NA/Low Alcohol Drinks
CW - discussion related to alcohol and alternatives
* Note - product recommendations are encouraged in this thread, but please no links regarding products.
I've been sticking to the low risk drinking guidelines put out by Canadian Centre and Substance Use and Addiction for a few years and reduced my alcohol intake close to that for health reasons a few years before. I started drinking some of the NA/low alcohol drinks because of this.
In January it's not unusual to find some people going 'dry' for the month or adjusting to a new resolution lifestyle. I'm hoping some others are interested in sharing some drink suggestions!
[Chip and Dale chipmunks clink 2 glasses across a table CHEERS!!! is written below]
In the summer I like Stanley Park Peach wheat ale - actually prefer drinking this on a hot day to normal beer as it's more hydrating.
I was pleasantly surprised when I tried a store brand - PC blonde and red brews. I prefer some of the more complex flavours from other brands, but for the price the store brand is quite reasonable.
Was a bit disappointed (but not surprised) to not finding a pumpkin pie/pumpkin spice option in the fall - I used to get some around thanksgiving each year with the normal alcohol content. Was also disappointed to not find a decent winter ale/stout although I am sure some must exist, I only looked at 2 locations plus did a search with grocery orders.
Wine has been the biggest disappointment, I haven't enjoyed a single low alcohol one that I have tried. This is what I do miss because when I do have a standard drink I am often the only one who would drink wine, so it seems like a waste of a bottle.
What's your opinion of NA options?
Do you have any recommendations for us? (no links) Bonus points for a good NA wine!
@AffyAvo Thanks for posting this, I am a sparkling water gal. and not a beer fan. so not much help really.
Listening - One Step At A Time!
I'm a wine guy by preference but will take beer if it's well made. Unfortunately there aren't too many real beers ("microbrew" or "craft beer") with under 6% alcohol...these days, 8 or even 9%+ is not uncommon in certain beer styles. The only low-alcohol beers I know of are the few brands of watered-down swill sold in 12-packs in every convenience store in the US. I will not name them here as we all know the brand names. My mother's late 2nd husband used to call it "midwestern pisswater".
The only thing I have for you & others here is advice, namely: when you drink, always drink water with whatever else you're having. Never drink beer/wine/mixed drinks/etc. by itself. Alcohol dehydrates the body unless enough water is taken in to replace what is lost. On the rare occasion when I have more than one, I try to down one glass of water for every two drinks of whatever I'm having. If you do this then you'll run to the bathroom rather often but that's a small price to pay, considering the alternative. In fact, the main reason why people suffer from hangovers is dehydration; when you're not getting enough water, a headache is always the first symptom.
The above advice goes double when you're outside in summertime, &/or in an arid environment.
@slowdecline48 I'm not sure if you're talking about the same thing as me. By low alcohol I mean less than 0.5% ABV.
Not sure what's in US convenience stores. If that have that, great! Here it's available but not quite that widespread. I do know of local craft breweries that do their normal beers and low/no alcohol ones too, so getting craft isn't too hard to find here, but there are a lot of breweries in the province.
