
Lime and soda? No thanks, say non-drinkers - hhs
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49355057
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vikingcaffiene
I quit drinking cold turkey a little over 5(!) years ago. It was the single
best decision in my life. I lost 50lb's and look and feel 10 years younger
than my 41 years on this earth.

The biggest downside? Everyone wants to hang out in bars and drunk people are
annoying and the drinks _suck_ for non drinkers. The soda is flat, the fruit
garnishes they give you are NASTY (seriously don't touch that stuff its
dirtier than the toilet). It's exciting to hear that there might be a market
for people like me.

~~~
threeio
My wife and I stumbled on Seedlip and its good stuff... spent some time in the
Netherlands this summer and found they really have decent selections of 0.0
wine/beer available at most places... hope that comes to the states at some
point

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perl4ever
I honestly like non-alcoholic beer. I don't drink it very often or buy it for
at home, but if I'm at a pub/bar+grill style place it goes well with a
sandwich.

However, in my particular case I'm not concerned about calories or triggering
addictive cravings, which might be an issue for other people who don't drink.

I've seen claims now and then that nobody really likes the taste of beer,
wine, or coffee, that they are just drug delivery vehicles, but I really do.
Granted, I'm not sure if it's just pavlovian association from formerly
drinking or not.

I'm not aware of nonalcoholic wine that tastes decent being a thing in my
locale, but if it was, I would try it.

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coroxout
I've definitely noticed the rise in alcohol-free beers (normally only one or
two per pub, but now usually prominently marked on the drinks list or
blackboard), alcohol-free wines (only seen one once in a pub, but my local
small supermarket has a couple of varieties - pleasant if rather sweet and
Shloer-like) and "mocktails" in the pubs near me in the UK, and I hope the
trend continues.

One of my favourite restaurants does delicious fruit-based cocktails, but has
some mocktails and fruit smoothies which are just as delicious and half the
price. However, I admit they are sugary and no doubt very calorific, so
probably not good for regular drinking either, alas.

(And I'm afraid we tried Seedlip, which round here costs as much an alcoholic
gin, and didn't enjoy it at all - but we liked the concept so if there's a
market for it perhaps we'll like the next flavour or competitor...)

