Let me pan out the scene for you:
Me, 33 days sober. Small town in the Mediterranean, gorgeous weather, evening hours are rolling in. I am about to walk to the small store nearby. I ran into two guys I have hangout in a crowd a few times. We had a great chat, joked and laughed. They said that they are headed to this tiny restaurant in the neighborhood and invited me to join them. We had been there before with friends. I chickened out and told them that I will be gone for awhile. I would have loved to socialize with them. I just couldn’t. I am not ready to go to the places I used to go yet. So, after that I go to the store and start thinking how I could have handled the situation, maybe I would say I am on medication I thought. All of a sudden I see this non alcoholic beer and thought if that would be a solution to the awkwardness. The thing is that I never tried to replace the beer or wine or whatever with anything else. It became all about getting drunk. Not about food or enjoyment anymore. Plus there is still a ton of calories in the God damn thing. Lol. I would like to hear your thoughts.
I replaced drugs and booze with a program of recovery as suggested in the 12 steps. I follow the suggestions of my sponsor and surround myself with the fellowship of AA and my life is pretty damn awesome these days.
Happy for you!
It is a matter of personal choice. However, my experience with NA beer and wine was all it did was make me want real beer and wine.
Last November, I was with my entire family on vacation. I had wanted to “moderate” so I bought a 12 pack of non-alcoholic beer. An hour later it was gone, and I was walking to a local store, for real beer, which I bought, and proceeded to drink with predictable results.
If you feel awkward without a glass or bottle in your hand in social settings, drink a soda or sparkling water.
For me, hell no. Too slippery a slope. The only thing I would taste is fermented rubbish that would bring physical cravings for something that made life suck. In hindsight, none of that stuff actually tasted good. It’s now an un-acquired taste (blech).
Not to mention it’s begging for a “whoops” where you ask for one thing and get another.
Some related threads if you’re interested (see also: kombucha)…
Less dramatically, I understand some uneasiness socially. Have you tried just ordering a soda or something? In my experience I’ll sometimes get a question. But simply saying “no thank you” doesn’t have to mean an interrogation will follow. Lots of people won’t pay it a second thought (or may even think it’s cool).
Well, I’m going to eat some crow and give a different answer than I have given to ALL the other posts on this topic. In the past I’ve been very positive about the NA wine. “It helps me get through the cravings.” “It never triggers me to pour a real drink.” Blah blah blah. But here’s the thing…I’m currently on day 1 for the MILLIONTH time…maybe, just maybe, NA wine is just not the thing to do. I’m going to do herbal teas this time!!!
Thank you! I agree, I never liked the NA stuff anyway. I guess I am trying to overcome the awkwardness. Here I am, ready to quit for good but sensitive to how to present myself. Go figure.
Thank you for sharing @VSue. Your honesty is refreshing and I think your message is a good one. I haven’t tried N/A versions of anything so I don’t feel qualified to share an opinion. Your willingness to change will help you tremendously going forward.
I have been avoiding social situations. My neighbors offered a glass a few times and I turned them down with a cup of tea in hand.
Not to mention, if you’re still anxious, ordering NA anything will invite more questions than just not drinking. 
If you’re still anxious, maybe a little more recovery time before jumping back into that kind of situation is still needed? Only you can say. I know I kept my distance from any kind of drinking for a while. And I’ve still left situations where it was getting to be too much. We each have our time.
…anyway, if we have friends worth keeping (not damaging to sobriety), I think socially it’s only as big an ordeal as we make it once we’re ready.
Edit: That all said, being up front about my sobriety with a trusted friend is also a big help. For my own accountability and to know someone’s in my corner.
I might recommend Jocko White Tea with Pomegranate. Very low caffeine, and tastes amazing. Good for blood pressure too.
This was definitely true for me. Now I feel more comfortable (but not complacent!) I can be around people drinking, although I don’t do it very often as after a point drunk people aren’t that much fun. They may think they’re funny, but they really aren’t 
I have had the occasional NA beer and it’s not been an issue. But there are better tasting things to drink and also cheaper things - surely a big bonus of being teetotal is not spending silly money on silly drinks! Soda and lime is my go to.
Thank you for the suggestion Stevie. I have been a tea addict long before I became an alcoholic. I enjoy black tea, English Breakfast and Earl Grey are my all time favorites. I am also a big fan of chai, although the term is used incorrectly. Spiced tea I should say, especially with milk. I am working on my own blend, tailored for my tastebuds.
A lot more time, I mean months and months.
True, I am not big on liquids in fancy packaging. Even if there is recycling; it is still bad for the environment. I am perfectly happy with water and tea. A club soda here and there.
Doesn’t chai latte basically mean milk milk or something to that effect?
Love a good chai mix though 
Chai or cay or çay means infusing a plant in a generally hot liquid. It is also the name of the plant Camelia Sinensis. I feel like this is starting to be a history lesson with English, bringing it from India. I will cut to the chase. Anyway, to make it short, yes, a Chai Latte is a steamed milk infused with a spice blend called Chai.
I like tea so I am happy to have a history lesson on it! 
If your not comfortable in your sobriety, I definitely wouldn’t try the NA stuff. I personally never drank for the taste of alcohol… if anything I was mixing to cover up the taste of it. All these NA things cost just as much as the real thing from what I’ve seen. It’s just a waste of money to me.
So for me I prefer not even check it out. I’ll drink my Gingerale or other drinks, and not even pretend. 