Sober September anyone?

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  • jms3533
    jms3533 Posts: 316 Member
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    I gave it up right after the 2011 Holiday season, and vowed not to have any until I lose 100 pounds....just 16 pounds to go. It has likely helped a lot in losing weight. Go for it!
  • zombie_porno
    zombie_porno Posts: 199 Member
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    I can do this!
  • alerica1
    alerica1 Posts: 310 Member
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    I'll join in.....I haven't had anything to drink since August 4th....so I'm doing pretty good for the month of September.
  • offthedeependay
    offthedeependay Posts: 435 Member
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    will be 3 years in December for me being sober,,dont want it ,loving and enjoying life to much to go back
  • arizonaladybug
    arizonaladybug Posts: 91 Member
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    I drank last night but Im in! lol
  • shelbyfrootcake
    shelbyfrootcake Posts: 965 Member
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    I'm 2/3 of the way through a dry year, so you can definitely count me into a dry September.
  • lilmisfit
    lilmisfit Posts: 860 Member
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    No way! My birthday is this month! :drinker:
  • Capekj51
    Capekj51 Posts: 17 Member
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    I never drink. It's great. :)
  • shelbyfrootcake
    shelbyfrootcake Posts: 965 Member
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    God today was tough! Hot sunny Sunday and I was walking past beer gardens and pubs with people stood or sat outside enjoying cold beers and ciders. Yesterday my partner was off with her mates drinking in York. I DID feel a little smug when I was sober this morning and she was hung over though.

    I've found that I'm eating more as I'm not drinking. I think in the past I would feel hungry and instead have a beer and the appetite would go... which wasnt a good thing as if anything, I want to put on weight. So thats a bonus and alcohol is so damned expensive these days that I am for sure noticing the difference in my pocket.

    Alcohol free beer works wonders on hot days when the pub garden beckons.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    There's really no such thing as alcohol free beer. Non-alcoholic beers (besides tasting horrible) still have alcohol in them, just much less than a normal beer. Just like how a zero calorie diet soda actually has about 3 calories in it.

    Alcohol is what makes beer. It's impossible to completely remove it after brewing.
  • leeanneowens
    leeanneowens Posts: 319 Member
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    I'm in but I don't drink anyway.:laugh:
  • TheDreadPirateRoberts
    TheDreadPirateRoberts Posts: 225 Member
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    FYI, there are such things as alcohol free beers as a quick Google will confirm (e.g. http://www.alcoholfree.co.uk/index.php?cPath=2_65_50). I brew my own beer and wine (or used to), so I know its possible. You just have to boil the almost finished beer and the alcohol will evaporate before the water. 0% beers are even allowed by Islam for example.

    However, as tempted as I was (and I almost bought a 6 pack of alcohol free beer on Sunday), I figured I was just continuing my need for alcohol if I did. So instead, I bought some schloer and some ginger beer and some fruit juice. Its much better for me and cheaper and if I am honest, its tastier. There's a reason that when I first started drinking beer I didnt like it... thats because it doesnt actually taste that good.

    That said, I was watching Evan Almighty last night and in one scene I have no clue what was being said as I was just looking / drooling at the wine glass on the table... mmm mmm :)
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    No matter how long you boil it, you will never get every bit of alcohol out of beer. Same thing with cooking with alcohol. Even with hours of boiling, there are still trace amounts of alcohol left. You might be able to round it down to zero, but it will never truly be zero.
  • TheDreadPirateRoberts
    TheDreadPirateRoberts Posts: 225 Member
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    No matter how long you boil it, you will never get every bit of alcohol out of beer. Same thing with cooking with alcohol. Even with hours of boiling, there are still trace amounts of alcohol left. You might be able to round it down to zero, but it will never truly be zero.

    Why dont you actually read about this subject rather than just quoting what you believe? What you are saying is wrong. They can remove all the alcohol from alcoholic drinks. They can do this by boiling (especially at higher pressures which then means the alcohol will evaporate at room temperatue) and by using filters which only allow the alcohol and the water through.

    What you are saying is just not true. There are too many people on MFP who just state things that they believe without actually reading up on the facts.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Then why are non-alcoholic commercial beers labeled as having 0.5% abv?
    Nonalcoholic” beverages still contain some alcohol, because it’s difficult and prohibitively expensive to get every single bit of it out. In order to be called nonalcoholic under federal laws, a beverage can contain up to half a percent of alcohol by volume. (Something with no alcohol at all is called alcohol-free.) So people who are forbidden to drink alcohol, like devout Muslims, can’t partake in so-called nonalcoholic beer and wine. Nor can people under the age of 21, according to the law. It takes about 10 nonalcoholic malt beverages to equal the alcohol in one American-style lager, says George Reisch, a veteran brewer with Anheuser-Busch and the former brewmaster of O’Doul’s.
    http://www.chow.com/food-news/53912/how-are-nonalcoholic-beer-and-wine-made/

    True 0% alcohol beer isn't fermented, and to me, that isn't actually beer.
  • TheDreadPirateRoberts
    TheDreadPirateRoberts Posts: 225 Member
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    @Tigersword.

    I agree that the vast majority of what are referred to as "alcohol free" drinks, especially those in a bar or supermarket, are in actuality "low alcohol" and have ~0.5% or less alcohol in them (they SHOULD be >0.05% to be classed as alcohol free to be honest). That means that in many places kids are allowed to drink them by law. However, it does NOT make them 0%.

    However, you can make alcohol free (0%) beer and wines that have previously been fermented (Eg: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavaria_0.0% ). As far as I'm aware the only beer that is commercially available that is 0% and not fermented is Kirin Free, (http://www.kirin.com/KIRINFREE.aspx) but there could be others. The usual method is to brew as normal then filter using reverse osmosis which removes all the alcohol. You can get the idea at this link http://www.chow.com/food-news/53912/how-are-nonalcoholic-beer-and-wine-made/ which you linked to. That shows that they ferment and then filter.

    Upside of these low and alcohol free beers is they are also low calorie. Downside is, they tend(ed) to taste pretty awful. These days, they are tasting a lot better, but I'd probably not try them warm. They are also almost the same price as "regular" beers, so its a bit pointless getting them when a soda is so much cheaper and probably nicer.

    Anyway, all this talking about beer is REALLY not helping my desire to not drink, which is what this thread is about after all. So we can agree to disagree and move on and just support all those ex alcoholics who are trying to do something good for their bodies.
  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
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    Good job everyone!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    There's really no such thing as alcohol free beer. Non-alcoholic beers (besides tasting horrible) still have alcohol in them, just much less than a normal beer. Just like how a zero calorie diet soda actually has about 3 calories in it.

    Alcohol is what makes beer. It's impossible to completely remove it after brewing.
    and??? Is the suggestion that the folks drinking N/A/ beer some how aren't doing a "sober september"?
  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,264 Member
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    There's really no such thing as alcohol free beer. Non-alcoholic beers (besides tasting horrible) still have alcohol in them, just much less than a normal beer. Just like how a zero calorie diet soda actually has about 3 calories in it.

    Alcohol is what makes beer. It's impossible to completely remove it after brewing.
    and??? Is the suggestion that the folks drinking N/A/ beer some how aren't doing a "sober september"?

    Dunno, but I think a bad Puritanical streak is edging in here, maybe we should all go down the pub? :drinker:

    For me I shall not even have a shandy,which can legally [in UK] be sold to children if under 2% ABV
  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,264 Member
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    Today was an eye opener, I popped into the Spotted Cow to check on the charity collecting tin [not much in it] and decided to have half pint of diet cola, no ice

    I was bloody charged £1.60, that makes it £3.30 a pint which is same price as HSB, and that is 4.8% ABV and taxed accordingly
    http://www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=51

    Nearly drove me to drink :drinker:

    Last time I buy cola in a pub, I shall stick to beer once I come of this wagon

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