Give up beer?
I’d like to give up beer and move to a less bloaty alcohol, or none at all. I don’t drink much but will have 2-3 over the weekend. I feel it after and wondering, what is a good drink to enjoy as a refreshment when going out for dinner or relaxing after a long week? Can be non alcoholic.
25 comments
Wine.
I’ve been enjoying bud light zero. 80 cals a can. It’s like having sex in a canoe. Fucking close to water.
If you don’t want alcohol, the world of tea has something for everyone.
I had to give up beer and have been happy switching to cider, just avoid the really sweet ones.
If you feel like crap after 2-3 beers, you either have to drink more to build up your tolerance, hydrate more, or stop altogether. My vote is for #3 if you aren’t a big drinker to begin with. Good thing is that a large number of breweries also make their own sodas and they are usually REALLY good. Get your growler filled with locally made root beer or cream soda, YUM!
I tried my first vodka tonic this year. It’s my go to now. Preferably Belvedere. But any higher end vodka is good. I never feel bloated, it’s refreshing, and I feel just fine the next day.
I’ve cut most of my alcohol and use cannabis edibles/vape pen as recreational is legal in my state. Although right now I’m working in South Africa and the locals turned me on to brandy and coke (zero for me).
Whiskey lime and soda, gin and tonic and wine are all good. Cider is still a bloaty beverage.
You can get gins that are balanced between sweet and dry that can make a good bbq/afternoon drink in a tall glass
Whisky Highball- a decent slug of whisky (I generally go with blended scotch) with loads of ice and some soda water, finished with a squeeze of lemon in a tall glass. Super refreshing, and light on the calories.
I’ve mostly replaced beer with whiskey or wine when I’m feeling like having alcohol and sparkling water when I just want to drink something that’s not just water, 0 calories and tastes about the same as many light beers!
I gave it up. Only drinking AF beers at the moment. Lucky Saint is quite nice.
If you really want an alcoholic drink but don’t drink that often, red wine in boxes is good. Lots of decent brands come in a box, it’s not just for hobos anymore. It lasts much longer than an opened bottle
Or try a few whisky and rums, good sipping ones. Canadian rye whiskey has lots of reasonably priced options. Plantation rum has quite a few good ones for sipping with just some ice.
Athletic Brewing Company makes some great non alcoholic beers.
They taste like the real deal. Highly recommend giving them a try.
Kombucha
Gin and tonic, super refreshing and loads of variety these days. I’ve also switched to alcohol free beers a lot and some of those are really good now
If you like the taste of beer/hops and want to go alcohol free a lot of breweries are making Hop Water which I find delicious and refreshing.
Wife and I were drinking seltzers because they’re light, taste good, get a buzz going quick. But then we were drinking them daily so we decided to take a break. We’ve been 3 months no alcohol and now we’re “afraid” to have a drink again. Biggest change for us is much better sleep.
I gave up alcohol like 5 years ago and while I can’t think of a specific dinner-time drink, I have filled the alcohol void with a few things.
For the buzz – marijuana. Nothing ends a long hard week like getting toasty and relaxing to the maximum.
For drinks – Espresso for the first half of the day. The entire espresso making experience is a bit of a hobby at this point.
If it’s not espresso, it’s water. At a restaurant I’d go for some tea – only because people associate getting *only water* as being cheap or whatever. I love water.
I don’t tolerate beer very much anymore. It makes me feel full and just not great. I have the odd one when the mood strikes.
I prefer a strong red wine now or in the summer my wife and I got into the seltzer type drinks. There’s hundreds of varieties but they are all pretty light and refreshing with low cal/sugars
Our consumption isn’t too bad but our bigger issue is that every time we have drinks the food comes along with it.
I have gerd. I’d love to be able to drink beer… and wine again. I can’t handle coffee or soda either. I’m also diabetic, so rule out fruit juice. I became a black tea drinker until I had a 25mm kidney stone. Now I’m limited to green tea, herbal tea and water. I also consider myself lucky. Before my father passed away, he was unable to drink liquids because they were going down the wrong pipe. Everything he “drank” had to be thickened with something called “Thick-It”. Disgusting. My mom discovered he liked it ok with ginger ale, which became his drink of choice. He often told me I should be grateful I can drink a glass of ice cold water. I am.
juice or tea
Solid move giving up alcohol, I did a couple of years ago and everything has been better since, personally at least.
The only downside is that most of my friends are drinkers, and so when thry go out that’s what they do.
I’ve no problem with that, but it just means I leave earlier as there’s a turning point in the evening where its no longer fun as a sober person. Usually about 5 hours in is the maximum I can put up with.
I’d love if they’d do other stuff, but they’re not really into anything else, so I’ve resolved to join clubs to get my other social needs met.
This is more a problem in the winter though, during the summer everyone likes being outdoors anyway, so there’s more to do.
I like the less sweet non-alcoholic ciders, there are very few nice non-alcoholic beers imo, so after one or two of those I’m done.
There’s a non-alcoholic apple spritz drink that I quote like, it looks like an orange champagne, it has a nice flavour and it’s dry, it’s a little sweet but not sugary if that makes sense.
I can comfortably drink those throughout the night.
I’ve switched to seltzers completely.
Whiskey straight also works, tequila/vodka with soda and lime, or gin and tonic.
There’s options if you really wanna keep drinking.
Kombucha, carbonation, tastes great, cheap to make.
I’m still drinking like I’m in my early 20s which is a problem. Need to find a good substitute myself and water just doesn’t do it for me. Gonna try out tea, I think.
This will make 3-4 years in a row that my New Year’s resolution is to drink less. Feels shitty to say that but it is what it is
Water. Sometimes with lemon and cucumber.