# Throwing a party with non-alcoholic beer - would anyone notice? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074 "2013-10-12T14:24:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/21 "2013-10-12T23:20:19Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > When my ex wife was a bartender, there were a certain handful of regular customers, that when they got too drunk, she would just make them non alcoholic versions of whatever drink they were drinking. > > This, she explained ,was easier than cutting them off. They never were the wiser. And it was quite comical watching them stir their drink with that little cocktail straw as if they had something in there. Isn’t that basically stealing? ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/22 "2013-10-13T00:39:33Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Isn’t that basically stealing? Not if she doesn’t charge them for liquor… Instead of a $8 Mai Tai, It’s a $3 pineapple/grenadine. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/23 "2013-10-13T01:45:28Z")
> [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > This scenario was a plot in at least two sitcoms, Cheers and Grounded for Life, both when the respective bar owners forgot to renew their liquor license. Freaks and Geeks, too. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/24 "2013-10-13T02:30:54Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Couldn’t find a cite for it, unfortunately, but I remember reading about a psychology experiment in which subjects were given what they thought was alcohol, when it wasn’t, and still acted “drunk.” I’ve got a relative who’s a psych professor, and I remember her mentioning to me that there’d been experiments done that showed that people who were drinking started acting “tipsy” before the alcohol could have reached their bloodstream…or even if they were drinking a non-alcoholic beverage they _thought_ contained alcohol. I don’t have a cite, though. A friend of mine once told me that she’d had an elaborate Sweet Sixteen party where “mocktails” were served. One of the other teen guests started laughing loudly, stumbling around, etc., and my friend’s dad pulled my friend aside and said “You have to tell that girl there’s no alcohol in these drinks before she makes a fool of herself.” ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/25 "2013-10-13T02:33:50Z")
Try that shit at a Frat party and you’re likely to get your ass kicked. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/26 "2013-10-13T02:38:08Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I’ve got a relative who’s a psych professor, and I remember her mentioning to me that there’d been experiments done that showed that people who were drinking started acting “tipsy” before the alcohol could have reached their bloodstream…or even if they were drinking a non-alcoholic beverage they _thought_ contained alcohol. I don’t have a cite, though. > > A friend of mine once told me that she’d had an elaborate Sweet Sixteen party where “mocktails” were served. One of the other teen guests started laughing loudly, stumbling around, etc., and my friend’s dad pulled my friend aside and said “You have to tell that girl there’s no alcohol in these drinks before she makes a fool of herself.” See post #10. The experiment was done with vodka(weak taste) and tonic water(very strong taste). I don’t think you would get the same results with beer. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/27 "2013-10-13T02:44:34Z")
I drink beer for the taste (and the alcohol). I drink Clausthaler some. It’s not horrible but it is far too sweet. I actually would like to see a micro brew beer that’s more like 3% than 5%+ that is the norm. English mild brown is good. Chinese brew some really light lagers between 1-2% alcohol - and some are a decent light pilsner style. Guinness’ regular version is more like 3 or 4%. Beer drinkers would notice a non alcoholic beer in the first sip or two. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/28 "2013-10-13T05:06:03Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > The OP has a join date of 2001. Go do some math and report back with a revised age estimate. It seemed the most legitimate explanation for the naivete of his question. I did not literally think he was twelve. Perhaps he is a member of a strict religious sect. ---
**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/29 "2013-10-13T14:07:20Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > No one who has ever had beer would mistake NA for the real thing. You’ll probably find that out next year in high school, OP. > [@Morgenstern](#): > > The OP has a join date of 2001. Go do some math and report back with a revised age estimate. > [@AnaMen](#): > > It seemed the most legitimate explanation for the naivete of his question. I did not literally think he was twelve. > Perhaps he is a member of a strict religious sect. Hah! I’m literally LOLing here. Thanks for a good laugh! No, I’m not twelve. 🙂 Or a member of a strict religious sect! Honestly, the last time I had an NA beer was an O’Douls in about 1993. It wasn’t very good, but I figured in the intervening 20 years things had gotten better. Apparently, as I’ve learned in this thread, some say they have, some not. And I suppose the exact setting or details of my OP aren’t important. As suggested above by others, I could instead be having a party where I’m serving NA mixed drinks without telling anyone, etc. But beer seemed the easiest way to accomplish this. If I recall from parties in my college-age days, nobody particularly cared what was in the kegs - it wasn’t like we were very refined drinkers. I would wager that even if one of us had questioned it, if the host has just told us “oh, it’s a new import from Belgium” or something, we would have said “oh, okay” and kept drinking. But it seems that other posters in this thread have stated that similar situations have been tested with various results. Keep in mind, it’s not so much people “thinking” they’re drunk or feeling a buzz that I’m wondering about, it’s the extra “acting stupid” part of it - hence the setting of a college party - but I suppose you can change the setting and details as necessary in the “spirit” of my question. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/30 "2013-10-13T17:22:07Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Isn’t that basically stealing? Nah, she never put said drinks on their running tab. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/31 "2013-10-13T17:50:36Z")
> [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > This scenario was a plot in at least two sitcoms, Cheers and Grounded for Life, both when the respective bar owners forgot to renew their liquor license. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Freaks and Geeks, too. “Beers and Weirs”. That was also one of the first things I thought of. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/32 "2013-10-13T19:06:14Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Speak for yourself. I most definitely drink for the flavor. I often find myself wishing that I could magically make my wine or beer non-alcoholic, so I could drink more of it without the bad effects. Yeah it’s a ridiculous statement. I personally can’t stand hard liquor taste and only find it palatable when mixed. But I drink beer and wine for the taste. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/33 "2013-10-13T23:57:57Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > “Beers and Weirs”. That was also one of the first things I thought of. 🙂 TV Tropes calls it “[Main/Fake High](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FakeHigh)”. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074/34 "2013-10-14T00:08:14Z")
Yeah! They would notice your party sucks! Seriously though. Some people will probably have a placebo reaction where they might feel a bit more relaxed and uninhibited because they think they are more relaxed and uninhibited. But I doubt people will be acting trashed simply because they won’t, in fact, be trashed. > [@Loach](#): > > Yeah it’s a ridiculous statement. I personally can’t stand hard liquor taste and only find it palatable when mixed. But I drink beer and wine for the taste. Also scotch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-a-party-with-non-alcoholic-beer-would-anyone-notice/671074.md?page=1)