More and more people are practicing this annual abstinence of alcohol after a season of overindulgence. Thirty-one days to recalibrate your internal organs.
I got a head start and decided to stop drinking in March. Not due to a personal crisis or necessity. I simply got bored with it. An evening of two or three pints at my local watering hole found me returning home fat, dumb and not so happy.
So while playing golf with a couple of my drinking buddies that March, I chose not to join them in our routine of grabbing a few at the turn. And I have not fallen off yet. In fact, quitting drinking has been much easier than quitting that nasty smokeless tobacco habit I had years ago.
However, I did miss the social aspect of drinking. Let’s face it, that is more than 50 percent of the enjoyment of drinking. Going to your favorite bar or tavern and enjoying the end of the day with familiar faces and sometimes meeting new.
So here is the real reason for this writing. I have discovered non-alcoholic beer. And there are lots to choose from. I’m seeing more and more bars and restaurants carrying them.
I saw a CBS report that said in 2023 the non-alcohol beverage market increased by 32 percent. So the wave is coming if it’s not already here.
So bar managers, restaurateurs and grocers, keep those coolers amply stocked with a good selection of these NAs. And me, I’m bellying up to the bar again.
Richard Fields