I’ve considered myself sober for 5+ years, but I do occasionally enjoy NA beer. Generally I have one or two, but on some occasions I might have several of them.
Over the weekend a friend asked me if NA contained any ETOH, and I showed him that the label said <.5%. But that got me thinking, .5% is certainly >0.
When brewers say <.5%, how low do they actually think it is?
Is .4999% enough to give you any kind of a buzz?
Would it show up in a breathalyzer?
Do you consider someone sober if they drink NA?
ISTM that sometimes pounding a couple of NAs gives me a bit of a rush, but I have no idea if that is physiological or psychological, reminding me of how much I used to like to drink beer and get drunk.
A little googling I should have done before posting:
This lists etoh content for some NAs. I see Clausthaller (which I was drinking Sunday) is .48%, whereas others are as low as .1%.
And this says you can get drunk on NA if you drink enough. But 5 NAs would only equal 1 very light beer. I’d have to really work hard to pound 5 NAs in an hour, and doubt how much of a buzz anyone would get from nursing 1 light beer over a similar time.
So, in your opinion a “risk”, but not a relapse in itself?
Can you expand upon why it is considered a risk?
I can only speak from my personal experience, but I don’t feel that it really affects my continued sobriety one way or the other. If I were forced to choose, I’d probably say it helps my continued sobriety, because it allows me to enjoy the taste and sensations of drinking beer in all ways except the buzz. Some of the NAs taste very much like good beer, and the sensation of holding a longneck and pounding brew is the same.
I also used to be a big gin drinker. Would folks consider my drinking tonic water on ice with lime to be a risk to my continued sobriety?
No matter how many NAs I drink, I never get to the point where I feel it would be “okay” to just have one beer.