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beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2023 5:06 pm
by S. St. Jeb
We have a good discussion on gout in another thread (thanks Matt for that), but I thought I would start a more general discussion.
Consciously, or sub-consciously, I sometimes contemplate how much alcohol I consume, usually convincing myself that all is good. I'm not sure when I first heard of "Dry January" of "Dry February" (there is both, with different origins), but it was only a year ago that I started to wonder if I should give it a try. Not that I think I have any issues, but at the same time, it couldn't be a bad thing. And as a friend said to me just this week, it's good to prove to yourself that you can stop.
Anyway, I decided to do "Damp January", where you cut back but don't abstain altogether. For me, I am not drinking on Mon, Tue and Wed. It's been pretty much a non-issue. With the mindset in place, taking a pass on beer for three days has been very easy. I have no particular plan to keep this up as we move out of January, but at the same time, I'm thinking why not. We'll see.
Coincidentally, alcohol has been in the news this month with lots of talk that it is much worse for our health that previously thought. I've even seen some statements that "no amount is safe". Wow! Pretty heavy stuff. And not the news that a beer lover wants to hear.
One final thought. There has been strong growth in non-alcoholic adult beverages. I've never been much interested, but always thought that maybe I would try them if something happened that forced me to cut alcohol (cue the gout discussion). By chance, I had a Partake Pale Ale kicking around since last spring, so I had it this week. I wasn't too impressed, but perhaps it would be better fresh, and if I really couldn't drink alcohol anymore, I'm sure I would try these beverage out more seriously.
I am curious about the "hop waters" that Wellington is producing. Has anyone tried them?
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2023 9:07 pm
by Tapsucker
I knew this would come up here at some point.
OK. Not really a bad discussion to have. I have done many a dry February. Picking the shortest month of the year should speak to my commitment on these matters.
There are two things about this discussion that always make me bristle.
1. One's relationship with alcohol is personal both in terms of addiction and other health interactions. Top down prescriptions and trends are not helpful. The only helpful thing for some is that these discussions open up space for abstainers to not have to defend themselves. But, like any trend, this can backfire and people could quickly be called out for jumping on a bandwagon. None of this is helpful for people making their own reasoned personal decisions.
2. Mocktails. Time to kill this shit with fire. Remember when low fat became an obsession only to eventually find out the substitute to fat was a disgusting amount of sugar? Cocktail culture has been pumping insane amounts of sugar into people (especially the young). Removing the alcohol is IMHO not what really has to be done here. You know what I drink when I don't want alcohol? WATER. If I ever feel this is somehow a sacrifice, I think of the millions of people who don't get any safe water and I celebrate my good fortune.
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:59 pm
by Masterplan
The news is all "increased chance" or "X number times more likely". Yes, I know alcohol is not good for me, but don't tell me I'm 5 times more likely to get cancers that I had like next 0 chance of getting without.
Really, I'm more concerned by my sugar intake more than the alcohol.
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2023 5:16 pm
by sofakingdrunk
S. St. Jeb wrote: ↑Sat Jan 28, 2023 5:06 pm
We have a good discussion on gout in another thread (thanks Matt for that), but I thought I would start a more general discussion.
Consciously, or sub-consciously, I sometimes contemplate how much alcohol I consume, usually convincing myself that all is good. I'm not sure when I first heard of "Dry January" of "Dry February" (there is both, with different origins), but it was only a year ago that I started to wonder if I should give it a try. Not that I think I have any issues, but at the same time, it couldn't be a bad thing. And as a friend said to me just this week, it's good to prove to yourself that you can stop.
Anyway, I decided to do "Damp January", where you cut back but don't abstain altogether. For me, I am not drinking on Mon, Tue and Wed. It's been pretty much a non-issue. With the mindset in place, taking a pass on beer for three days has been very easy. I have no particular plan to keep this up as we move out of January, but at the same time, I'm thinking why not. We'll see.
Coincidentally, alcohol has been in the news this month with lots of talk that it is much worse for our health that previously thought. I've even seen some statements that "no amount is safe". Wow! Pretty heavy stuff. And not the news that a beer lover wants to hear.
One final thought. There has been strong growth in non-alcoholic adult beverages. I've never been much interested, but always thought that maybe I would try them if something happened that forced me to cut alcohol (cue the gout discussion). By chance, I had a Partake Pale Ale kicking around since last spring, so I had it this week. I wasn't too impressed, but perhaps it would be better fresh, and if I really couldn't drink alcohol anymore, I'm sure I would try these beverage out more seriously.
I am curious about the "hop waters" that Wellington is producing. Has anyone tried them?
The hop waters are very very tasty drinks…but I feel
That for me personally they don’t scratch that itch of a beer. Doesn’t quite taste enough like a beer.
I always have NA beer in the fridge(usually president choice), just for the fact that sometimes I want a beer, but don’t want to be drinking alcohol
Everyday. My experience is that a lot of the NA beers are getting better. If I could get NA beers that tasted as good as “real”
Beer, then I’d have zero issue switching over. 90-95% of the time I’m having beers because I enjoy the taste, it’s not to get a buzz or drunk. My issue with them is that pretty much every NA beer I’ve had had this underlying “metallic” for lack of a better word aftertaste. Wondering if it had something to do with the process of removing the alcohol. That being said, I drink a good amount of Partake pale ale and ipa. Presidents choice red(and I generally don’t go for red ales) and Irresistables west coast ipa. Weinstephaner also has a very solid one, but my wheat beer consumption is very limited.
I bought a couple cans of the Bellwoods NA just before Xmas on my last order, also very tasty but still that metallic taste in the finish. I’m keeping my eyes peeled for the CA
Ones to hit the LCBO and give them a shot. But as of right now, I’m not sure I enjoyed the craft NA any more than the grocery store brands.
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 10:43 am
by seangm
I got a bad bout of covid back in November, then got sick two more times in as many months since. I ended up not drinking for pretty big stretches, and since (finally) getting better overall, have found myself wanting to drink less; almost like a reset. It also perfectly coincides with the decision I made to cut back largely due to spending; I find myself buying old reliables and well-priced beers, and taking fewer "chances" so to speak, especially on expensive barrel aged and experimental beers.
Personally I'm not really concerned at all about the new "guidelines", there is a bit of alarmism and has been mentioned, x times more risk is compounded on a fraction of a percentage chance to begin with. That said, I do find I feel a little better throughout the week- I've also done a sort of "damp January", cutting out a few nights a week, having 1 or 2 less a night when I do drink. I never drink to get drunk anymore, in fact I hate the feeling now, and I would rarely have more than 4 in a session, but even going down to 1 or 2 instead of 2 or 3 helps. Helps with the wallet too.
As far as the NA choices go, well I agree with Tapsucker- I just drink water. Sometimes sparkling because I find it's the bubbles I'm craving. The NA beers I've tried so far are just ok, but not really worth the price; I'd rather just take a night off. I'll have low/no caffeine tea at night as well - no sugar - because the sugar issue is another great point.
I still love my beer though and have no intention in cutting it out completely, but I think it's a good discussion to have. Alcohol obviously has its health implications, but if you don't abuse it and listen to your body, there's absolutely room for it in a healthy lifestyle. Just ask the French and Italian centenarians whose secret to longevity is their daily wine lol
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:19 pm
by anthony9
I found myself going in the opposite direction. Drinking less, but more expensive per bottle.
I will try to keep within the new guidelines to the best of my ability. I asked a doctor about this about five years ago and the answer she gave was identical to the new guidelines.
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 10:21 am
by midlife crisis
Tapsucker wrote: ↑Sat Jan 28, 2023 9:07 pm
Mocktails. Time to kill this shit with fire. Remember when low fat became an obsession only to eventually find out the substitute to fat was a disgusting amount of sugar? Cocktail culture has been pumping insane amounts of sugar into people (especially the young). Removing the alcohol is IMHO not what really has to be done here. You know what I drink when I don't want alcohol? WATER. If I ever feel this is somehow a sacrifice, I think of the millions of people who don't get any safe water and I celebrate my good fortune.
Completely agree. Water and/or green tea for me on off days. I do not see the point of mocktails, NA beer or, for that matter, decaf coffee.
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 8:39 pm
by Cass
This is a timely conversation as Collective Arts very recently offered to send me a set of their canned non-alc beers and cocktails to consider for content. When I get those I’ll definitely post up back here.
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 9:36 pm
by Tapsucker
I'll look forward to sipping a Ransack while reading your review.
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:38 pm
by S. St. Jeb
Lot's of good discussion here so far; thanks to all for your comments.
"The hop waters are very very tasty drinks…but I feel That for me personally they don’t scratch that itch of a beer. Doesn’t quite taste enough like a beer." - sofakingdrunk
Good to hear. I don't expect anything other than beer to satisfy if it really is a beer I want, but if I want to take a pass, then what? Lot's of comments about alternative beverages, but these hop waters are something I will try next time I get to Wellington.
"One's relationship with alcohol is personal" - Tapsucker
Indeed it is. I admit there have been times I've teased about someone's choices, but I'm much more careful about that now. If a bunch of us are going out for beers and someone wants ice tea....I really don't care.
"Mocktails. Time to kill this shit with fire"- Tapsucker
"I do not see the point of mocktails, NA beer or, for that matter, decaf coffee." - midlife crisis
Not sure how serious these comments are, perhaps mostly tongue in cheek. They do reflect to a certain degree how I have felt about these beverages, but as I said above, if that's what someone wants, it's not for me to judge.
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:44 pm
by S. St. Jeb
NA beer.
A variety of opinions on this, as I would have expected. For me right now, I am not much interested. To a certain degree, it's a mental thing, as in, I'm either going to have a beer, or I'm not. So I suppose then, that what am I really saying is that NA beer isn't really beer, it's something different. No right or wrong about that, we will all feel how we feel. I suspect there will come a time when I will investigate and try out the NA beers, but I'm not there right now.
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 10:44 pm
by Tapsucker
While I don't judge the consumer, I am alarmed by what is promoted. People can and should do what they want, it's just sad that one health concern is traded for pushing another problematic ingredient. This especially applies to the mocktail biz.
The NA beer thing rattles in my mind in the same space as the whole plant based meat fad, which appears to be passing anyway. I'm all for eating my veggies but do they have to taste like meat? Can't I enjoy them for what they are? In fact, most of the time I eat veggies because I don't feal like eating meat. I get that veggie burgers have a utilitarian value as a convenient fast food, and sadly most taste like crap, but they don't taste like crap because they don't taste like meat, they are jut badly executed. A good one does not have to taste like meat to be enjoyable. A good example is a falafel. Well done for I'm guessing centuries.
When it come to this industry, they are pushing alarming levels of sodium and possibly other ingredients to the "health conscious" consumer as a meat alternative. Just enjoy some well prepared vegetables and legumes already.
You don't want to have alcohol? Just give all of the already non-alcoholic options a try and you might find the inherent joy in them.
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 8:33 am
by midlife crisis
I, again, mostly agree with tapsucker. But just to clarify, when I said I don't see the point of NA beer, mocktails or decaf coffee, I was speaking only for myself personally. No judgment here if others want to "indulge". Heck, I even have an NA beer or two and some decaf on hand for visits from my elderly parents. No way I'm touching them though. Maybe someday I'll be reduced to that.
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 9:06 pm
by Tapsucker
midlife crisis wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 8:33 am
I, again, mostly agree with tapsucker. But just to clarify, when I said I don't see the point of NA beer, mocktails or decaf coffee, I was speaking only for myself personally. No judgment here if others want to "indulge". Heck, I even have an NA beer or two and some decaf on hand for visits from my elderly parents. No way I'm touching them though. Maybe someday I'll be reduced to that.
Good bullion is underrated. In fact, maybe we should start a bullion appreciation thread?
Re: beer (alcohol) and health
Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 1:44 pm
by shintriad
I don't really consider nonalcoholic beer much of an indulgence, but sometimes you want something fizzy and dry that goes well with food, but sans alcohol.
The choices have gotten a lot better over the years (for instance, I recommend Bellwoods' dry-hopped nonalc fruit sours), and I expect that trend to continue.
Personally, I think the move towards very low-alcohol beer (like in the 2% ABV range) is a good compromise because removing the alcohol tends to ruin the flavour. Although I'm keeping an eye out for innovations like Yops:
https://evodiabio.com/yops/