What to drink in summer!

[almawe]

Was wondering how 'safe' it is to drink extreme low alcohol content beer (0.5% ALC/VOL)...I am asking because l can't seem to find a low suger, thirst quenching summertime drink..all the fruit juices and fizzy drinks are loaded with suger.  I saw this beer on the superrmarket shelves and had a look at the ingredients...<1.0g of suger per 100mls..only ingredients are barley, hops, yeast and water.  I bought a bottle (very cheap) and it tasted surprisingly good.   I am not a beer drinker and do not have an alcohol problem and since learning of my liver problems ( am 1a stage 2 fibrosis, had hep c for over 32 years and am aged 58) l do not have alcohol.  I also know that I should not be consuming large amounts of suger, hence my search for a good tasting, low sugar drink. Google (!) has informed me that even fruit juices have an alcohol content due to the nature fermentation of the sugar in the juice.   I live in Australia...

[Idyllic]

To me a "summer time drink" is something I drink all the time. It quenches my thirst and it is all round pleasant to carry a glass with me when I go somewhere or just sit on the computer or read. Near beer which is loaded in calories would not fit the bill. Especially if I compare decaf green tea, crystal light or zero-cal flavored water to the one decent near bear I liked which was 80 calories and seriously loaded in carbs :(

★★Flavoured water (both sparking and non & sugar-free and regular) is an explosive and growing industry so you might want to stay out of the fruit juice section altogether★★

☞ There is a lot of variety out there.☚ Not sure where all you looked but elsewhere the shelves are usually packed with low calorie, sugar-free waters that are both sparkling and not.   Ditto with pre-packaged mixes. There used to be just Crystal Light but now there are so many new brands it is amazing. You do have to read the labels though since there are types that are indeed packed with sugar.

There are all kinds of teas out there are well. Many flavours and de-caf. I tried this iced Sencha tea (green tea) infused with a bit of cherry and I could not believe how light and refreshing it was. I never thought I would like something like that. Now I am addicted and that was five years ago.

Best of luck to you

[crossroadsec]

I'm all with the teas and honey. I use agave nectar for a twist. It's low glycemic index makes it a great pancake topper too. I used to love a glass of wine occasionally. "Nevermore"
Raven Karen :)

[orphanedhawk]

How about fresh lemon juice or lime juice, from the fruit in water ?
There are lots of alternatives to sugary pop drinks, including various ice teas, green teas, black teas and herbal varieties.
Use some imagination and you can come up with many flavorful not sweet drinks, without one drop of alcohol.

Another suggestion is coconut water. There's several brands available now.

[maybe368]

There is also near beer that has 0 alcohol and here in AZ I like home made green tea sweetened with honey...Mark

[ceanothus]

That is such a low content that it seems like it shouldn't matter, but if it was me, I would still worry. When I stopped consuming any alcohol I too needed something with a little more flavor than plain water, so I switched to fizzy mineral water with natural lime flavoring added, but no sweetener of any kind. If it isn't readily available you can always make your own with a CO2 injection system and a squeeze of lime or lemon.

[Dannyboi7]

I don't think it should be a problem if you have 1 once in a while,I'd be more concern about the sugar levels in the beer,even non alcohol beers have high levels of sugar,carefully check the labels for ingredient content....Have a great summer down under :)  

[desrt]

Watch your carbs  -  barley, hops  -  but definitely less of a sugar spike for your pancreas than a sweet soda or fruit juice. Rule of thumb, I'd probably treat it like Tylenol or paracet'  -  one or two shouldn't make a difference one way or the other, but some kind of soda water or plain water is even better.