UKC

There is a growing range of drinks that claim to offer some of the chemical benefits of alcohol, without the possibility of getting drunk or hungover.

Here are my experiences, feel free to share yours, especially if I've missed any!

Sentia - a herbal mix designed to be drunk in shorts with a mixer. I find this gives a definite warm and relaxing buzz. It comes in 3 flavours, black is punchy and peppery, red is lighter and has a berry theme, gold is bitter and hoppy. I wouldn't drink any of them on their own, but with ginger beer they are delicious - my current favourite is gold.

Impossibrew. A similar claim, but in an alcohol free beer. I don't notice much effect above placebo, but my partner gets very relaxed in a sleepy way. Two flavours; lager-too light for me but partner likes it, and pale- a decent flavour, i like it. More expensive than normal alcohol free beer.

Has anyone tried Collider? 

I have a lot of respect for David Nutt and was looking forward to trying sentia. Unfortunately, neither of us enjoyed the taste felt something but not much.

Impossibrew, tasted ok much like a none alcoholic beer, had no effect.

Tried trip, a CBD drink. A variety of flavours, all taste good and has a noticeable relaxing effect. Nothing like the effects of alcohol or THC.

I heard a great joke about none alcoholic beer recently but it's best not to repeat here.

Alcohol has proven health effects which are supported by a huge body of evidence. These newcomers are something of an unknown.

Not the answer you want to hear but trip with a shot of gin tastes like a posh cocktail and has an interesting effect.

Tea. I actually find it has more psychological effect on me that most of the ‘alt drinks’ and it’s certainly healthy..

Hopefully less 'interesting' than my teenage whiteouts!

And very good points about evidence. 

Zero Guiness. Pretty much like the real thing.

GHB and lemonade? 

I also have respect for Nutt, also didn't enjoy the taste of Sentia, didn't feel any effects. 

Are you feeling alcohol effects from it, or did you not read the OP properly?

In reply to DubyaJamesDubya:

You might have the wrong end of the stick there - the post you're replying to mentions health effects, not benefits.

You are correct. I may have conflated the talk of benefits in the the OP with the health effect mentioned lower

In times of desperation I sometimes resort to condensed milk from the tin, brings a big energy hit faster than anything else known to science.  In the Canary Islands they make coffee with the stuff which goes down well with coffee drinkers I know.

I found that a bit odd/confusing too - "chemical benefits" (presumably) as a euphemism for intoxication.  I'd have thought that anything that causes mild intoxication is, more or less by definition, mildly toxic so the OP seems to be asking for the Moon on a stick somewhat.

Ah, the barraquito, delicious 😋 In Lanzarote it also has lemon juice in it, yummy.

A trip to my auntie's down the lane when i was a kid inevitably involved a cup of Camp coffee with Carnation milk added.

The chemical benefits of alcohol ie ethanol? 🤔 

One of the benefits of Jonathan Ruffer finding the Spanish art gallery in Bishop Auckland is that you can get a barraquito made with genuine Licor 43.  I don’t touch coffee (or any caffeine these days) but it’s good for introducing other people to it.

Yes, the benefits of the chemical; ethanol.

The positive psychological effects of the drug; alcohol. 

Rather than any cultural benefits of pubs say, or the gastronomical experience of wine. 

Perhaps my wording was clumsy, but I would have thought that the fact that it has benefits is self evident given that 87.5% of people in Britain choose to use it.

I enjoy alcohol for its relaxing effects. I find it enhances my sociability, and helps conversation flow. I find I often feel I have a mental shift from the worries of the day, to a carefree evening state of being. 

However, alcohol has obvious negatives, it is clearly the most harmful drug in common use, both to users and society. 

Hence the interest in substitutes that may infer some of the benefits, with fewer downsides. 

Non alcoholic gin can be good and you must go to the Frankenjura because some of the non alcoholic beers out there are really good. 

Well I wish you'd post a reference.   I've just had the 2nd row with MRs B, because she thinks I'm drinking far, far too much at around 14 units per week  = (a pint a night)  and she thinks my liver is going to rot....

If they actually get you high, then they're illegal under the Psychoactive Substances Act. Looking at the ingredients, they ain't gonna get you high. Those herbs have got some possibly-almost-active compounds, but compared to alcohol or actual GABAergic drugs like benzos or z-drugs, they don't do anything.

There are still a few grey-market herbs that do get you high available such as Kratom, Kanna, Kava - these are technically illegal since they do get you high and therefore they the have risk of overdose, dependence, etc. No one's going to put them in a flashy bottle with an expensive marketing campaign!

I remember when Nutt (my hero) was trying to come up with an actual alcohol substitute drug that would make you a bit intoxicated and have an antidote - it was this drug:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MEAI

Since it got in the media, it was briefly available on the legal highs market (which was in full swing at the time). I tried it, and sadly, it was shit. Nice idea though, he obviously gave up and went for this very tame, very safe, and basically inactive version instead, and picked up the cheque at the end of it.

You may have misunderstood, when I said health effects, I meant just that. Not health benefits.

Is that the one where the punchline is something like "it tastes the same, but is still wrong".  A terrible joke; you easily tell the none alcoholic beer

Damn!!

non

I’ve recently been introduced to ‘Pentire’ which is a kind of gin-type non-alcoholic drink. It’s made in Cornwall, and I don’t think it’s too bad (or should that be ‘too darkinbad’?)