Best non alcoholic drink to buy in a pub?

[dbs]

Not sure if this is the best place for this post but here goes.

I need to reduce or give up my alcoholic intake but still want to go to pub with my mates.

Can anyone recommend any good non or low alcoholic drinks.

Found one pub that sells bottled water

Wetherspoons sells a non alcoholic pear cider which is quite nice

Any other suggestions please.

[love lifer]

soda and lime is good, and usually cheap. or plain soda water

[shellsuit]

Shandy?

J2O?

[ailuro2]

The new one that's been advertised on the radio as a grown up drink you can have at the pub with your mates...can't remember wht its called now...:o

[N9eav]

Shandy sounds good, half and half with a low alcohol lager, means your % alcohol will be reduced by half.
Otherwise just get a large coke and say you are on antibiotics 'for an infection'

[rockabilly spike]

why not just be honest?
if your mates take the mick for you not drinking alcohol as much for the sake of your health....they're not proper mates.

I mean, I've been teetotal for 10 years now (i'm 30) and I currently play in a rockabilly punk band and have played in rock/metal/punk bands since I was 15. Rock n Roll and drink seem to go hand in hand, but not in my case.
My REAL mates support my decision not to drink 100%.
Alcohol gave me a bad head and made me edgy and more bad tempered.
So I quit aged 20.

bout 6 years ago, a girlfriend actually dumped me cos I didnt drink and cos it was all her and her uni mates seemed to want to do and i bored so easily of watching them all make idiots of themselves every night.
and I was the boring one apparently!

Don't let anyone make you feel you're less of a person cos you don't drink alcohol.
its not the law that you must drink!!!

[snowmaid]

Just tell them straight that you are not drinking! Its so sad how many people think that they are worthless if they don't have booze in their hand!! Well done on taking this stand, which can only be better for your health.

I think the adult soft drink referred to is Slur - you get white and red and is nice. Appletiser is delicious, if you can find a pub serving it!

You can take some of these tastey beverages to your 'friends' when they are laid up in hospital with liver damage! ;)

[newlywed]

J2O's are nice. There are difference fruit flavours.

My sister likes orange juice and lemonade (together in the same glass - sometimes you need to explain to the bar staff ;))

I usually opt for Coke. Or pineapple juice (as I drink it much more slowly).

[pinkshoes]

OP didn't say anything about her mates giving her a hard time about not drinking!! She just wants suggestions of a non-alcoholic drink to drink in pubs, because they often have such a boring selection!

You could try shandy with 1/4 lager, 3/4 lemonade. I like appletiser, although it tends to be more expensive than alcohol! non alcoholic versions of cocktails are quite nice too, J20, a pint of lemonade and orange juice mix, Schleur (sp???), or even a white wine spritzer which is very low alcohol.

[Katgoddess]

I rarely drink at the pub, as I'm normally driving.

Sometimes I drink coffee, if they serve food. Caffeine is my drug of choice. :o

J20's are nice, as previously mentioned.
Amé (http://www.britvic.com/Brand.aspx?id=45), but makes me sleepy. I was late for work once, as I'd overslept!
Pineapple and lemonade. Very tropical.
I used to drink blackcurrant and lemonade as a child. :D

My OH will drink a lager top if he is driving or if it's really, really hot. Lager with a splash of lemonade.

The pear cider sounds nice. :drool: I read somewhere that you might be able to get it from Ikea, because it's Swedish!

[lady_noluck]

You can most definately get pear cider from Ikea :j

[brix]

kopparberg pear cider is gorgeous, like pear drops in a drink :)
i've tried the maguires and st heliers, both of which are sold in sainsbury's and they don't even come close!

how much is a large glass of coke or a soda and lime in a pub anyway? i usually drink beer because i thought soft drinks were just as expensive, pint for pint.

[dbs]

Got no problem telling people I am not drinking much alcohol nowdays but agree sometimes people just dont listen.

Thanks for all the suggestions now got plenty of options.

One drink which is alcohol free and my favourite is elderflower presse which is hard to find but lovely I make my own elderflower cordial at home and now is the time to make it as the flowers are in bloom.

For details http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=65388&highlight=elderflower+cordial

The pear cider at Wetherspoons is Kopparberg and sold at Ikea but not sure if the non alcoholic and alcoholic versions are available there.

[poppy_f1]

The new one that's been advertised on the radio as a grown up drink you can have at the pub with your mates...can't remember wht its called now...:o
schweppes straightcut its called

i adore J2Os especially he apple and raspberry and i lvoe appletiser

[Spendless]

lime and lemonade I find is a refreshing drink
J20s I like too

Bottled shandy has a very low alcoholic content.

[Stephen Leak]

Otherwise just get a large coke and say you are on antibiotics 'for an infection'

If anyone takes the p*ss because I'm not drinking alcohol, I just say to them that I'm a recovering alcoholic. I'm not, but it usually kills the subject stone dead.

[Sarahsaver]

Ginger beer as it has a nice zing to it. Failing that anything diet or low cal or fizzy water, you don't want to pile on the pounds from having loads of fizzy pop;)

[LindseyM]

I like J20's but more than one and I start to get a headache because they're so full of sugar (i think that's the reason anyway!)

I usually drink lager so if i'm out and not drinking, i'll drink non-alcoholic lager with lime, and you can't tell the difference until the morning when you wake up with a clear head! :D Plus, it feels like you're still drinking so you sort of win on both counts!

[Sarahsaver]

kopparberg pear cider is gorgeous, like pear drops in a drink :)
i've tried the maguires and st heliers, both of which are sold in sainsbury's and they don't even come close!

how much is a large glass of coke or a soda and lime in a pub anyway? i usually drink beer because i thought soft drinks were just as expensive, pint for pint.

Ummm... Pear CIDER has ALCOHOL in it :rotfl:
Lime cordial and tap water has to be the cheapest drink.

[kr15snw]

I dont drink either (well Ill have 1). So I tend to drink:

J20 (Although have been known to get on sugar highs with this, which is as bad as being drunk!)
Lemonade and Lime (I previously drunk alot of Vodka, Lemonade and Lime)
Apple Juice
Coke

No one I have know has ever made comments on my drinking (lack off). Well other than some 15 year olds at work who think im 'weird'. Everyone else thinks its great that Im 20 and have realised how bad it is for me!

[brix]

Ummm... Pear CIDER has ALCOHOL in it :rotfl:


but you can get a very low alcohol version in some wetherspoons :D

[lady_noluck]

I'm sure Ikea sell a non alcohol version of pear cider as OH was moaning about buying the wrong ones the other day

[wickychoo]

If I'm not drinking I really like to have a diet coke with a dash of blackcurrant in it, which is an odd combination apparently (the barman will ask you if you mean lemonade) but try it, it's lush. Tastes kind of like Vimto, really refreshing on a summer's day :)

[Idiophreak]

Ummm... Pear CIDER has ALCOHOL in it :rotfl:
Lime cordial and tap water has to be the cheapest drink.

I'd have thought that tap water would be cheaper?

:)

When I'm not drinking, I generally just drink blackcurrant...If anyone says anything about it, I say "I'm driving...and I'm not paying £3 for a coke".

[katiekittykat]

blackcurrant and soda water - really refreshing and only about 58p!

[mrs metal]

I used to love britvic 55 apple but I think they've stopped making it :mad:

They do an orange version which is quite nice but I usually just have coke. Although if I have too much i get a 'coke hangover' the next morning a sort of woosy headache that won't shift :confused:

[katiekittykat]

I think they have stopped making that Mrs metal - but appletiser tastes just as good :)

[mrs metal]

I think they have stopped making that Mrs metal - but appletiser tastes just as good :)

That's shame, I guess I'll just have to stick with Appletiser :D

I noticed yesterday they've started advertising Peartiser, has anyone tried that?

[katiekittykat]

No i haven't tried it - my friend has she said it was lovely!

[pollocmc]

My OH will drink a lager top if he is driving or if it's really, really hot. Lager with a splash of lemonade.

I'm sure he is careful but a "a Tops" (my pint of choice as it takes the edge off the rank beer my local serves) is just a lager with a wee skoosh of lemonade at the top. If he's driving then 2 pints might be enough to put him over the limit. A Shandy (half and half) is a better option as you can have 2 or 3 and still be legal.

From the government guidelines:
"Legally, the alcohol limit for drinking and driving is 80mg/100 millilitres of blood. In other words, two pints of normal strength beer or ONE large glass of wine could put you over the limit. Source: UK Department for Transport Road Safety Think!"

At two pints of tops you are gambling that it's "normal stength beer".

Don't want to be a party pooper but just thought I'd point it out. I have to make the same choices when I'm the taxi! Of course if this is over a long spell of an evening then your body will start dealing with some of the alcohol.

Anyway to the OP my favourite is Fresh Orange and Lemonade with loads of ice.

[tomstickland]

I drink water, Bitteburger drive if they have it. Other times I'll drink one pint of the weakest ale (Bath Ales spa, say, at 3.7%) over a night. I heard last night that the government are considering lowering the limit even further. No doubt this will appease the zero tolerance advocates, but I doubt it will make any practical difference to drink driving statistics. They were saying that drunk young men were a big problem, but they're already over the existing limit and crashing into trees/walls etc.

[savingsara]

If you ordered orange juice, lemonade or coke, who would know there was no alcohol in it? :rotfl:

I don't drink either.... don't like it.


I'm sure you're a much nicer person for it, some people turn into complete gob!!!!!s when they've had a drink or two!!!

[Let_Robinson_Sing]

blackcurrant and soda water - really refreshing and only about 58p!

:mad: that depends were you go i've been charged £1.85 for a pint of blackcurrant cordial with tap water in. and a pint of 5.0% beer was £2.20 :confused: Whereas i went into the same pub on saturday night and paid 10p for a pint of blackcurrant cordial

[littleredheadedgirl'75]

St clements is nice..bitter lemon&orange mixed.or o.j&soda/tonic.I'm caffeine&sugar intolerant so I find sugar&caff free coke with loadsa lemon&ice tastes pretty much the same X-D

[katiekittykat]

:mad: that depends were you go i've been charged £1.85 for a pint of blackcurrant cordial with tap water in. and a pint of 5.0% beer was £2.20 :confused: Whereas i went into the same pub on saturday night and paid 10p for a pint of blackcurrant cordial


Really? That is a rip off? I never buy a pint the pub i go serves it in pepsi glasses which are more than half a pint and less than a pint!

[gingerkel]

I always have the orange coloured J20 ina pint glass, topped up with lemonade if I'm not drinking. I also have it as a hangover cure! It is the most refreshing drink EVER! Pop a few ice cubes in it and it's a lovely drink for the summer.:rotfl:

[phizzimum]

I have tonic water with ice and a slice...I find I enjoy it just as much as a vodka or gin and tonic...but it still feels like a grown up drink if you know what I mean.

my daughter calls it toxic water...maybe she knows something I don't?

[Little Miss Saver]

I only venture in a pub to have an alcoholic beverages :beer:

If I'm driving then I'll stick to coke without ice as it's watered down enough as it is. :rotfl:

J20 used to be popular with my old work mates, but never had it myself.

LMS xx