Life without alcohol

[Schotte 1,402]

I stopped drinking on 18th December. Went out New Year's Eve, was fine, wasn't bothered. Soda n lime isn't really cutting it though, maybe need to find a new drink doesn't bloat you and make you go for a pee every 5mins. Ginger beer makes my lips sting.

 

Very much currently feeling like an onlooker on the edge of a party all the time though. Apparently it does get better but I remain to be convinced.

 

Don't know if I will ever drink again but do know I will only if I can make sure it's social drinking and not going to extremes. I blame my work life balance of being denied it for up to 5 weeks and going crazy for a while when out of that situation. Poor excuse but I see it all around me.

 

Apparently it can take 6 months to be mentally normally again (no anxiety, improved self esteem and confidence, calmer, less irritable, more energy and desire to do productive things) if you have been hitting it hard for a while. This seems a while but is some incentive. Currently a week short of the longest I've gone since I started drinking 10+ years ago and at least this is a personal choice not because I was in a dry place like that time. Still uncomfortable with the idea of being "that person who doesn't drink" - you always wonder about them don't you.

 

Couldn't find a thread on quitting drinking anywhere but to be fair I'd never have gone to Germany the times I did if it wasn't for Oktoberfest and the beers!

 

Discuss if you feel so inclined :)

[Pas 8,130]

I've always been quite happy to go out and not drink. In my long experence of it there is a point in the evening it's best to just make your excuses and leave as the level of drunkness means you're not able to appreciate the humour.

 

What to drink is a tricky one. Sadly soft drinks are heavy. Perhaps the best thing is water and leave people guessing whether you're drinking vodka or not?

 

J20's not too bad.

[Rilana 484]

Re alternative to Soda and lime, there are some great alcohol free beers out there now. Since I'm pregnant we've had weddings, Xmas and NYE and after spending nights drinking and toasting with one water after another I got in some alcohol free Pils and Hefeweizens for Xmas and NYE and I thought they tasted pretty great. Also Cranberry and lemonade with a lice of lime is yummy or some of the other alcohol free cocktails out there. Experiment with some new mixes!

 

Good luck and stay strong!!

[Pas 8,130]

Alcohol free cocktails is something I don't get. You want to charge me 6 euros for a glass of fruit juice and think you can get away with it as you use the word cocktail?

[nina_glyndwr 4,697]

I'm lucky in that I don't really like the taste of alcoholic drinks.

 

When I was at university, I thought "Let's see how much I can drink without suffering from any ill effects the next day". And I got up to 1.5 bottles of wine and then I thought "Well, I know I can do it, but where will it eventually lead to?"

 

The only reason I drink an Altbier or a white wine spritzer is because I can't drink them fast so it's cheaper that way.

 

I could happily just drink Milchkaffee all night long. I get high on the company I'm with.

[BadDoggie 1,519]

Beck's Blue is your friend: non-alcoholic, ZERO percent rather than not 0,5%, tastes just like normal Beck's. Works if ou like Pilseners. There's an NA Weizen zhat tastes like real beer just outside of Stuttgart but I forget the name. Most NA beers here... wwll, I'd probably prefer to lick your unwashed ass than finish off a pint.

 

woof.

[ian 3,972]

Schotte, I urge you to start drinking again. It's the solution to (and cause of) all life's problems.

 

 

it's best to just make your excuses and leave as the level of drunkness means you're not able to appreciate the humour.

 

I rely on that level of drunkness. My jokes are terrible!

[Small Town Boy 6,665]

 

I could happily just drink Milchkaffee all night long. I get high on the company I'm with.

 

And the caffeine.

[Moondancer 5,719]

I like Bitter Lemon. Not so sweet. Other than that, water or coffee.

 

Haven't needed a drink in over 10 years. Having once owned a bar, and drank myself more than silly on a zillion occasions, I am quite happy to do without. Frankly, no one really notices what I am or am not drinking. Life has improved immensely since walking away from the booze.

[auniquecorn 2,081]

Good luck schotte, Hang tough

 

I stopped drinking about 3 years ago, My daughter (4 years old at the time asked why do I always smell like beer.

I laid in bed that night and did´nt sleep a wink.

Never drank alcohol again. After about 3-4 months I thought I was gonna lose it, Read alot about AA and started going to meetings, met some really cool people.

(Now I gotta get off my Cola addiction)

 

Good luck again.

Keep us updated (Hell, start a blog and give us daily reports)

 

Can´t wait to tell my friends a Scotts gonna give up alcohol.

[Krieg 12,547]

 

Beck's Blue is your friend: non-alcoholic, ZERO percent rather than not 0,5%, tastes just like normal Beck's. Works if ou like Pilseners. There's an NA Weizen zhat tastes like real beer just outside of Stuttgart but I forget the name. Most NA beers here... wwll, I'd probably prefer to lick your unwashed ass than finish off a pint.

 

woof.

 

Beck's Blue has alcohol, I think 0.05% or something like that. But you are right, it is a decent non-alcoholic beer.

 

What about non-alcoholic wine? Everyone I've tried was really bad.

[nina_glyndwr 4,697]

 

And the caffeine.

 

That's why I drink Milchkaffee. If I drank normal German coffee, THEN I'd be awake all night. I can drink Milchkaffee and still sleep with no problem.

[23Dan 662]

I haven't found any non-alcoholic pils/lager that's any good. Becks and Jever are ok but only just (and you can get Becks in the UK). Paulaner's non-alcoholic Weissbier is pretty good though - a bit sweet but not bad.

 

I used to drink a lot of cranberry juice when I wasn't drinking because it was just about the only thing in most English pubs that wasn't alcoholic or rediculously sweet. It's also amusing to see most barmen's faces when you ask for it by the pint.

 

Edit: Just remembered, the Eichbaum brewery make a range of soft drinks that are very good and Fentimans in the UK are good (although some are an aquired taste).

[theGman 2,908]

Gründels Fresh is also good. It doesn't pretend to be exactly like a real beer, so for me its just like enjoying a good non-alcoholic drink that has a nice beer feel about it.

[don_riina 7,402]

 

there are some great alcohol free beers out there now

Well, everyone has different tastes, but let's be honest, to most people alcohol free beer tastes like absolute arse, and also, you state yourself that you are pregnant, therefore your tastebuds are about as trustworthy as a really untrustworthy thing. Sure, things may have improved on that front since the ghastly days of Kaliber lager back in the 80's, but it still tastes a bit grim. Try it at room temperature; great test for many beers. Really truly awful beers like Tiger beer from Singapore are almost palatable if the temperature of it is as close to 0 as possible without it turning into a slush puppy, but at room temperature the revolting taste shows it's true colours. Likewise with alcohol free beer.

 

If you are gonna drink beer, drink beer. If you don't wanna drink beer, don't drink beer. Making alcohol free beer, whilst nowhere near as obscenely offensive as idiots trying to make vegetarian bacon from some soya shite, is actually pretty similar in concept to idiots trying to make vegetarian bacon from some soya shite.

 

I have very little idea what it is like to go out for the evening and not drink alcohol. Not sure I've ever done that. However, at some point this year, I'm gonna have to pretty much stop booze altogether, because I want a bike license, and the fucking Germans put a 2 year zero tolerance limit on new drivers when it comes to booze. Very annoying. I can understand it for 17 year old kids with no experience of drinking OR driving, but I have a good 25 years of serious boozing experience under my belt, and think I should be treated differently to everyone else because I am more super awesome and a special snowflake.

 

I don't reckon it will bother me much to go out and just drink apfelschorle or something. I'll find it much, much, much, much more challenging to stop smoking buds.

 

 

I'm lucky in that I don't really like the taste of alcoholic drinks.

Very, very curious definition of the word "lucky".

[rockfisher 1,261]

Life without alcohol?! Fuck that shit, I'd rather be dead.

[don_riina 7,402]

Yep, sobriety is painful.

[Guest]

 

Apparently it can take 6 months to be mentally normally again (no anxiety, improved self esteem and confidence, calmer, less irritable, more energy and desire to do productive things)

 

That's interesting. Do you have any web link for that info?

 

I drank half a bottle of schnapps (from my own plum tree) on New Years Eve and wine from my grapes. I woke up feeling like death. Since then I've drank alcohol free Erdinger which I've got used to.

 

13 days in and I don't feel any better! Does it take more time?

[Krieg 12,547]

 

I'm gonna have to pretty much stop booze altogether, because I want a bike license, and the fucking Germans put a 2 year zero tolerance limit on new drivers when it comes to booze. Very annoying. I can understand it for 17 year old kids with no experience of drinking OR driving, but I have a good 25 years of serious boozing experience under my belt, and think I should be treated differently to everyone else because I am more super awesome and a special snowflake.

 

Do you have a German (car) driving license? If you have one I think you do not need to do the Probezeit.

[garry entropy 776]

Due to a liver transplant my brother has been alcohol free for a year, he said it's like being at the coalface of reality 24 hours a day, but he is looking great for it.