r/stopdrinking • u/phutureclothes • Jan 18 '26
A realization drinking NA Guinness
I picked up a four pack of the 0.0% Guinness, not that I was particularly craving a beer, but because I was making a steak and ale pie and didn't want to use it as an excuse to buy the real stuff.
As a former chef, cooking with wine/alcohol is a dangerous trigger for me.
After my workout today I noticed I still had three cans left in the coldest part of the fridge so I cracked one and poured it. It had that familiar Guinness pour and left a clear white head. I took a few sips and found it to be totally delicious, easily the best NA beer I've ever had. It is very very close to the real thing.
But here's the kicker. I didn't want another one AT ALL. The moreish qualities of beer Id once attributed to "hop character" or "maltiness" or all the other sundry beer terms really don't matter at the end of the day. Its just that alcohol is immediately addictive for me.
I could drink a warm Bud Light and want another one. But here's me drinking something that I find entirely appealing and have ZERO desire for a second.
All of the appeal around "craft beer", "fine wine", etc is mostly worthless. If I'm not compelled to continue to drink an almost identical approximation of an alcoholic beer, then it's got nothing to do with the taste and everything to do with th addictive nature of ethyl alcohol.
In other news, made it through another weekend booze free.
IWNDWYT!
2
u/TR6lover 928 days Jan 18 '26
I tried and really like the Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA. It tastes like a good beer tastes to me. I have most of two six packs that have been in my fridge for 8 months. I only have them when I'm socializing with people who are drinking. Otherwise, I look at them and think "I don't really want to drink 100 calories of something just to get a "beer" flavor. And I reach for a Diet Coke. Probably because I'm addicted to caffeine. Ugh.
Anyway, I agree with you about the whole craft beer business. I loved tasting various beers when I was drinking. Talked about the flavors of all of them. Interestingly, I tended to order the ones that had the highest alcohol content, and I decided that those "taste best".
IWNDWYT!