Yes, I do believe at least eventually there was a feedback loop of sorts. I’ve liked the taste of non-alcoholic malt beverages (like malta, and there’s this Polish one, too) and bitter herbal teas (like wormwood) or sodas (like quinine), since I was a kid. Or even more recently Moxie, which I don’t particularly find bitter, but people talk about it like a vile substance. So malt + bitter botanical was kind of a natural pairing for me. I used to love sipping Old Style from my dad’s can of beer as a five-year-old because I loved the taste, and obviously not in amounts enough to get me the least intoxicated. But, sure, I eventually discovered the alcoholic and social aspect of it, and the two eventually must have reinforced each other. Thankfully, these days, there are a good number of NA beers that I would take over alcoholic beers because they just taste better.