Non alcoholic drinks at work

[SunshineSamba]

I work in a professional office for a large company.

Went downstairs for lunch today in my office canteen and new team member pulls out his packed lunch, including 0% ale.

I was stunned. I had a can of Fanta but it feels like non alcoholic beer is different. I hope this doesn’t become the norm. AIBU?

I'm not sure. Why does it "feel different" than a soda or tea or whatever?

I was wondering about this the other day, and I don’t think I would do it in a work setting. If it makes you raise an eyebrow, it’s probably not ok or at least not wise when you are just starting a job.

It just does. By association, even if it has no alcohol. And yet I know orange juice has about 1% alcohol in it.

I agree with you totally. Tonic water to me tastes exactly the same as alcohol free g&t. I’d never take a 0% can of Gordon’s and tonic to work, but would of course take plenty of fevertree tonic

I understand what you mean, it feels like “drinking” in the office but it’s not. I guess it will become the norm. I put apple tango in a glass and people think it’s wine!

In my experience, people drink 0% when they want to replicate drinking alcohol but for whatever reason can’t - driving, pregnant, etc.

So for me, it feels inappropriate and unprofessional to drink 0% at work.

If everyone in the office started drinking non alcoholic wine, beer etc at their desks, I am not sure that would be an environment I’d feel all that comfortable in if I’m being honest.

Wow - OJ has alcohol, didn’t know that.

It’s not ultimately any different than a can of Fanta

We’ll just get used to it

I'd rather have a can of 0% lager made with wheat hops and water than a can full of chemicals, junk and sugar.

I don't drink alcohol but I drink 0% beers, not because I want to replicate alcohol but because they taste nicer and are less sugary and shit than almost all traditional soft drinks.

Maybe they feel the same.

https://www.abbeycarefoundation.com/alcohol/what-foods-contain-alcohol/

I used to buy a non alcohol wine because I really liked it, not to replicate alcohol. I think that you need to reason this out more. Most people drink because they enjoy it, not to get drunk. Fat and sugar combined has the same affect on the brain, in some people. It's bad enough schools having lunch box police, let's not start it in the workplace.

I am a bit conflicted as I do feel it is inappropriate but am struggling to articulate exactly why

In 70s and 80s things like Top Deck Cider and Shandy Bass were fine for kids to buy, but views shifted about normalising

This particular one has sugar and chemicals in. Maybe less than a traditional soft drink but I don’t think it could be classed as a healthy alternative.

Which brand was it?

It's a "you" issue.

Gosh I love a shandy. Ben Shaws or Barr are favourite. Not sure I would have one at work.
Not sure how you can ban non alcoholic drinks as they aren’t alcoholic.

I was going to post exactly this ^
most of soft drinks have too much sugar and calories. Non alcoholic beer is much healthier. I had a drink of it this evening not because I needed to replicate drinking beer and couldn’t, I technically could - I wanted a soft drink and opted for non alcoholic beer as it had the lowest sugar content.
Also imo it tasted better than J2O or anything similar.

Where do you draw the line? Grape juice but no Shloer? What about CBD drinks like Trip?

Does Schloer count as ‘fake’ alcohol? I was thinking of taking a can of Schloer Zero to try and help with my afternoon sugar cravings. Will I get frowned at?!

I think part of the issue is they usually look similar to the alcoholic versions, and if people are used to the non-alcoholic versions being around, it may become acceptable to bring in the alcoholic ones, or at least, some people might.

We sometimes go to the pub at lunch, but very few people have a proper pint - it usually is a soft drink.

It was probably about 30 years ago that people started to break the culture of lunchtime drinking- which was very strong in some industries - and it's just not acceptable in the way it was back then, and in most of my employment contracts (as far as I remember,) it's been against the code of conduct to have alcohol on the premises, except in specific circumstances like an official reception.

It's because of its association with alcohol. The alcoholic versions came first, else they became different soft drinks.

(Mind you, original Coca Cola did actually contain cocaine, till 1908 or something - just think how that would make your afternoon zing...)

It’s not 1% it’s 0.01% and due to fermentation of the fruit 🙄 don’t believe everything you read online

What on earth is the problem?

And what do other people's drinks have to do with you?

Drinking 0% instead of a soft drink is perfectly normal in some countries.

Why wouldn't you be comfortable?

Why wouldn’t you feel comfortable? It’s just beer flavoured fizzy pop. Or wine flavoured juice. You are being very odd about a drink that has no alcohol in it!

You still have to get ID checked to buy non alcoholic beer , and presumably wine, in supermarkets.
I do think it's inappropriate to drink it at work because it's replicating a social drinking situation.

Or maybe they just enjoy the taste? I hate syrupy soft drinks and would never have fanta, but I love the taste of hoppy, malty beer in the summer.

I think CBD drinks should be fine too, seeing as Waitrose sells them as a part of a lunch-time meal deal. Might chill out some very highly-strung colleagues