For reference, I dont drink alcohol purely for health reasons, I’m not necessarily T Total but currently not drank in a few years.
We dont go ‘out out’ a lot and I’ve forgotten what to do with my hands in a bar without a drink….!
I can drink fizzy but I dont want to drink that all night, and drinking water in a bar feels like I should have just stayed home.
Mocktails are off the table as sugar content is tooooo high for me. Yuck.
What do you guys drink in a bar?
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If you like the taste of beer the non-alcoholic options are pretty good these days. I tend to nurse a pint of orange juice and lemonade if I’m not drinking.
Non alcoholic beer
Soda water and a wedge of lime! Refreshing and a great way to stay hydrated…which is usually very welcome if I’m not drinking, as it’s likely due to gym reasons.
Non-alcoholic beer or cider, or failing that, Coke Zero. Non-alcoholic options have increased in number massively in recent years so there’s plenty to choose from.
Guinness Zero is the shit. Also by and large a G&T made with 0% Gin is pretty awesome.
If you don’t drink for health purposes and need something to do with your hands, try smoking! 🚬
Smoking is wonderfully addictive
J20s or lime and soda
I drink tea and hot chocolate. Always have, even at uni! Mocktails that are based on gin replacements tend to be less sweet than fruity ones.
I’ll usually go for something like J2O or alcohol free Kopparberg – but when it gets later, I don’t want a ton of sugar in my system. I find that soda and blackcurrent is a good choice because it’s hydrating, basically water and cordial, and relatively cheap in most places.
You sound similar to me, soda water with fresh lime can be a good one too
Soda water with a splash or a squeeze of orange juice, lemonade, grapefruit juice, or any other juice is my fav.
fizzy water with ice and lemon
I sometimes have a soda and lime….it tastes nice and it looks like a gin and tonic – so I don’t have to put up with my friends being utterly offended ‘are you not drinking!?!?!?’
Coke with lime.
Some brilliant alcohol free beers around now.
I also like lime and soda .
Pint of Coke usually. I’m not paying full beer prices for alcohol free beer, that’s such an insult. J2Os are nice but the sugar content gives you a high after a while that’s unpleasant. Cordial and soda water is a cheap refreshing alternative too
Non alcoholic beer. 0% Guinness is good, but if you want more of an ale, Purity Point Five is the best IMO. I’ve noticed a lot of places around here stock it, but that might be because it’s fairly local. I don’t know how widely available it is in pubs generally.
Haven’t drunk for 25 years. The alcohol-free offer in pubs is brilliant now.
I drink non alcoholic cider, or sometimes get lucky with non alcoholic spirits (Captain Morgans and Seedlip are my go tos every time)
I do enjoy a drink but not regularly. I love a ginger ale/ginger beer (non alcoholic ones)
I switch between lime and soda, pepsi and a j2o
Lime and soda, fresh orange and lemonade, Diet Coke, J2O
Coffee, Diet Coke/Pepsi, Lime and soda on the rocks, feels like a cocktail more than a mocktail, sometimes lime and ginger beer.
Soft drinks.
I always thought alcohol free drinks were a bit pointless. May as well drink something delicious if you’re not getting the “benefit” of alcohol. Guinness zero is pretty good though.
St Clement’s or coffee if they do them
Usually 0% fruity ciders. Rekorderlig is my favourite. Otherwise, I’ll try something new if it looks interesting enough.
Non alcoholic Martini and lemonade is quite nice, I got a bottle of the Martini on offer.
Also if you go to a branch of Lounges, their mocktails and in house made fresh soft drinks are lovely. Very much going out treat type drinks, not normal everyday.
If you get a capable bartender that isn’t baffled by the shelves behind them, ask them for a lemonade, a squeeze of lime (not squash/cordial) and a few dashes of Angastura bitters for a Lemon, Lime and Bitters.
It’s the Australian designated driver drink back home and delicious.
Edit: bitters does have alcohol content but it’s such a miniscule amount.
Lime soda. Every time.
Try a rock shandy – lemonade and soda water. A dash of angostura renders it – technically – non-alcoholic, but gives it some zing.
Fruit juices are great. Most non alcoholic drinks now are great. Flavoured sparkling waters.
I do note though that it all depends on where you are, what kind of bar/establishment you’re in, on what’s good or not.
For low sugar? Non alcoholic beer. Also the non alcoholic spirits are pretty good these days, you can get a 0% G+T, old fashioned etc
J2O – refreshing and can pass as a cocktail if you want people not to keep asking why you don’t drink.
I have half and half orange and soda water with a lot of ice. It’s very tasty and you can drink it slowly.
Diet Coke, or if they only have Pepsi I’ll have lemonade instead. Soda and lime if I’m fancying a change.
I hate non-alcoholic beers, so I rarely go to bars, so whatever the best mixer on offer is at the party
Here’s my experience. Driving is my reason.
I’m in the UK so it might be different but I don’t enjoy Guinness 0% — it’s just a sad reminder of the real thing for me. I’m lucky enough for my reason to include the full version.
Zero percent lagers and ales are ok.
Gin —& I only sussed this recently and the bartender confirmed it— is the best like-the-real-thing you can get as a zero alcohol. So if you like G&Ts that will be very good.
Good luck.
Alcohol free beer if you like the taste .
Personally, if I am not drinking I tend to go for tonic water with lime – I like the bitter taste .
If you don’t want too much fizz, most pubs can do blackcurrant or orange squash, if you want something other than plain water
Fruit juice – still quite high in sugar but you could alternate between fruit juice and some form of diet fizzy drink whether that’s soda and lime, tonc water, or Coke
‘Just a coke please’
I haven’t been drunk in a long time. I don’t drink for health reasons (it flares up my Crohn’s) and I hate feeling hungover but occasionally will have ONE cocktail just to be sociable when I can’t be arsed with questions.
Juice and tonic (50:50) is nice.
I do drink but if I go to a pub/bar for food on my lunch break, I’ll have a soda and a couple of slices of lime with lots of ice….
I don’t drink and never have had alcohol. I normally go for either coke or pepsi. If they sell it from the tap, I get that – or just a can of it.
I don’t like mocktails. I have never had the alcohol free guiness and stuff.
Just to note, sometimes I’ll go into a quiet pub. I’ll go to spoons if I’m with a group. I have never set foot in a nightclub.
I’ve been trying a few of the 0.5% beers recently. Don’t think you could get drunk or over the limit on those without trying very hard. They are brewed in the normal fashion (rather than having alcohol removed after) so tend to taste better.
If you find it, try St Austell “Proper Job”. Morrisons were selling it.
I also don’t socialise in pubs very much and buying a big round is a thing of the past. I don’t feel its necessary to match drink for drink I’ll have a lime and soda, maybe a coffee, that’ll do me. I did use to drink a lot and still avoid low alcohol as it feels a bit more tempting to have a ” proper drink,”
alcohol free beer.
Tomato juice with all the extras for me. Can’t have more than a couple though
I don’t drink alcohol because I don’t like the taste of it.
Slowly sip orange juice?
Water. I’m a very cheap date
I don’t drink either, or at least so little that it’s the same.
The modern low or no alcohol beers are quite palatable, though it might take a bit of searching to find one that you like the best.
Cocktails don’t have to be sugary. Get a 0% gin and tonic. Yum.
Lucky saint is on draft all over the UK. You can put in your location on their website and it shows you exactly where. I have stopped drinking and this really scratches the itch. It also enables me to still be able to have a pint in the pub with my friends.
I drink sparkling water (just one because they cost like £4 now), and make it last. No point drinking expensive liquids if they don’t get me hammered I think. Non alcoholic beer is just laughable and yes I spent a year or so genuinely trying to drink it. It all tastes like ass, and so do most alcoholic drinks once you get unaddicted. I only really think about decent red wines or decent whisky now and then, if at all.
I usually drop in and out then to 🚬🌳.
I quit drinking because it’s simply poison and was ruining my body, besides costing lots of money – even drinking wine etc at home. Like £10 a bottle minimum to get owt nice nowadays. It’s quite interesting being on a night out and watching what people are willing to ‘waste’ on booze. My mates must have got through a few hundred easily (each) when we went to Oasis. I spent about a tenner including food, and actually remember it. But whatever makes people happy 👍
Non alcoholic options
Ashai zero, Heineken zero also guiness zero are all excellent imho .
Fever tree soda mixers are really nice too and not too heavy on the sugar, the Mexican lime one is particularly nice .
Cordial. Orange juice or black currant.
Usually just lime and soda. I find its less sweet than lemonade/coke and not as sickly as fruit juices.
If im out out I’ll go for Guinness 0 if they have it as thats better than most mainstream alcholic lager tbh
I tend to drink Lime and Tonic – it is fizzy, but generally not as fizzy, Lime and Soda is similar.
Last time I tried non alcoholic beer I was surprised how good it tasted and I really enjoyed that.
Thatchers zero for me
I don’t go to bars, I enjoy going for a meal and having the ‘fancy drinks’ but it’s like saying I hate swimming but then going to a swimming pool at the leisure centre. Sure you could have the possibility of going into a hot tub. But is it really going to be that fun?
Though I understand that you want to go probably meet people/hang out with friends but you can meet people in different places (even going to the pub or somewhere you can watch the football together is different than just going to the bar)
Lime cordial is the best thing to drink when not boozing
I just have the odd one my best mate struggled with alcoholism been dry a while now so I think that’s an influence plus my medications can react.
Odd drink whilst out and I’m fine
Soda water with lime.
I have a ridiculous caffeine addiction but hate sugary drinks – for me it’s Coke Zero or Pepsi Max all night. Sometimes I’ll mix it up with pint of Soda Water with a slice of lime in it.
Guinness zero is very good.
I’m a tonic water person myself. I love the taste of it, I know it’s not for everyone. People assume I have gin in it as well most of the time.
Hey OP. 49 year old non-drinking man here.
For me, it’s non-alcoholic beers. The very very best thing is that they have the same “drinkability” as alcoholic beers – sugary soft drinks get too “sticky” after a few, water’s just dull… but I can keep glugging NA beers all night
That’s me – if I’m out out, I’ll get an espresso at the witching hour of about 10pm – that’s when my bed is usually calling!
Nothing. Just chill. Have a soft drink if you want one.
It’s tricky being a type 1 diabetic who doesn’t drink! Went to a wedding the other day and my options were Diet Coke, still water, slimline tonic, and one none alcohol gin. I was expecting a few more options these days! The 0% gin and tonic it was £9 too 😬 I had a couple of those and then just tap water.
I usually go for sparkling water, a light lager (there was only Heineken), or a mocktail if it doesn’t contain any fruit juice!
I drink sparkling water and lime I always have it in a wine glass I know it’s silly but it makes it feel more fun 🤩
If I’m drinking then a Heineken or Guinness 0 are my go to.
I drink spiced rum with diet coke or a pint of diet coke. If it’s a cocktail bar, then I will have that
Guinness 0 – if you like it
By a long way the best non alcoholic beer, tastes very similar to the real thing
0% gin. Cranberry juice. J2Os.
Non alcoholic beer options are great nowadays, I would personally steer clear of Punk AF and heineken – Guiness 0% is a winner!
If you can find 0% gin, a non alcoholic G&T is pretty close
Nice cup of tea
Im high and dry so a joint and a cup of coffee hits the spot.
The alcohol free options in bars over the last few years have really expanded and I think there’s a great range of options now. I tend to go for:
(not all at once though)
Soda/tonic water, if you have it with ice and lemon no one would know its not a ginger and tonic
Non alcoholic drinks are pretty good these days. I just drink them.
Take up smoking and go for a walk. Ha ha.
Usually a soft drink or a water. Nobody cares what’s in your glass, they care about how much it hurts them round wise.
Downside is you have to fight to stop people from buying you a drink.
I’ve never consumed alcohol, I don’t like the taste of it and don’t like the feeling of losing control.
I just order a lemonade.
For lager: Peroni zero or Becks Blue.
Guiness 0% is nice as well.
What I don’t get though, is zero percent gin?!
Tonic water 🙂
Tonic water and lime
AF beers are great now. I particularly like Freedam and Asahi 0%. Gets a lot of hate but Brewdog Punk AF and Hazy AF are good too.
My absolute fave AF thing just now is the Aperitivo Spritz from Schweppes. Tastes just like Aperol SpritZ, proper bittersweet taste just like the real thing.
I drink occasionally but it’s mostly at weddings or Xmas
Soda and Lime is my go to.
0% cider usually, or I’m perfectly content with a soft drink.
A single soft drink like a j2o or similar, then I inevitably bail. After 6 years and change, it still gets me a bit twitchy heading into a pub.
Different if I’m sat down eating, then that seems to keep my mind and self focused., usually on trying to convince the table that all food is communal food.
Non Alcoholic beers are prettty good these days. Its that or the classic Lime soda. But overall pubs are just not as appealing to me since i stopped drinking.
A lot of non alcoholic beer (and some liquors for that matter) are absolutely brilliant these days, to the point that I’ll sometimes pick one over a regular pint. Because I totally agree, drinking 3 liters of diet coke in an evening is not only unpleasant but I’m also not sure it’s massively healthier.
Alternatively, iced coffee/chai latte, when they’re available, are my go to on a non drinking night.
0% Guinness
Tonic water.
Blackcurrant and soda water.
My partner doesn’t like sweet cocktails / mocktails either, she asked a barman for suggestions once and they made her a fizzy water with Angostura bitters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angostura_bitters
Adds a flavour to the water without being too sweet, and is pretty refreshing too!
Bitter Lemon is nice
I do drink, just don’t enjoy it. I find tonic too sweet and like OP don’t like sweet drinks nor juices.
I go for 0% lager like peroni or corona zero. Sometimes i switch between regular and alcohol free.
Soda water and lime is fine but it goes very quickly if i subconsciously sip it.
TBH i don’t know how others can intake that much liquid, alcoholic or not. I am female and men tend to insist on getting “at least a soft drink” on the 2nd+ round when I am OK empty handed.
I was born a 80yo granny and have always been home with tea well before it gets to shots. Or if with girlfriends, women basically only have wine and get overly emotional by the 3rd glass. Basically i avoid socialising and drinks as much I can.
lime and soda is an underrated drink
soda water and lime is nice
I dont drink much for health reasons, and the none alcoholic options hace greatly improved over the last few years. I usually have a 0% gin and tonic, or occasionally an alcohol free Kopperburg (not many of those as full of sugar). The 0% Guinness is good too. They feel more like in having an adult drink whereas a half of Diet Coke makes me feel like a kid having a panda pop and a bag of crisps, it’s weird.
Alcohol free beer does trick and it’s really good now.
I don’t drink purely because of my lifestyle (biggest chunk of my life is behind the steering wheel), so I rely on good old coffee, water and occasional soft drinks.
The OddBird wine is surprisingly good for a NA wine. I had to do a double take because it tasted so legit
Hop on any non-alcoholic beers they have on tap. I’m a sucker for CLEAR HEAD brewed in Bristol but your location plays a part in how big good NA beers are on draught.
Heineken 0.0% tastes exactly the same.
problem is you go to the toilet all night as if you were drinking alcohol so I avoid alcohol free, plus the price is the same.
Water. If you feel like you should have stayed home, perhaps it’s the company that’s a problem and not the water?
Usually a cup of tea 😂 I like cranberry juice too.
Lime and lemonade or lime and tonic water.
Leffe 0 is amazing. Up there with the Guinness and Heineken 0, to me more tasty. It just makes you wee so much. A couple of 25ml bottles and I’m weeing all night. It’s like take furozomide.
My drink last all night. I usually just get a club soda with a lemon slice & mint leaves if they have it.
Or alcohol free rosè, not all places stock alcohol free rosè
I used to.like J2O drinks, until they started using sweeteners (which I can taste, and hate)
But most pubs I go to now serve tea and coffee.
So when my friends are ordering pints, I often ask for a large pot of tea.
(Not TT, but am often driving)
Zero alcohol beer quite often for me, a lot of it is really good now. Or if you’re not a beer person, zero alcohol spirits and even wine exist now!
I’ve never drunk alcohol (I’ve seen too much devastation caused by it), but there are loads of 0% things now (Thatchers cider 0% is my favourite if I’m having something). Otherwise I usually have blackcurrant and soda or orange juice.
I’ve been really impressed with the quality of non-alcoholic beers lately; they’re a great option if you still enjoy the taste. Otherwise, a soda water with lime gives you something to hold without all the sugar.
Drink water or fruit juice with the occasional fizzy drink. I mean no matter what you drink in a pub if it’s non-alcoholic you are going to feel like you should have stayed home. But you go to see your friends not for the soft drinks
Most bars have at least one or two non-alcoholics beers or ciders. I find them better than softies if I’m the driver.
You can buy alcohol free beer
Orange juice and lemonade. My go-to in pubs
I’ve tried loads of different non alcoholic beers and wines but always come back to Becks Blue.
For me, Becks Blue isn’t far off the taste of a Carling or Heineken, a lot of pubs and bars sell it now too.
I will add – i’ve been T-Total for 20 something years now so for a lager drinker to switch, would probably taste minging.
Guinness zero or Erdinger zero are both good. Erdinger is technically a sports drink because it’s isotonic. Lots of good non alcoholic beers to try.
If you are in a good crowd and enjoying yourself drinking zero alcohol beers doesn’t make too much difference to your night out. Always feels a bit weird driving home though. Plus no hangover in the morning.
I’m the same, I used to drink but gave up for health reasons. Guinness 0.0 tastes really good and most pubs have it also many have Heineken 0.0 on draft , alcohol free drinks (except wine,which is still bloody awful!) are really nice tasting. At home I drink Lidls own 0.0 lager that Which recently recommended.
Cheers!
Orange and lemonade if I need a drink.
Tonic water if I want something I can nurse and that won’t be downed too quickly.
Fever tree tonics and mixers are really nice. I’m not T total but I do like to just have a Mediterranean tonic with lemon or lime and lots of ice.
Also quite like a sparkling water with some nice cordial
Guinness Zero is great!