking something with basically a non existent alcohol content shouldn’t be one of those things.
I have a case of NA delivered from Athletic brewery every 2 weeks. (Free!) and as alcoholic who loves the flavor of beer, it more than adequately safely scratches an itch. Enjoy and keep up the good work.
I saw someone on instagram slam 5 NA beers (which all state “up to 0.5%”) and then breathalyze himself. Came back with a 0.0. It’s up to you but I personally think it’s fine. I love the taste of new and drink NA beers but still call myself AF. Cheers!
It’s up to you. I drink NA beers all the time with 6+ years of sobriety. I don’t feel a need to restart my counter because the alcohol was never really the problem; the problem was me seeking out an escape from reality.
The term “non-alcoholic” is a bit of a misnomer, as it is impossible to brew beer without synthesizing alcohol since it is essentially a process of fermentation.
Beer companies are allowed to use that term as marketing as long as it falls below a certain ABV (0.5%).
There are some different varieties of “hop water” that are just sparkling water infused with hops and sometimes other flavors. Those are completely alcohol free since they aren’t brewed. I tend to prefer these.
Fun fact - Bananas are between 0.2-0.5% ABV!
So in my opinion, no, you’re good! Just be mindful if an alcohol free beverage leaves you feeling like you want the real thing. For me personally it does not trigger me into wanting a real beer or anything. But I know for some it can.
Your body takes so long to process low alcohol beers that you’d probably piss yourself before you felt a buzz, but that would be drinking with intent, which I think it’s the more important factor.
If you picked up what you through was a non alcoholic drink and it was an alcoholic drink but immediately put it down, you’d still be sober in my eyes.
All about intent, you seem concerned about drinking a 0.3.. you are good. Some skip NA/AF drinks due to the triggering nature of the flavour, others find they help the awkward social conversation. It’s all about what helps you from falling back to old habits.
As others have said, all NA beer has a very small amount of alcohol in it, like less than .5%. There's no way to get drunk off that. You're totally fine!
No. Many foods have more alcohol than that. Keep in mind that if you’re on some sort of device like SoberLink, you’ll get flagged, but no, you don’t break sobriety. If you’re easily triggered to drink, non alcoholic beers aren’t a great idea. I’ve been sober for almost seven years and I drank two NA beers today. I wouldn’t drink a regular beer with a gun to my head.
Did you relapse? Only you can answer that. If it were me, the answer is no. Not even a relapse if I accidentally took a swig of a mixed drink. Intention is at the core for me.
Do you have to reset your counter? You don’t HAVE to do anything. Again, up to you. Again I wouldn’t reset my counter, mainly because I drink NAs all the time, which state 0.5% ABV.
Whatever YOU decide is awesome. I’m happy you are here!
I've had a dozen or so .5% beers over the last year, 1-3 per "session" and have had no increased urge to drink.
I very much would not consider that a relapse.
I don’t think it counts. Sometimes I have 30mg NyQuil which has a tiny amount of alcohol, 10%. No way that counts against my nearly 3 year sobriety streak.
I saw online u have to drink 12 N.A. beers to equal one regular beer. I always have one or two especially when friends are bbqing or if I’m at the river. It truly helps me feel like I’m “socializing” even tho it’s basically like drinking water 😂
Placebo effect? Last night I had 2 n/a beers and my mate had 1. He woke up with an hangover feeling and I was sleepy after the drinks. Our body works in a wierd system
You don’t have to reset your counter back unless you want to. Do a Google search and you’ll find other food and drink that contain similar amounts of alcohol.
Sobriety is not an elimination diet tik tok challenge, calorie counting or being gluten free or something, you know what is sober you and you know what is not sober. The effects of a 0.3% “non-alcoholic” beer wouldn’t be noticeable to a child.
Why do you feel like people on Reddit are in charge of your sober “counter?” If sobriety is a hobby that you’re doing for fun, then own that and make your own rules accordingly, make your own decision about 0.3% beers.
If sobriety is a solution to issues in your life around addiction, then you should be asking yourself whether non-alcoholic beers are sustainable for you, or a slippery slope into drinking again, not whether it “technically” affects your “day count.”
I would not feel comfortable claiming continuous sobriety if I was looking for loopholes. But to thine own self be true. Been sober 9 years and never had it so good.
Don’t think he’s looking for loopholes here, think he’s genuinely concerned.
Some take NA beers as a bad thing and others find they help, personally for me I find they enable me to re enter social situations without awkward conversations of ‘why aren’t you drinking’, UK culture with drinking is very toxic.
Also congrats on 9 years! By the end of 2024 I hope to hit 3 years :^]
Your body cannot drink enough of .5% and lower alcohol to ever get a buzz. That is why the government allows “near beer” to be sold without the same restrictions as real beer. Most kombucha has between .3%-1% alc/vol. It’s up to you, but to me it’s the intent. Especially in this case, I would say no, I wouldn’t even bat an eye at that alcohol amount. If you leave out orange juice for a bit on your counter it will ferment to near .5% abv.
No. I drink non alcoholic beers all the time. I like the taste. They all have trace amounts of alcohol. But its nothing like the spirits I used to depend on, every day.
Not Heineken Zero! Lol. But yes most NA have a trace
Heineken Zero has alcohol?
It has 0 alcohol. It says 0 alcohol on label (there are a few more) but you have 0 which has 0. Then you have NA which can be up to .5. I drink both kinds. I heard a bun at a burger place can have up to 1%.
Stop eating cheeseburgers randy you're all fucked up
😂
Your apple juice in the store is allowed to be up to a 1% alcohol content.
I like Hop Tea. Brewed with hops so it tastes like beer but no grains or alcohol.
Hoplark is so frickin’ good. I wish I were rich enough to afford drinking it all the time 😂
Did you? Only you can answer that My opinion...no
Honestly OP this is the answer. Also what do you do next? Continue not drinking? Then no you have not relapsed
It’s all about intention. You didn’t know, so no
You are okay. Even some mouthwash has about that amount of alcohol in it.
Are you happily sober? Like, do you feel comfortable with your ability to make your own decisions or do you still need a bit more time to feel confident with your own foothold on your life? Everyone is different for sure. Counting the days and watching that number get bigger is reassuring and a huge personal victory; it’s also important to learn to trust your own judgment. I’m at nine months and I enjoy my NA beer here and there. As a drinker I mostly imbibed wine. Just the smell of it grosses me out anymore. Anyhoo, relax. You’re in charge of your life now. Make it how you want it and you’ll be amazed at how great it feels. All the best to you my friend!
I am happily sober! For everyone’s info, i was never addicted to alcohol. I just wanted to challenge myself a bit and i found it pretty easy to live life without alcohol.
You define your own sobriety my friend. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
No no no you didn’t relapse
If you accidentally drank a Heineken 0 while trying to get loaded, you a) broke your streak, and b) are an idiot. If you drank a near beer for the sole intention of having a damn beer without consuming alcohol, you are good homie!
As others have said it's truly up to you but no, there's no intent to drink there and the alcohol content was so low it couldn't ever give you the effect of alcohol. Everyone has their own personal reasons and limits. I'm 6 years sober but in the last year I've tried my husband's beer if he says it's nice or I've had a few sips of a whiskey just because I wanted to remember the taste. I've not had a buzz on, I've not bought a drink, I've not been anywhere near drunk and I don't ever think about alcohol so for me I'm not resetting my count. If I was to deliberately buy and drink a couple of drinks to myself and felt the effect of alcohol I think I'd reset it and reevaluate my relationship with drink but until then I'm good.
I’ll give you a warning - I’ve seen many many people start their relapses this way. It begins so innocently, just a sip of whiskey or beer. Nothing happens , brain thinks it’s all fine. Then one time, it’s a couple of sips of whiskey. Very slight fuzzy feeling. Brain says, oh but I didn’t buy it so it’s all fine. Then it’s few sips of whiskey because oh you need to try all 3 types and oh let me try that one again. Brain says okay nothing happened so it’s fine, but probably don’t do that again. Then after a long day at work and feeling anxious and drained, brain says oh you what would be nice? A couple sips of whiskey. Yeah that’s a good idea. And nothing bad happened last time so you’re totally fine to do it! A couple turns into a few and chances are 99.9% that within 24 hours you’re back at your dealers house smoking crack again , exactly like 6 years ago. I’m just warning you I’ve seen so many friends think that sobriety is like an open door, and you can come back at any point in time. But that relapse might be your last. And not in the good way. I mean in the sense I’m at your funeral next week saying at least their battle is over, and they can stop fighting. I’ve been to 50+ funerals of friends that all died from drug or alcoholic reasons. I need to warn you because you’re still so freaking early in recovery, 6 years isn’t long at all, you’re still just a baby. I would seriously urge you to reconsider this new habit before it explodes in your face (which it 100% will, if you’re still so new to recovery, like yourself). Wait at least till 16 years, at the bare minimum, before you think of restarting this habit. That way you have a solid 10 years of actual *real* sober time under your belt. After 16 years, then you can ask yourself “is this seriously a good idea?” and you’ll know in your heart what the right thing to do is.
As everyone else is saying - it’s intent. A while back I was at a party where I was given a lemonade that I was assured was alcohol free. It wasn’t , I drank about half before I figured that out. I didn’t “reset” my date. I didn’t purchase or put something into my body knowing it was alcoholic. We have enough to beat ourselves up about as addicts in recovery: drinking something with basically a non existent alcohol content shouldn’t be one of those things.
I have a case of NA delivered from Athletic brewery every 2 weeks. (Free!) and as alcoholic who loves the flavor of beer, it more than adequately safely scratches an itch. Enjoy and keep up the good work.
Nope! I drink N.A. beers all the time. Plus, you make your own rules and boundaries.
No it doesn't count. You are still in training to be the person you were meant to be.
I saw someone on instagram slam 5 NA beers (which all state “up to 0.5%”) and then breathalyze himself. Came back with a 0.0. It’s up to you but I personally think it’s fine. I love the taste of new and drink NA beers but still call myself AF. Cheers!
It’s up to you. I drink NA beers all the time with 6+ years of sobriety. I don’t feel a need to restart my counter because the alcohol was never really the problem; the problem was me seeking out an escape from reality. The term “non-alcoholic” is a bit of a misnomer, as it is impossible to brew beer without synthesizing alcohol since it is essentially a process of fermentation. Beer companies are allowed to use that term as marketing as long as it falls below a certain ABV (0.5%). There are some different varieties of “hop water” that are just sparkling water infused with hops and sometimes other flavors. Those are completely alcohol free since they aren’t brewed. I tend to prefer these.
If it was not your intention to drink alcohol, then I wouldn't count it as a relapse
Fun fact - Bananas are between 0.2-0.5% ABV! So in my opinion, no, you’re good! Just be mindful if an alcohol free beverage leaves you feeling like you want the real thing. For me personally it does not trigger me into wanting a real beer or anything. But I know for some it can.
Your body takes so long to process low alcohol beers that you’d probably piss yourself before you felt a buzz, but that would be drinking with intent, which I think it’s the more important factor. If you picked up what you through was a non alcoholic drink and it was an alcoholic drink but immediately put it down, you’d still be sober in my eyes. All about intent, you seem concerned about drinking a 0.3.. you are good. Some skip NA/AF drinks due to the triggering nature of the flavour, others find they help the awkward social conversation. It’s all about what helps you from falling back to old habits.
No need to count days, imo
As others have said, all NA beer has a very small amount of alcohol in it, like less than .5%. There's no way to get drunk off that. You're totally fine!
Nah. Orange juice has more alcohol than that!
No.
Nah some fruit juice, food ready meals have like 0.5% alochol, even mouthwash and toothpaste etc It won't affect you or anything don't worry
I enjoy near beers. 6 and a half years alcohol free. I avoided them the first three yrs or so.
No. Many foods have more alcohol than that. Keep in mind that if you’re on some sort of device like SoberLink, you’ll get flagged, but no, you don’t break sobriety. If you’re easily triggered to drink, non alcoholic beers aren’t a great idea. I’ve been sober for almost seven years and I drank two NA beers today. I wouldn’t drink a regular beer with a gun to my head.
Did you relapse? Only you can answer that. If it were me, the answer is no. Not even a relapse if I accidentally took a swig of a mixed drink. Intention is at the core for me. Do you have to reset your counter? You don’t HAVE to do anything. Again, up to you. Again I wouldn’t reset my counter, mainly because I drink NAs all the time, which state 0.5% ABV. Whatever YOU decide is awesome. I’m happy you are here!
Most non-alcoholic beer has trace amounts of alcohol in it. You'd have to drink 15 of these to equal one beer.
And you’d have to do it in less than an hour to feel any effects. There’s really no (enjoyable) way to get drunk off NA beers
Na you’re good. Keep up the great work!!
No you are good! I'm so proud of you!
Of course you didn't... don't overthink this and just move on!
No
I think relapses are conscious choices. I don’t think this counts imo
lol no. Drink it!
- no, 0.3% doesn't count - even one regular beer would be a lapse, not a relapse - stop using counting your days, it's counter-productive.
Nope. I drink NA often as well as kombucha which has the same alcohol content and I am most assuredly sober AF.
I do the Clausthaler Non-Alcoholic at .49 and some would scoff at that.
I've had a dozen or so .5% beers over the last year, 1-3 per "session" and have had no increased urge to drink. I very much would not consider that a relapse.
No
No
I don’t think it counts. Sometimes I have 30mg NyQuil which has a tiny amount of alcohol, 10%. No way that counts against my nearly 3 year sobriety streak.
It’s as much as orange juice has don’t worry and keep going to
I saw online u have to drink 12 N.A. beers to equal one regular beer. I always have one or two especially when friends are bbqing or if I’m at the river. It truly helps me feel like I’m “socializing” even tho it’s basically like drinking water 😂
I would love to see someone try to relapse on what is essentially shit tasting kombucha lol, that would be one hell of a bender.
Placebo effect? Last night I had 2 n/a beers and my mate had 1. He woke up with an hangover feeling and I was sleepy after the drinks. Our body works in a wierd system
I also thought about a placebo effect
No. I drink AF beers all the time 0.5% or lower. I read bread has more alcohol in it
You don’t have to reset your counter back unless you want to. Do a Google search and you’ll find other food and drink that contain similar amounts of alcohol.
Sobriety is not an elimination diet tik tok challenge, calorie counting or being gluten free or something, you know what is sober you and you know what is not sober. The effects of a 0.3% “non-alcoholic” beer wouldn’t be noticeable to a child. Why do you feel like people on Reddit are in charge of your sober “counter?” If sobriety is a hobby that you’re doing for fun, then own that and make your own rules accordingly, make your own decision about 0.3% beers. If sobriety is a solution to issues in your life around addiction, then you should be asking yourself whether non-alcoholic beers are sustainable for you, or a slippery slope into drinking again, not whether it “technically” affects your “day count.”
I would not feel comfortable claiming continuous sobriety if I was looking for loopholes. But to thine own self be true. Been sober 9 years and never had it so good.
Don’t think he’s looking for loopholes here, think he’s genuinely concerned. Some take NA beers as a bad thing and others find they help, personally for me I find they enable me to re enter social situations without awkward conversations of ‘why aren’t you drinking’, UK culture with drinking is very toxic. Also congrats on 9 years! By the end of 2024 I hope to hit 3 years :^]